I believe that the Thebans think very highly of Oedipus for several reasons that are revealed in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The first of these things is Oedipus' strength of character and his obvious devotion to the city of Thebes and its people. Oedipus also saved the city from the Sphinx. The Thebans' high opinion of Oedipus is seen in several key scenes, first when the gathering of citizens comes to Oedipus for help at the beginning of the play, then when the representative of the Chorus considers him "the first of men.” We next see this when there is confusion over the identity of Oedipus' parents, and the Theban Chorus immediately draws positive conclusions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Oedipus' strength of character is seen in his first appearance on stage at the beginning of the play. We see that the people of Thebes are afflicted by a terrible plague that no one knows how to solve, but Oedipus is already taking steps to solve it from the beginning of the play. He sent Creon to seek help from the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. This initiative immediately rejoices the priest who represents the people, and as Creon arrives with apparently good news, we understand why Oedipus has the respect of the Thebans. The fact that the citizens immediately choose to follow Oedipus' example and allow him to solve the mystery of Laius' death as they die in the city shows their trust in him and their high opinion of him. Its decisive nature could easily save hundreds of people. of lives. We also see that the Thebans think very highly of Oedipus when they refer to him as possibly being the son of a god, simply because he is incredible. There was also no doubt about their king in the minds of the Thebans, when it came to the birth of Oedipus, that he must have come from past greatness. Another reason why the Thebans think so highly of Oedipus is that he has met them in the past. The priest gives the example of Oedipus who courageously defeated the Sphinx who threatened their city and killed everyone who tried to answer his riddle. Oedipus, a stranger at the time, gained the trust of the city by volunteering to save the city by answering the riddle of the Sphinx residing in the city's temple. Oedipus was able to answer the riddle and banish the Sphinx, thus the people showed their now absolute confidence in his abilities by naming him king of Thebes. As far as we can tell, people have retained this high opinion of Oedipus until now, because once again he is the person they trust to rid them of the plague of Apollo. And even in the end, people are reluctant to abandon Oedipus and accept his fall, such is their opinion of the now fallen man. To conclude, through the metaphor of the ship, Oedipus is described by the priest as the guiding hand, carefully bringing out the sinking ship that is Thebes through the storm of the plague, and on the other side we can see through this metaphor that the people of Thebes have a very high opinion of Oedipus, which was won by his actions with the Sphinx, and with his decisive and action-oriented personality. I would completely agree that it was because of Oedipus' great qualities that his downfall was inevitable. We see this in several ways, first because his great honor and his allegiance to the well-being of Thebes and his duty as king would never allow him not to pursue the mystery of Laius to the end, whatever be the consequences. I would also say that if Oedipus had been a less man.