Oedipus the King, Sophocles' classical Greek tragedy, features tragic flaws as the cause of the near-total destruction of the protagonist's life. This essay examines this flaw. In his essay “Sophoclean Tragedy” Friedrich Nietzsche agrees that there is an “error” in the protagonist, but refrains from specifying exactly what it is: The most pathetic figure in Greek theater, the unfortunate Oedipus, Sophocles appears to be a noble man , called to error and alienation despite his wisdom, but also called, ultimately, through monstrous suffering, to radiate a magical power full of blessing that operates even after his death. . . . precisely these actions attract a higher and more magical circle of influences that founds a new world on the rubble of the old (16-17). Not all critics believe 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 flaw, 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 experience. None of the characters, including the chorus, complain that the Thebans are suffering, through no fault of their own, in this plague sent by the gods; they simply assume that Thebes must be adequately cleansed of its contamination. Although technically innocent, Oedipus accepts his “guilt.” . . .(56)This reader, however, disagrees with the above critic and agrees with Aristotle's analysis. In his essay “On the Misunderstanding of Oedipus Rex,” ER Dodds takes the reader back to Aristotle in his consideration of this question of the defect: I will take Aristotle as my starting point. . . . From the thirteenth chapter of...middle of the paper...clean tragedy." In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Nietzsche, Friedrich. “Sophocles' Tragedy.” A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Segal, Charles York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. “Sophocles” in the Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. 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 Male Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.