Unfortunately for Tiresias, he is often met with abuse, threats, and suspicion, rather than the respect he has earned, both as a seer and as an elder advisor to the King. What others do with the knowledge is their own burden to bear. He has been given the gift of prophecy, and it is his job to pass the information the gods give to him along. No matter how his prophecies are received, Tiresias is consistent in his delivery of unadulterated truth. Only Odysseus treats him with courtesy, a reflection of Odysseus’ own noble character. In every case, Tiresias is met with threats, abuse, and insults as he provides the prophecy revealed to him to the various characters. He comes to Creon in Antigone, and even appears to Odysseus as he travels from the end of the Trojan war to return to his beloved home in Ithaca. Tiresias is a recurring character who appears in several of Homer’s plays. Tiresias is fully aware of Oedipus’ temper and his response to the news the prophet brings him, and so refuses to speak. Oedipus, who claims to seek the truth, does not truly want to hear what Tiresias has to say. While Tiresias brings the truth to Oedipus, he refuses to reveal it until he is threatened and ridiculed.

Tiresias in Oedipus Rex is an important literary tool that is used as both a backdrop and a contrast to Oedipus himself. The blind seer in Oedipus is more than a simple prophet. What Does Oedipus Accuse Tiresias of Doing?.

The blind prophet in the bible