The play Oedipus the King written by the playwright Sophocles is the unfortunate development of the king of Thebes. Oedipus, a flawed leader, has excessive pride and arrogance. This tragic flaw has poisoned his ego and transformed him into the tyrant he is at the end of the play. It is strongly believed that arrogance was the essential cause of Oedipus' downfall. Oedipus was too infatuated with maintaining his reputation as a leader instead of realizing the events that were happening around him. Oedipus demonstrates arrogance when he searches for the person responsible for Laius' death. He refuses to listen to suggestions or early examples of the prophecy. His blindness to prophecies and clues makes him feel as if his judgment is the only valid one, leading Oedipus to believe that he is the judge, jury, and executioner. In fact, Oedipus is so sure of finding the murderer that he asks the Thebans to pray to him instead of to the gods. “You're praying. As for your prayers, if you are willing to listen and accept what I say now and thus cure the disease, you will find salvation and relief from anguish." (Sophocles 14). Oedipus is explaining how the prayers to bring Thebes out of this suffering and torment. Oedipus firmly believes that he will rid the city of the plague, as he did the same with the Sphinx. This also shows that the citizens of Thebes have faith in Oedipus, as this would not be his greatest achievement as ruler of Thebes. In fact, Oedipus refuses to listen to any criticism that anyone wants to address to him. This is demonstrated when he visits Teiresias. “Tell me, when did the Sphinx recite his riddle here, did you come forward to pronounce the word that? would he free the people of this city? That riddle wasn't for... middle of paper... if the prophecies he heard are also true. Even though Jocasta told him that he isn't the murderer, he doesn't want to take any chances . Oedipus knows that there is a possibility that he is the man he was looking for all along. This is because he states, “I fear, Jocasta, that I have said too much, that is why I want to see this man” (44). Oedipus also realizes that his pride, his dignity, and his ego have brought him to the situation he is in now. In this tragedy, Oedipus is responsible for his fate by expressing excessive pride. This led to the self-inflicted death of his wife, self-inflicted wounds from which he will be unable to recover, and exile from Thebes. Excessive pride is a tragic flaw that caused his downfall, but made the path very steep and traumatizing to travel. This weakness makes Oedipus fulfill the characteristics of a tragic hero.