Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy

Oedipus, king of Thebes, is one of the giant figures of ancient mythology. Through the centuries, his story has inspired works of epic poetry, lyric poetry, tragedy, opera, a gospel musical and more. Famous today thanks to Sigmund Freud''s famous phrase ''the Oedipus complex'', the most famous version of the Oedipus myth from antiquity is the Greek play by Sophocles. But there is another version, the Latin drama by the Roman philosopher and politician Seneca.

Seneca''s play reflects concerns special to the author and his Roman audience. Moreover, it exercised a much greater influence on European literature and thought than has usually been suspected. This book offers a compact and incisive study of the multi-faceted Oedipus myth, of Seneca as dramatist, of the play''s distinctive characteristics and of the most important aspects of the reception of the play in European drama and culture to the current day. No knowledge of Latin or other foreign languages is required.