The Decline of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex Oedipus began Oedipus Rex as king, only to end the tale as a blinded beggar. Oedipus' fall from his royal status did not happen by chance or the fault of some other person. Oedipus is the only one to whom his misfortune can be attributed. Oedipus' character traits are shown most clearly during his dizzying fall, thinking himself to be "a simple man, who knows nothing", but knowing more than he realizes at the end of the story. As the story progresses, Oedipus' haste or lack of patience is more evident. Wishing to end the mystery of Laios' death as quickly as possible, Oedipus issues an edict to kill or exile anyone withholding information. Tiresias tested Oedipus' patience early in the story with the information he had in hand; "You would test the patience of a stone! Go!". This impatient accusation of Tiresias turned out to be negative, especially since Tiresias predicted the end of history. If Oedipus had been more patient and waited, perhaps he would not have been so upset about the future, nor shaken by what was to come. However, that characteristic did not alone take away his position of high authority. Oedipus showed anger throughout the story, which didn't help him at all. During the course of the story we learn of Oedipus' anger as he hit a passerby at the intersection of the three highways; “I hit him in my anger.” Later, this passerby, whom he killed angrily and quickly, turned out to be Laios, Oedipus' father. Oedipus' anger also quickly changed his opinion of Teiresias. "We are in your [Tiresias'] hands. There is no more just duty," Oedipus' respect for Tiresias quickly changed as Tiresias refused to tell what the cause of the problem was. Oedipus began to state that "Creon brought this decrepit soothsayer" to signify that Tiresias was considered a traitor in Oedipus' thinking. Oedipus' anger is also shown when he begins to insult Tiresias by calling him a "wicked old man". Oedipus' anger at the beginning of the play hindered himself. The final characteristic that was Oedipus' greatest enemy throughout the play was his own truthfulness. Every time new facts presented themselves, Oedipus looked at them honestly. As soon as he suspected that Oedipus was involved, he admitted it; “I think I myself might be cursed by my ignorant edict".