Getting to Grips with the Oracles
Abstract
Oedipus at Colonus is not unique among Greek tragedies in using oracles as both structuring elements in the plot and clues to interpretation, but Sophocles makes especially telling use of them in this play, as many scholars have noted. Even so, I believe there is a little more to be said, and I hope the topic is one that may appeal to our honorand, whose observations on the name and nature of Apollo may serve as guidelines for this paper, particularly his characterisation of the god as ‘the word waiting to be translated into action’. 1
Fields of Study & Subjects
Classical Antiquity Studies
Classical Philosophy and Thought
Classical Studies and Philology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Cambridge University Press eBooks
- Pages
- 509–522
- Publication date
- 27 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter