ÃÂTo go to far is as bad as to fall shortÃÂ. ÃÂ Confucius. Everything should be done in moderation and there should be a healthy equilibrium in all situations and aspects of life. Something taken too far is the equal to something not taken far enough; both concepts are flawed and cause confliction. These are the beliefs that the Greek gods held and also imposed on their people. ÃÂKnow thy self; nothing in excessÃÂ was inscribed at Temple Apollo at Delphi in Ancient Greek. Temple Apollo is known to be the most sacred place in the Greek world. Oedipus the king of Thebes went against the word of the gods by doing many things in excess. He did this by having excessive pride and anger. Not only that he also he also held excessive power and control over the people and happenings surrounding him which led to his hubris. All of this overindulgence led to OedipusÃÂs downfall as a leader, a son, a husband and a father.
Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's teeth, by Maxfield Parr...
This image was first published in the 1 st (1876&n...
Oedipus and the Sphinx of Thebes, Red Figure Kylix...Had he displayed all of these qualities in moderation he might have been spared some of consequences that he sorrowfully faced in the end despite his best attempts to avoid living out the horrible prophecies that were chosen for him.
Some one once appropriately said ÃÂTemper get you in trouble but pride keeps you thereÃÂ. What does this have to do with Oedipus? Well Pride is an attribute which Oedipus has in surplus. Another word for excessive pride is Hubris. It is well known and established that hubris is OedipusÃÂs tragic flaw. Oedipus shows that he has a great sense pride and confidence concerning his abilities as a leader but when Theriases attempts to indicated to Oedipus that he is the one who murdered Lauis his real father, instead of seeing the honesty...