In DM to @apistone autocorrect made Oedipus Tyrannus into Oedipus Tyrannosaurus and I left it, because that's what it is now.
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
1455a
“The best kind of recognition of all comes from the plot events themselves when the surprise comes out of probable events. This is the case in Sophokles’ Oedipus or in Iphigenia. For only these kinds of recognitions can happen without manufactured signs and necklaces. The second best kinds are from logical reasoning.”
πασῶν δὲ βελτίστη ἀναγνώρισις ἡ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων, τῆς ἐκπλήξεως γιγνομένης δι᾿ εἰκότων, οἷον ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Οἰδίποδι καὶ τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ· εἰκὸς γὰρ βούλεσθαι ἐπιθεῖναι γράμματα. αἱ γὰρ τοιαῦται μόναι ἄνευ τῶν πεποιημένων σημείων καὶ περιδεραίων. δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ.
‘The study underscores “the sensitive side of the T. Rex.”’ Good to know Jocasta’s love for Oedipus was torrid and complex. @sentantiq @apistone https://t.co/V5LZprdUAp
— C. M. Sampson (@samosafuz) August 24, 2021
So baby Oedisaurus Rex hatches in some alien land. Parents aren’t worried because they’re dinosaurs and they have lots of eggs. Shit, parents might not even know each other any way #DinoMyth pic.twitter.com/IJytIKOnCW
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
Along the way, he kills another T-Rex in one-on-one combat. I mean, how would he know that it’s his father? I imagine T-Reges are territorial and mean to strangers. #Dinomyth pic.twitter.com/oKjZ3bF7kV
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannos 4-8
“The city is simultaneously full of burning incense
Songs of prayer and lamentations.
Children: rather than unjustly hear this from someone else
I have come here to learn it my self,
The man named Oedipus, known to everyone.”
πόλις δ᾿ ὁμοῦ μὲν θυμιαμάτων γέμει,
ὁμοῦ δὲ παιάνων τε καὶ στεναγμάτων·
ἁγὼ δικαιῶν μὴ παρ᾿ ἀγγέλων, τέκνα,
ἄλλων ἀκούειν αὐτὸς ὧδ᾿ ἐλήλυθα,
ὁ πᾶσι κλεινὸς Οἰδίπους καλούμενος.
Anyway, maybe along the way to running into Mamasaurus little Oeddy solves a mystery or something.#Dinomyth pic.twitter.com/6UQIRNhSJ2
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
So we get back to home territory and it is T.Reges mating season, whatever that’s like. Is it more or less likely for a T-Rex to unknowingly know his mother biblically than a human?#Dinomyth pic.twitter.com/sZIRM8Ekhk
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannos, 59-61
“…I know this well
That you all are sick, and even though you’re sick
Not a one of you is as sick as I am.
For each of you must face up to a single share of pain
As it comes to you and not another.
But my soul groans for the city, for me, and you, at once.”
εὖ γὰρ οἶδ᾿ ὅτι
νοσεῖτε πάντες· καὶ νοσοῦντες, ὡς ἐγὼ
οὐκ ἔστιν ὑμῶν ὅστις ἐξ ἴσου νοσεῖ.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὑμῶν ἄλγος εἰς ἕν᾿ ἔρχεται
μόνον καθ᾿ αὑτόν, κοὐδέν᾿ ἄλλον, ἡ δ᾿ ἐμὴ
ψυχὴ πόλιν τε κἀμὲ καὶ σ᾿ ὁμοῦ στένει.
Ok, that’s slightly unhinged. My point is that the Oedipus tale is bonkers and more plausible in the non-human realm and perhaps less implausible for dinosaurs#Dinomyth pic.twitter.com/dSRXkq7dsd
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
Oedipus Tyrannos, 634-638
“Blockheads, why are you stirring up this civil war
of tongue-wagging? Aren’t you ashamed to be kicking up
personal beefs when the land is diseased?”
τί τὴν ἄβουλον, ὦ ταλαίπωροι, στάσιν
γλώσσης ἐπήρασθ᾿; οὐδ᾿ ἐπαισχύνεσθε γῆς
οὕτω νοσούσης ἴδια κινοῦντες κακά;
figures in myth are rarely relatable. they are kings, nobles, gods and monsters. Sometimes all of these things at once. the story is what matters.
And, I guess what I am saying, is that Oedipus works for dinosaurs #Dinomyth pic.twitter.com/tu4iMaAUC4
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
Aristotle writes in the poetics "“Narratives ought to prefer likely events, even if impossible, to improbable possible ones. Stories should not be made from illogical parts: in the best case, they should contain nothing illogical"https://t.co/8oA32gBEZy pic.twitter.com/GXMzCsfqVi
— sententiae antiquae (@sentantiq) August 21, 2021
One of the most iconic images of Oedipus in the 5th century BCE depicts the moment of his interview with the Sphinx. Here is a representative example (Beazley Archive 205372; Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican City, Vat. 16541):
This is the moment when the Sphinx asks Oedipus her famous question. The iconic nature of this also makes it ripe for parody.
This is the best picture I could manage of the scene (if you are interested, see J. Boardman’s article in JHS 90 (1970) 194-195. This vase features the beast masturbating and ejaculating while the hero looks on and holds his sword. It is dated to the mid-fifth century BCE. (I found it in the LIMC, number 69).
There is a much more tame version of the later, which maintains the phallus, but skimps on the erections and ejaculations. This vase is in the Boston MFA, 01.8036.
