Oedipus Versus Creon At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles's play "Oedipus the King", Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In "Oedipus the King", Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic "flawed hero". He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles' other play, "Antigone", however, he
Oedipus suspects that Tiresias is being bribed. "Who primed you for this? Not your prophet's trade" (179), he says. Oedipus' rashness lead him to accuse Tiresias, a prophet of the gods and a wise seer, that he is corrupt and a fraud. This is obviously insulting to the gods and leads to his downfall. Creon himself commits an even greater act of hubris. He refuses to bury the body of Polynices, the brother of Antigone, who tried to attack Thebes. This is a direct violation of the gods and all their laws of death. When Antigone is confronted by Creon about her illegal burial of Polynices, she claims that "it wasn't Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation. (82). She adds that "The justice, dwelling with the gods beneath the earth [did not] ordain such laws for men" (82). Creon has assumed the risky business of saying that he, "a mere mortal, could override the gods" (82). For this dangerous sin of hubris, Creon is punished severely. Just like Oedipus was. Because of their acts of hubris, Creon and Oedipus are both punished severely. They lose everything they love and all they value. They eventually see the error of their ways, but by the time they do it is already too late. Oedipus finds out that he is the person who killed his father. He discovers that he is married to his mother and that he has had children with her. Once Oedipus finds out these horrific secrets of his life, he cannot bear to look upon another living soul. He rushes into Jocasta's bedroom and