Is the plot of Oedipus Rex by Sopocles ethically or pathetically motivated?

Ethos and
pathos are not terms used to describe plots. Plot structures can stem from character or
incident. In the case of , the plot structure is based on the working out of the curse on the
Theban house. That it will end in disaster is inevitable. The audience would have known the plot
in advance of viewing the play. The character of Oedipus, some argue, contributes to his
downfall, but once he has killed Laius and married , events that occur before the play begins,
there is really no way out from under the curse. Thestates:

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Therefore, it is necessary to call no man blessed
as we
await the final day, until he has reached
the limit of life and suffered nothing
grievous

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Ethos means character in
the specific sense of the intrinsic character of a speaker's persona as a persuasive rhetorical
device, and pathos the swaying of the audience's emotions. It is the pathemata (things suffered)
that awaken fear and pity in the audience of drama, not ethical and pathetic
persuasion.