A Companion to Sophocles, First Edition. Edited by Kirk Ormand. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2012 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 7 Oedipus Tyrannus Vayos Liapis 1 Introduction If Oedipus and the notorious complex that goes by his name have been household tags for the better part of the twentieth century, this is due not so much to the influence of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus (henceforth OT ), but rather to the use Sigmund Freud made of the play and of the Oedipus myth in his Interpretation of Dreams (see e.g. Freud 1999: 201–3; see further Rudnytsky 1987). Whatever one’s stance toward Freudian psycho-poetics, the fact remains that Freud’s reading of the Oedipus myth and of the OT has indelibly tinged our perception of both. From modern dramatists such as Thornton Wilder (Wilder 2007: 716) to classical scholars such as Roger Dawe (Dawe 2006: 2–3), readers have repeatedly felt that the universal appeal of Oedipus’ story, despite the highly exceptional nature of the hero’s circumstances, must derive from deep-seated, unconscious impulses common to all humankind. This seems to be confirmed by the occurrence of Oedipal motifs in myths of peoples living thousands of miles apart (see e.g. Edmunds 1985; Edmunds and Dundes 1995; Johnson and Price- Williams 1996). One might counter, of course, that those who find themselves fasci- nated by Clytemnestra do not necessarily nurture murderous designs against their husbands. Moreover, as Cameron observes, the Freudian model does not explain why, say, Voltaire’s Œdipe fails to produce even a fraction of the emotional impact of Sophocles’ play (Cameron 1968: ix). At any rate, I need not say more on the topic, since it is treated in detail in Armstrong’s and Buchan’s contributions in this volume. For an intelligent attack against facile Freud-bashing one will also want to read Lear (1998: 33–55); for a post-Freudian approach, see Ormand (1999: 124–38). My own concern here is rather to peel off the accumulated layers of modern interpretations and to concentrate on the play’s remarkable plot construction, on its masterly use of dramatic irony, on its treat- ment of the epistemological gap between man and god, and on the mechanics of Oedipus’ downfall. The reader is advised that what follows presupposes a familiarity with the plot of OT. Ormand_c07.indd 84 Ormand_c07.indd 84 1/11/2012 2:37:44 PM 1/11/2012 2:37:44 PM