Oedipus

Oedipus is perhaps the archetypal tragic hero. He kills his father, and marries and begets children by his mother, all a result of him trying to avoid doing those things. He rips out his eyes and exiles himself from the city he once ruled. He punishes himself so because he ordered exile on pain of death for the man who killed Laius, and he stands by his orders even when it is he who must bear his own wrath and the wrath of the people of Thebes. In this sense, Oedipus retains his nobility even in his downfall.