The Death of Oedipus and What Happened Next
Abstract
The central subject of Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus is its hero’s journey from life to death, which dominates the entire action of the play. As early as the prologue Oedipus himself introduces the subject (88–95), 1 giving what will turn out to have been a clear foreshadowing of action to come. One could well start the discussion there, but in this paper I have chosen to concentrate on the final phase of the long process, as narrated and discussed by the messenger, and to ask what interpretative clues the text has to offer. I hope this choice of topic will be congenial to our honorand, whose close study of Greek poetic texts has taught us so much.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Classical Antiquity Studies
Classical Philosophy and Thought
Classical Studies and Philology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Pages
- 479–494
- Publication date
- 27 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter