CASA ESSAY: FATE AND DIVINE WORKING IN SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS REX

The Plague of Thebes, a Historical Epidemic in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex

Sophocles, one of the most noted playwrights of the ancient world, wrote the tragedy Oedipus Rex in the first half of the decade 430-420 bc. A lethal plague is described in this drama. We adopted a critical approach to Oedipus Rex in analyzing the literary description of the disease, unraveling its clinical features, and defining a possible underlying cause. Our goals were to clarify whether th...

Moral and Epistemic Ambiguity in Oedipus Rex

This paper challenges the accepted interpretation of Oedipus Rex, which takes Oedipus’ ignorance of the relevant facts to be an established matter. I argue that Oedipus’ epistemic state is ambiguous, and that this in turn generates a moral ambiguity with respect to his actions. Because ignorance serves as a moral excuse, my demonstration that Oedipus was not ignorant bears significantly on the ...

Did Oedipus Suffer from the Oedipal Complex? A Psychological Analysis of Oedipus in Oedipus the King

Grant may be buried in Grant’s Tomb and Easter Island may have been discovered on Easter, but Oedipus did not suffer from the Oedipal Complex; the events that transpire in the play are a result of Oedipus’ failure to know himself and recognize his birth parents. Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, tells the story of the new king of Thebes who fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and...

Divine Eros and Divine Providence in Proclus’ Educational System

Shame and suicide in Sophocles' Ajax.

This paper explores the vicissitudes of shame and its relation to narcissistic rage and escalation of conflict in Sophocles' Ajax. The plot is set in motion by Ajax's shame over losing the competition with Odysseus for Achilles' armor. His shame leads to narcissistic, rage and propels him to vengeance against the social order. Misidentification, an aspect of narcissistic rage, compounds his dis...