CLASSIC 45C Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Necromancy, Laius, Erectile Dysfunction
10 May 2017
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Afraid that sphinx will come back to haunt him. Both the sphinx and oedipus are monsters. Guilt, fear, human impotence before the ordinances of fate. Also identified with nature and divine reason . Fate is cyclic and its cyclicity underscores its determinism: kingship: Necromancy scene (act 3) and its aftermath present oedipus" crimes as a continuation of the impious history of the house of. The world ruled by oedipus is plague-ridden. Land , animals, citizens of themes, even air, infected with. Means that everything is characterized by monstrosity, sickness. Empowerment mechanisms of the roman state disintegrate under the impact of oedipus" perversion. Haruspicy=divination by inspecting the entrails of sacrificial animals. Necromancy=communicating with the dead to predict the future. Animal sacrifice- very visible foreshadowing of what is to come. Self-punishment spurred on not by jocasta"s death but by. Here: oedipus gouges eyes out first; then jocasta falls on sword. Thinks that he may be implicated in great theban plague.
