Acknowledgements To my beloved children Aspasia, Dimitris, and Athina Who had to learn how to fall Before learning how to fly They all fly now, with elegance and kindness … In the long years devoted to the research and writing of this book on Oedipus, I came to realize that I cannot really distinguish between the people who supported… Read more
Note on Translations and Editions of Oedipus Tyrannus I quote Lloyd-Jones’ translation of Oedipus Tyrannus used throughout, unless otherwise indicated. The edition of the original text is by Lloyd-Jones & Wilson (1990), for I had nearly completed my book when the edition/commentary by Finglass (2018) appeared. However, I adopt the newer edition in places where I disagree with Lloyd-Jones & Wilson, changing the translation accordingly. … Read more
1. Sophocles’ Hypsipolis – Apolis Antithesis, and Castoriadis’s Imaginary Institution of Classical Athens Εἶναι παιδιά πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων τά λόγια μας.Σπέρνουνται γεννιοῦνται σάν τά βρέφηριζώνουν θρέφουνται μέ τό αἷμα.Ὅπως τά πεῦκακρατοῦνε τή μορφή τοῦ ἀγέραἐνῶ ὁ ἀέρας ἔφυγε, δέν εἶναι ἐκεῖτό ἴδιο τά λόγιαφυλάγουν τή μορφή τοῦ ἀνθρώπουκι ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἔφυγε, δέν εἶναι ἐκεῖ. Our words are… Read more
2. Defining the Polis In defining what a polis is, we can begin with its basic meaning in the archaic and classical periods: a polis is a settlement and a community. As a settlement a polis is “primarily a large nucleated settlement,” that is to say, a city. As a community it is “an institutionalized political community,” that is to say, a state. [1]… Read more
3. The Self in the Polis The prior chapter’s definitions—of what constitutes a polis, of political creation, and of social imaginary significations that add meaning to the perceptions of “Athens” and the “Athenians” at the turn of the fifth century BCE—have already touched upon the notion of identity in the polis. What it is to be an “Athenian” is the collective notion applied to, and experienced by,… Read more
4. Who Am I? A Tragedy of Identity Simon had been right.You saw things differently when you changed your perspective and location. All blind spots could be compensated for. Jo Nesbo, The Son Oedipus’ major handicap in his life is not knowing who he is; the parricide and incest come about as the result of this… Read more
5. I am Oedipus: Reframing the Question of Identity Πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει. σημεῖον δ’ἡ τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἀγάπησις· καὶ γὰρ χωρὶς τῆς χρείαςἀγαπῶνται δι’ αὑτάς, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων ἡ διὰ τῶνὀμμάτων. οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἵνα πράττωμεν ἀλλὰ καὶ μηθὲνμέλλοντες πράττειν τὸ ὁρᾶν αἱρούμεθα ἀντὶ πάντων ὡς εἰπεῖντῶν ἄλλων. αἴτιον δ’ ὅτι μάλιστα ποιεῖ γνωρίζειν ἡμᾶςαὕτη τῶν αἰσθήσεων… Read more
Appendix 1. Cornelius Castoriadis Some interesting biographical points: Cornelius Castoriadis was born in 1922 in Constantinople (Istanbul) and died in Paris in 1997. When he was only a few months old, his family fled to Athens to escape the tragic consequences for the Greek population in Turkey following the collapse of the Greek front in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). He was awarded his first degree in Economics,… Read more
Appendix 2. Cleisthenes A classic book on the Cleisthenic reforms remains Clisthène l’ Athénien. Essai sur la représentation de l’ espace et du temps dans la pensée politique grecque de la fin du VIe siècle à la mort de Platon by Pierre Lévêque and Pierre Vidal-Naquet, published in 1964. In 1969, another extensive study on Cleisthenes was published by Clarendon Press: Nomos and the Beginnings of the… Read more
Appendix 3. The Heroic Self I will begin by considering the heroic self, with the Iliadic Achilles as my case in point. What are the salient characteristics of Achilles’ individual distinctiveness and uniqueness in terms of psychological states, his physical presence, or bodily states? We are told of his beauty (which is, however, a quality of all Iliadic heroes), [1] his training… Read more
