Men of Thebes: look upon Oedipus.
This is the king who solved the famous riddle
And towered up, most powerful of men.
No mortal eyes but booked on him with envy,
Yet in the end ruin swept over him.
The first half of the ending of the Sophocles shows the rising action, climax and the falling action of the tragedy. It implies the definition of tragedy: One of high station due to a flaw (Hamatia) in Oedipus' character meets his demise. When Thebes is terrorized by the monster - Sphinx (a hybrid creature, with the lion's body, woman's head, eagle's wings and serpent's tail), who destroys all who cannot solve her riddle, Oedipus comes and rescues them from the miserable fate. …
