I believe that the Thebans have a high opinion of Oedipus for several reasons that are revealed in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The first of these things is Oedipus' strength of character and clear devotion to the city of Thebes and its people. Oedipus also saved the city from the Sphinx. We see the Thebans' high regard for Oedipus in several key scenes, first when the group of citizens turn to Oedipus for help at the beginning of the play, then when the representative of the chorus considers him “the first of men.” . We next see this when there is confusion about the identity of Oedipus' parents, and the Theban Chorus immediately jumps to positive conclusions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Oedipus' strength of character is seen in his first appearance on stage at the beginning of the play. We see that the inhabitants of Thebes are struck by a terrible plague that no one knows how to solve, but Oedipus is already taking steps to resolve it from the moment the play begins. He sent Creon to ask the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi for help. This initiative immediately cheers up the priest who represents the people, and when Creon arrives with apparently good news we understand why Oedipus enjoys the respect of the Thebans. The fact that the citizens choose to immediately follow Oedipus' example and allow him to solve the mystery of Laius' death as they die in the city demonstrates their trust in him and their high opinion of him. Its decisive nature could easily save hundreds of people. of lives. We also see that the Thebans have a high opinion of Oedipus when they name him as possibly the son of a god, simply because of how amazing he is. Furthermore, when the birth of Oedipus was in question, there was no doubt regarding their king in the minds of the Thebans, that he must have come from a greatness of his past. Another reason why the Thebans have such a high opinion of Oedipus is that he has previously appeared for them in the past. The priest gives the example of when Oedipus bravely defeated the Sphinx who threatened their city and killed anyone who tried to answer his riddle. Oedipus, an outsider at the time, gained the city's trust by volunteering to save the city by answering the riddle of the Sphinx residing in the city's temple. Oedipus managed to answer the riddle and drive away the Sphinx, so the people showed their now absolute confidence in his abilities by naming him king of Thebes. As far as we know, people have held a high opinion of Oedipus thus far, as once again he is the person they trust to deliver them from Apollo's plague. And even at the end, the people are reluctant to abandon Oedipus and accept his fall, such is their opinion of the fallen man. To conclude, with the metaphor of the ship, Oedipus is described by the priest as the guiding hand, carefully carrying the sinking ship, i.e. Thebes, through the storm of the plague and out the other side, we can see from this metaphor that the people of Thebes has an extremely high opinion of Oedipus, earned through his actions with the Sphinx, and with his decisive, action-oriented personality. I completely agree that it was because of Oedipus' great qualities that his downfall was inevitable. We see this in several ways, firstly because his great honor and loyalty to the welfare of Thebes and his duty as king would never have allowed him not to pursue the mystery of Laius to the end, whatever the consequences. I would also argue that if Oedipus had been a less honorable man, it would be extremely unlikely that he would have been so horrified by his actions that he would gouge out his own eyes as punishment. It's also his big one.