Compare and Contrast of the Odyssey and Oedipus

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Homer’s Odyssey both deal on the topic of truth. In both works the character Tiresias, a blind prophet, participates in the different journeys by revealing various truths to the main characters. While the main importance of Tiresias in The Odyssey is to show that truth can be helpful, his importance in Oedipus the King is to attempt to discourage Oedipus on his journey to find the truth because he …

…represents the other side of truth, the bad and potentially harmful side. This play shows that there are truths that people are better off not knowing, for it would cause them more harm than good. As can be seen, both these works views on truth do play heavily into how society as a whole generally views and reacts to different ‘kinds’ of truth, being the good truths that help and the bad truths that hinder.