Which is a greater tragedy, Oedipus or antigone?

Question

Why do you think this? I am debating this, after reading the two plays.

Answer 1

I think Oedipus is, because he never had any chance to do anything but what he was destined to do... No matter how hard he tried to struggle against his own destiny, in the end he could not avoid it.

Answer 2

Great question!

Historically, I think Oedipus has had a bigger cultural impact--think about how, 3,000 years after the play's premiere, Freud named a major psychological theory after ol' Mr. Oed.

Personally I vote for Antigone. Oedipus is tragic, but as a previous poster said, so much of his tragedy was out of his control. (The Greeks would've argued differently--they believed his problems were a direct result of his own hubris--but it's hard for me to buy that idea in today's world.)

To me, Antigone's sadder because she has to make an awful decision with no good solution. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place--but she MUST act, must choose a path which she knows will inevitably end up badly for her and her family and country. To me, it's scarier to see her play such a big part in her own downfall--as opposed to Oedipus simply being dealt a lousy hand by fate.

Answer 3

Oedipus was a casualty