To be a tragic hero, one must possess a tragic flaw. These flaws can very but the main thing the all have in common is, that they must cause the hero to "miss his mark" by just a hair. Both Jason, and Oedipus are tragic heroes, but they do not necessarily share all the same tragic flaw, or flaws. One could even make a comparison and contradiction of these two tragic heroes quite easily. Both of the men show the great tragic flaw of pride. Another vice they share is lust. However, Jason exhibits a great amount of greed, something not shown by Oedipus.
The biggest downfall of Oedipus was his pride. He tired to prove the gods wrong and escape his fate. Because he was so zealous, he did not realize he had only caused the prophecy to become true, there as only missing his goal by a metaphorical inch. Jason also holds this grotesque mannerism. Jason obtained the Golden Fleece with the assistance of Medea, but attributes this accomplishment only to his self. Due to this undeserved pride, Jason thinks he can marry the King of Corinth's daughter, but is shocked when Medea turns on him for his misdeeds. Medea kills their children, causing Jason much suffering. Jason did not predict this because he was too wrapped up in himself. Although they are not the best of people, they do have virtues. Both have love for their wives and ambition towards their goals.
A vice that they do not share is greed. Jason is the only greedy one; in fact it was because of his greed that he tried to marry the Creon's daughter. Oedipus' marriage, in my opinion, was more about lust than greed. Oedipus wanted Jocasta, so he married her; it wasn't about the power so much as the woman. Both of these traits had an equal affect with the aforementioned others on their respective downfalls. Another vice unique to Oedipus is wrath. Oedipus is very vengeful, and when confronted by some travels on the road he mercilessly slaughtered them all. This is one of the events that enable Oedipus to live his dishonorable life.
As I have said, Oedipus and Jason are both tragic heroes, with tragic flaws, but not all of those flaws are the same. Jason is greedy, Oedipus is lustful and wrathful. But they both share excessive pride, all of which lead to their downfalls, making them tragic heroes. Jason and Oedipus share more than just their vices; they also have some common virtues, such as love, and ambition. It is a sad thing that these heroes had to be tragic, which is implied in the word. Because they were so close to their goals, it seems unfair for them not to reach them.
