Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex And Plato’s Apology: Common Themes And Ideas

Both Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Plato’s Apology explore the limits of human wisdom. Socrates spends times trying to understand the nature of wisdom and whether the people who claim to possess it actually do. This investigation stems from the oracle, who proclaimed that Socrates was the wisest man in Athens. Through this quest, Socrates develops a negative reputation, and this is what leads to his eventual death sentence. Oedipus, on the other hand, is revered by the Thebans. In an attempt to save Thebes from the pollution they are facing, he seeks the truth about the darkness that plagues the city. Yet in his pursuit, Oedipus reveals his identity as the killer of the late King Laius and his involvement in the incestuous relationship with his mother. Through questioning and eventual downfall, both Socrates and Oedipus ultimately adhere to their fate, both coming to the conclusion that human knowledge is futile. Socrates accepts this notion, going gracefully to his death, as he is content in the fact that his soul has been well taken care of. Oedipus, however, ends in ruin, as the knowledge he acquires proves detrimental to his existence.

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates speaks in court about his experience with the Oracle of Delphi. Chaerephon, Socrates’ friend from youth ventures to the oracle to ask if any man was wiser than Socrates, to which the oracle replied that “no one was wiser,” (Apo. 21a). With this in mind, Socrates begins his quest to find someone wiser than he, using elenchus to hopefully contradict the oracle’s initial declaration. After initially questioning the “public man” (Apo. 21c), Socrates determines that neither he [the public man] nor Socrates himself were wise, since “he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know…” (Apo. 21d). Socrates goes into this encounter believing that those were deemed wise through the lens of society will surely be able to prove the oracle wrong. By refuting the notion that these men are enlightened, Socrates displays his understanding of the limits of human knowledge and does not assume that he knows more. However, in another sense, Socrates is proving the oracle to be correct. While everyone around him is falsely assuming their own wisdom as being something of higher power, Socrates seems to be the only one aware of the ignorance he possesses. Despite the fact that he concludes that he knows nothing, he is instead denying the value of the wisdom possessed by humans, not the lack. “Finally I went to the craftsmen, for I was conscious of knowing practically nothing, and I knew that I would find that they had knowledge of many fine things. In this I was not mistaken…” (Apo. 22d) Socrates admits here that humans do hold a type of surface level wisdom, such as craftsmanship or poetry, but he goes on to say that they believe this wisdom translates to “other important pursuits” (Apo. 22e). This comes as the error in their judgement, as real human wisdom, according to Socrates, includes the fact that they hold ignorance in more divine matters.