Oedipus is born a cursed man.  He doesn’t figure this out until the end of the story, but his fate was already decided.

In Oedipus’ society, people believe in the prophecies, rarely asking questions.  These prophecies state that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother.  His parents hear this and send him out into the wilderness to die, however, Oedipus doesn’t.  He then grows up with another family and hears the same prophecy when he is older.  He doesn’t want this to happen so he leaves.  He leaves behind everything he has to protect the ones he loves from that dangerous prophecy.  

He travels and encounters the terrors at Thebes, the Sphinx.  The Sphinx asks a riddle and anyone who cannot answer gets devoured.  The Sphinx is also responsible for much of the destruction and bad luck in Thebes.  Oedipus risks his life to answer the Sphinx’s riddle and to save a town full of strangers.  Luckily, he succeeds.  His selflessness and his courage make him a hero to the town of Thebes and also its ruler.  Sophocles describes Oedipus as generous and a good leader, Oedipus even says, “Speak to everyone, for I consider their pain more important even than that of my own soul” (Lines 100-101).  Oedipus places the well being of his people before his own life, which is a great sacrifice, especially when life is so valued in society.  

Another example of his heroism is when he risks his safety and everything he has (he has so much more to lose now that he is a king) to find the polluter of his land.  He curses that man and when he finds out that he himself is the polluter, he makes sure to leave the land so his people will be safe and comfortable.  Oedipus goes against what society believes; especially when he does not believe Tiresias when he claims the prophecy did come true because few people questioned what the prophets said.  This mistake allows Oedipus to exhibit his strong character and leadership by taking responsibility for his actions and become a true hero.  He sacrifices everything he has for the good of Thebes but only after he accepts what he has done and punishes himself for it.  He is an individual in these moments because he does not let society’s opinions convince him of something he has not discovered himself.