Oedipus the King - Athenian Tragedy
Greek 331
Instructor: Alexander Loney, Ph.D.
Fall 2018
Can you overcome destiny? Are you responsible and blameworthy for actions you were destined to commit? What if you committed the worst atrocity you could imagine in complete ignorance. How would you respond? Are there certain horrifying truths of the world better left unknown, or must even the darkest secrets be revealed?
Oedipus the King is one of the most profound meditations on these questions ever written. It influenced thinkers and artists through the ages, from Aristotle, Hegel, and Kierkegaard to (infamously) Freud and his “Oedipus complex.”
Come and read this tragedy in its original, glorious Greek this fall. The course will introduce you to the dialect of Athenian drama as well as its history and conventions. The pace will be slow and careful, allowing ample time for contemplation of Sophocles’ pellucid Greek poetry and the philosophical and literary giants that have responded to it.
For more information, contact Dr. Loney (alexander.loney@wheaton.edu)