Greek 344 2025: Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos
Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannos is perhaps the best known of Greek tragedies, thanks in part to Aristotle’s use of it in his Poetics to illustrate the ideal tragic plot, involving both anagnorisis (recognition) and peripeteia (reversal), and in part to Freud’s rather unfairly named “Oedipus Complex”. Also known as Oedipus the King, or Oedipus Rex, the play depicts the slow discovery by the king of Thebes of his own horrifying past actions. In this module, we will read the play in sequence, examining how this apparently perfect plot is put together, as well as exploring some of its major themes within the context of classical Greek culture and thought: free will and fate, pollution and scapegoating, wisdom and ignorance, self-knowledge and sight.
- Manager: Louise Damons
- Facilitator: PHILIPPUS RUDOLPH Bosman
- Facilitator: Samantha Masters
- Facilitator: Ursula Westwood