Why is opedius a tragedy?

Answer 1

The short answer is because the tale is a tragic one. The longer answer is: At birth an oracle declared Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. His parents ordered the baby killed, but the hired killer was too soft-hearted to do this and instead tied the infant's feet together and staked them to the ground, leaving him to his fate. Oedipus suffered foot trouble all his life. Things did get better for him, but then went all wrong again. Discovered by a local and taken to the King of Corinth - as you do with abandoned babies - Oedipus (the name means sore feet, it really does) - was adopted by the king. As an adult Oedipus heard of the prediction involving his parents and ran away from Corinth, thinking it was his adoptive father he was meant to kill. On the road he got into a fight over right of way with a chariot driver who was transporting his real father, and in the course of the argument killed his father, though he didn't know who he was, of course. And they say road rage is new. Continuing on his way to Thebes he saved the city from a terrible plague by confusing the Sphinx, who died of shame, thus ending the plague. Made King of Thebes in gratitude by the locals, he married his real father's widow and they had four children. Oedipus, by sheer coincidence, bumped into the bloke who left him to die as a baby and this man tactfully let him know he'd married his mother. Mum killed herself and Oedipus blinded himself and his loyal daughter led him about the countryside until he died. Following these events, his uncle and sons became involved in family squabbles over the throne, and ended up all killing one another, including the loyal daughter. As you can see, it's all pretty tragic. And no, I can't remember who eventually took the throne, but with all the ruling families horribly murdered it could well have been the original hired baby-killer, the soft-hearted one.