Oedipus Redux

The story of Oedipus and the Sphinx is about the dream of having the answer. The Answer. Solving the riddle of suffering and sacrifice. The answer that brings salvation. The product of the intellect, of reason and intuition that solves ALL .

But the story is not over. The real issue was the Prophecy and the chain of action and causation that Oedipus took in response: the flight from Corinth, the murder at the crossroads, the marriage, the reign, the plague, the investigation, and then the manhunt.

Oedipus has become the Sphinx, and the weapon of his riddle-solving mind and courage will be turned on himself. He succeeds, as he always succeeds. That too is part of the prophecy.

All this occurs within the context of FATE. Oedipus successfully took human action and reason as far as they could go. He did save Thebes twice, he found the cause of the plague. It was all about the HOW.

And so we have the rest of the story: the loss of sight/exterior/perception, the gain of image/interior/insight; the exile, the journey & wandering, suffering, recognition, support, curse, rejection, acceptance, sacred space, holiness, mystery, redemption & blessing.

Night (Nyx)

But the Orphics say that black-winged Night, a goddess of whom even Zeus stands in awe, was courted by the Wind and laid a silver egg in the womb of Darkness; and that Eros, whom some call Phanes, was hatched from this egg and set the universe in motion.

-Robert Graves, The Greek Myths (2.b)

Duality

Gaia generates Ouranos, her Other. Clearly dual, but not yet separated.

Chaos and Gaia had formed a kind of duality, but not like the Gaia-Ouranos opposition. Chaos and Primordial Eros are not gendered. Gaia is, and so becomes the source of "strong" duality.

Gaia generates her Other. Pain enters the world. The need for separation. The need for liberation.

First or Second "Why?"

What is the first question? How does Chaos exist? How does possibility exist? The precondition for conditioned existence.

Why does Gaia appear? Why does Gaia self-generate Ouranos?

In the Symposium, Plato defines love, via Diotima, as "to give birth in beauty." Is that just another formulation of the mythology? Is Primordial Eros Gaia's reason? Freud will come along and write of Eros as the tendency toward increasing complexity. Gaia creates her Other. Eros prompts the cosmos into complexity.

On Origins

From the "vertigo" of Chaos comes the "stability" of Gaia (Vernant). From boundless emptiness comes the "confident" stability of a reality (ibid.). With this reality emerges the desire of primordial Eros. Desire is directed, generates activity. Something must happen.

Chaos: POSSIBILITY

Gaia: REALITY

Eros I: ACTIVITY

The Oedipus Card

Artemis

Homeric Hymn to Artemis

Sing praise of Artemis, Muse, sister of the far-shooting Archer,
the virgin who pours out arrowshot, born and bred with Apollo.
Having watered her horses by the rush-grown banks of Meletos,
fleeting through Smyrna in her golden charoit, she rides out
into Klaron's thick vineyards, where silver-bowed Apollo
sits waiting for her, the far-shooting pourer of arrowshot.

And in this way, may all goddesses delight in the joy of song;
but yet I sing to you foremost, and through you I begin my song.
Having praised you first, now my hymn moves on to praise the others.

Greek text

Book List

The Universe, the Gods, and Men (Jean-Pierre Vernant)
The Greek Myths (Robert Graves)
Early Greek Myth (Timothy Gantz, 2 vols.)
Classical Mythology (Morford and Lenardon)
The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony (Roberto Calasso)