One of the main features is that the character is of noble birth. This man of noble stature should according to Aristotle not be perfect. This lack of perfection often accounts for the hero’s downfall in the end of the play. When looking at Oedipus one can find that he is certainly of noble stature. Oedipus is the king of Thebes. Oedipus solved the Sphinx’s riddle, eliminating the misfortune which was put over the city by the riddle. This shows that Oedipus does fit this characteristic.
On the downside one can argue multiple things. Firstly Oedipus killed a man on his way to Thebes. During the play Oedipus discovers that this man happens to be the king of Thebes and his father. Since this man was his father and previous king of themes it implies that Oedipus is currently sleeping with his mother. Oedipus finds out that this was his fate as the play continues. Oedipus his attitude changes; he gets very aggressive hurting people close to him. All of this shows that Oedipus is not this man of high stature which is necessary for a tragic hero.
Another characteristic of the tragic hero is the peripeteia: a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero’s tragic flaw the hamartia. This turning of fortune which can be found to be the hero’s downfall is not wholly deserved, nor is it a complete loss. The play develops around the fact if a prophesy can be fought or not. The oracle of Delphi told Oedipus’s parents a prophesy that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. It is clear that this fate was inevitable. However when Oedipus slept with his mother, and killed his father he was not aware of their relation. It was therefore not fully deserved that this would happen. It looks like Oedipus fits into this characteristic. One can however argue that this fate happened since Oedipus his parents gave him away. It was not a tragic flaw/hamartia of Oedipus, but of his parents.
Finally a characteristic which a character needs to fall into the tragic hero is that his actions result in an increase of self- awareness and self-knowledge. When Oedipus finds out all his misfortune he stabs his eyes out. One can therefore argue that Oedipus does not clearly gain self-awareness and self-knowledge. One can therefore state that Oedipus lacks this characteristic.
When one would read or watch Oedipus one would at first sight think that Oedipus is a tragic hero. This analysis however showed that he does not fit the profile set by Aristotle. It was shown that Oedipus actually isn’t a man of high stature. It was also shown that Oedipus downfall was not caused by one of his own flaws, or error’s, but an error of his parents. One can state that Oedipus isn’t a tragic hero according to Aristotle since it does not comply with all characteristics of a tragic hero. One can however not deny that this play is a tragedy. One could state that Sophocles edited the basic character of a tragic hero, and made a tragic hero in his view. Oedipus, not a tragic hero according to Aristotle, but possibly a tragic hero according to Sophocles.
