Oedipus, the king of Thebes tries to resolve the plague that is running rampant through the city. Soon thereafter, it was prophesied that the plague wouldn’t be lifted without exiling the murderer of Laios, former king of Thebes. In Oedipus’ quest to seek out the murderer of Laios, he consults a blind seer, Tiresias. Upon hearing that Oedipus himself is the cause for the plague brought upon the city, he is furious and mocks the seer’s blindness and lack of sight. The seer continues to reveal many truths of Oedipus’ past that Oedipus dismisses as falsehood.

Ironically enough, everything the seer saw was later discovered to be the truth. Oedipus, known famously for solving the Sphinx’s riddles with his quick wit (lines 470-479) has been ignorant to the truth of his history for many years. Oedipus’ insightfulness and capacity for comprehension was misguided; his ability to see was ironically mocked. The seer, who was literately blind, was able to see more than Oedipus, who was supposedly gifted for his ability of perception. It was only befitting that in the end Oedipus blinds himself.

lines 1441-1445 – “Eyes, now you will not, no never see the evil I suffered, the evil I caused. You will see blackness – where once were lives you should never have lived to see, yearned-for faces you so long failed to know.”