# Teiresias — Oedipus Rex character guide

> Teiresias in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** lord Teiresias, Oedipus Teiresias, Teiresias Thou, Teiresias Not Creon

**First appearance:** 0002-oedipus-rex

## Snapshot

The blind Theban prophet, dragged reluctantly before Oedipus, who knows the answer to the king's question and dreads saying it aloud.

## Who they are

Teiresias is the seer whose sight outlives his eyes, the one man in Thebes who can name the pollution the oracle demands be expelled. Summoned by Oedipus to help track Laius's killer, he resists — he would rather go home than speak — and when pressed he tells the king plainly that the murderer he seeks is standing in the palace. His refusal to flatter, and his willingness to accuse the most powerful man in the city, make him the play's first crack in Oedipus's certainty.

## Relationships

### [Creon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/creon)

_professional_

Creon seeks Teiresias's prophetic counsel, but their interactions are marked by tension and mutual distrust regarding the truth about Laius's murder.

### [Oedipus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/oedipus)

_rivalry_

Oedipus and Teiresias are antagonists, with Oedipus angrily rejecting the prophet's accusations and Teiresias stubbornly revealing the painful truth.

### [Apollo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/apollo)

_professional_

Apollo is the god who grants Teiresias his prophetic powers, and Teiresias serves as Apollo's mouthpiece in revealing the truth to Thebes.

### [Creon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/creon)

_professional_

Creon seeks Teiresias's prophetic counsel, but their interactions are marked by tension and mutual distrust regarding the truth about Laius's murder.

### [Oedipus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/oedipus)

_rivalry_

Oedipus and Teiresias are antagonists, with Oedipus angrily rejecting the prophet's accusations and Teiresias stubbornly revealing the painful truth.

### [Apollo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/apollo)

_professional_

Apollo is the god who grants Teiresias his prophetic powers, and Teiresias serves as Apollo's mouthpiece in revealing the truth to Thebes.

## In the story

### [Dramatis Personae](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/chapters/dramatis-personae)

Listed as a character in the dramatis personae.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/teiresias
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters