What is the tradegy in the play Oedipus Rex?Was Oedipus empathetic to his subjects?

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The tragedy of Oedipus is a famous
one.

At the start of the play, a Priest and people of
Thebes come to Oedipus to ask for help, which he promises. They tell him they have been
hounded by terrible disasters because someone in Thebes killed King Laius. Oedipus
promises to find out what is going on.

The history that
leads to this point of the play is that Oedipus is the true son of Laius and Jocasta,
King and Queen of Thebes. One day an oracle (fortune teller) declares that Oedipus will
kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent the prophecy from coming true, the
parents decide the child must die. A servant takes their baby to kill him, but decides
instead to abandon him on a mountain side, expecting he will starve to
death.

After the servant leaves, however, a shepherd finds
the child and takes him to another country to avoid his fate. Ultimately, the child
finds his way into the household of King Polybus of Corinth, who raises Oedipus as his
own. Oedipus knows nothing of this. One day he is attacked by a two men on the road;
unknowingly, he kills his father, as he slays both
men.

Oedipus becomes King of Thebes because he solves the
riddle of the Sphinx, a monster who was eating all passersby if they could not answer
his question. To further honor him, the people of Thebes insist Oedipus marry Jocasta.
No one knows that he is marrying his mother. They have
children.

After Oedipus promises to find the murderer of
the former king, he speaks to an oracle who tries to tell him that HE is the murderer he
seeks. Oedipus does not believe this. He feels that it is a plot by Laius' brother
(Creon) to steal the throne from him. Creon swears this is not true. To intercede for
Creon, Jocasta repeats the story of her husband's death as a witness had reported it to
her.

Hearing the details, Oedipus realizes that he did, in
fact, kill Lauis, but believes that Polybus was his true father, a man who died of old
age; Oedipus therefore believes he did not kill his
father.

In the meantime, the shepherd who had left Oedipus
on the mountain side comes to Oedipus and reports that he was, in fact, the child of
Laius and Jocasta. Jocasta kills herself realizing she has married and born children to
her son. Devastated by the truth, Oedipus puts out his eyes, though this does not put
his mind at ease. He asks Creon to care for his daughter; Oedipus says his farewells to
his daughters. Then he asks Creon to exile him from the city.  And so the play
ends.

In summary, the tragedies are that Oedipus
unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother (and they have children), his
mother/wife kills herself, and he blinds himself and leaves
Thebes.