Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Discussion of Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus and of Euripides' Hippolytus.
Oedipus Tyrannus: defective body of a king; reenacting Oedipus in a dance; generalizing or particularizing answer to the Sphinx' riddle; creating new pollution while driving out old one; the Sphinx (choker) as a nightmare.
Hippolytus: varieties of interactions of Phaedra and the chorus: inconsistencies in the age of the chorus, similar to shifts in women's laments/love song; Euripides the anthropologist using initiation songs of girls from Troezen; Phaedra, 'moonbeam,' and lunar monthly cycle; sentimental education of the young Athenians in the chorus through identification with non-Athenian women; modulations in gender registers in Theseus' speech over the body of Hippolytus.
Recorded in Fall 2019 during v12 of the MOOC, The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, focusing on Hours 19 and 20, and responses to the Discussion Questions.
With Gregory Nagy, Keith DeStone, and members of the HeroesX Team.
Discussion of Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus and of Euripides' Hippolytus.
Oedipus Tyrannus: defective body of a king; reenacting Oedipus in a dance; generalizing or particularizing answer to the Sphinx' riddle; creating new pollution while driving out old one; the Sphinx (choker) as a nightmare.
Hippolytus: varieties of interactions of Phaedra and the chorus: inconsistencies in the age of the chorus, similar to shifts in women's laments/love song; Euripides the anthropologist using initiation songs of girls from Troezen; Phaedra, 'moonbeam,' and lunar monthly cycle; sentimental education of the young Athenians in the chorus through identification with non-Athenian women; modulations in gender registers in Theseus' speech over the body of Hippolytus.
Recorded in Fall 2019 during v12 of the MOOC, The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, focusing on Hours 19 and 20, and responses to the Discussion Questions.
With Gregory Nagy, Keith DeStone, and members of the HeroesX Team.
