Oedipus the King, the classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles, features tragic flaws as the cause of the almost total destruction of the protagonist's life. This essay examines this flaw. In his essay "The Sophoclean Tragedy", Friedrich Nietzsche recognizes that there is an "error" in the protagonist, but refrains from specifying what it is exactly: The most pathetic figure in Greek theater, the unfortunate Oedipus, Sophocles presents himself as a noble man called to error and alienation despite his wisdom, but also called, ultimately, through monstrous suffering, to radiate a magical power rich in a blessing which acts even after his death. . . . these same actions attract a circle of higher magical influences that found a new world on the rubble of the old (16-17). Not all critics believe that there was a “mistake” in the protagonist. Some critics, such as Herbert J. Muller in his essay "How Sophocles Viewed and Portrayed the Gods", believe that Oedipus had no tragic flaws, that he was an innocent victim of the gods: Nor is there in Oedipus the King the deep sense of indignation that modern readers can feel. None of the characters, including the chorus, complains that the Thebans are suffering, through no fault of their own, from this scourge sent by the gods; they simply assume that Thebes must be properly cleansed of its defilement. Although technically innocent, Oedipus accepts his “guilt”. . . (56) This reader, however, disagrees with the above criticism and agrees with Aristotle's analysis. In his essay “On Misunderstanding the Oedipus the King,” ER Dodds takes the reader back to Aristotle in his reflection on this question of the flaw: I will take Aristotle as my starting point. . . . From the thirteenth chapter of... middle of paper... Proper tragedy. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Nietzsche, Friedrich. “Sophoclean tragedy”. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: tragic heroism and the limits of knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. “Sophocles” in Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984. Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. by F. Storr. no page.http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOediVan Nortwick, Thomas. Oedipus: the meaning of a masculine life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.