Oedipus (Euripides)

Fragments

A number of fragments of Oedipus and of ancient writings about Oedipus are extant. In one fragment, John Malalas writes that Euripides wrote a drama about Oedipus, Jocasta and the Sphinx. Another fragment (539a) gives the beginning of a hypothesis of the play, which states that Laius fathered a child despite the fact that the god Apollo forbade him from doing so. A papyrus fragment recently reconstituted from five smaller ones (540, 540a-d) describes the Sphinx preparing to pose her riddle, presumably to Oedipus in the confrontation in which Oedipus defeats her by answering the riddle correctly.

A key fragment (541) is spoken by a servant of Laius, boasting of blinding Oedipus. This fragment is translated by Collard and Cropp as "We pressed the son of Polybus to the ground, destroying his eyes and blinding him." An illustration on a 2nd-century BCE Etruscan alabaster urn might depict this scene. The illustration shows Oedipus held down as described in the fragment, watched by a figure holding a scepter, presumably his brother-in-law and uncle and eventual successor Creon. However, the illustration also shows Jocasta, who probably would not be at Oedipus' blinding in the play, and also shows Oedipus' children, whom we do not know were characters in the play at all.

Several fragments appear to involve the characters' reactions to the revelations in the play. It is not always clear who the speaker is, but in one fragment (549) Oedipus might be commenting on how much can change in a single day, and in another (554a) Creon apparently states his view that "a bad man should always be treated badly," and that he would violate sanctuary and risk the wrath of the gods in order to accomplish this. Several of these fragments have been ascribed to Jocasta. In one of these fragments (551), she notes that envy destroyed Oedipus, destroying her too. In at least two fragments (545 and 545a), Jocasta describes what a sensible wife should do, particularly serving and supporting her husband.

Plot

It is clear from the fragments that Oedipus contained a description of Oedipus' defeating the Sphinx and his blinding by a servant of Laius.

In "Uberlegungen zum Oedipus des Euripides" (1990), Martin Hose suggested a reconstruction of the plot of Oedipus as follows. Most scholars agree that the play ended with Jocasta joining Oedipus in exile.

Date

The date for Oedipus has not been definitively established but metrical analysis on the extant fragments, particularly the incidence of resolutions by Cropp and Fick, indicates that the play was likely written in the latter part of Euripides' life, between 419 BCE and 406 BCE, and most likely after 415 BCE.

References

References

1. (2008). "Euripides Fragments: Oedipus–Chrysippus; Other Fragments". Harvard University Press.
2. Collard, C.. (2004). "Euripides: Selected Fragmentary Plays, Volume II". Aris & Phillips.
3. (1999). "Classical Mythology". Oxford University Press.
4. (2008). "Euripides Fragments: Oedipus–Chrysippus; Other Fragments". Harvard University Press.
5. Collard, C.. (2004). "Euripides: Selected Fragmentary Plays, Volume II". Aris & Phillips.
6. (2008). "Euripides Fragments: Oedipus–Chrysippus; Other Fragments". Harvard University Press.
7. (1985). "Resolutions and Chronology in Euripides: The Fragmentary Tragedies". Institute of Classical Studies.