Seneca’s
Oedipusis the only surviving Roman tragedy on the myth of Oedipus. The exact dating of Seneca’s tragedies remains a much vexed question; however, it is very likely that the
Oedipustogether with the
Agamnenonand the
Phaedrabelong to the poet’s early production. The play has received so far little attention compared with the rest of Seneca’s tragedies, possibly because of its common subject with Sophocle’s
Oedipus Tyrannusand the emblematic role of the Sophoclean play
in the study of classical drama, as this was established by Aristotle in his
Poetics. The older claim for the direct derivation of Seneca’s
Oedipusfrom Sophocles’
Oedipus Tyrannusis now considered to be nothing more than unjustifiable assumption. Furthermore, the Sophoclean play does not…
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Citation: Michalopoulos, Charilaos N.. "Oedipus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 May 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13466, accessed 13 December 2024.]