The contribution reflects on the mythical figure of Oedipus, a symbol par excellence of Greek wandering. The tragedy Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, presents an alternative vision as compared to the Jewish Exodus. The path of Oedipus is a continuous trek between Thebes and Corinth, in a wandering journey that crosses not only space, but also time, and different visions of existence. It is a road that begins with an ex-odos from the origins, where fate (tyche) inevitably leads him to the end of an existential path prophesied by both the Oracle of Delphi and the monstrous Sphinx. Oedipus – literally "Swollen Feet" – walks maliciously, making his way by confusing "enigma" and "mystery". The Greek term αἴνιγμα means "obscure enunciation", with an unequivocal reference to a word “pronounced”; the term μυστήριον can be connected to the verb μύω, which means moreover “I'm silent”. The enigmatic solution belongs to the domain of logic. The mystery, instead, is inaccessible to the hold of the logos. It’s exactly mystery that lies beyond the knowledge and power of the king Oedipus, which is aimed at omniscience and omnipotence. The heroic attempt to reach the “absolute”, in knowledge as well as in power, falls into a tragic delirium (hybris) that of logically solving the mystery of human ‘being’. Using the tools of symbolic hermeneutics the article will focus on the paradoxical circularity of “power that cannot gain knowledge”, and “knowledge that cannot gain power”.

The road between power and knowledge in Oedipus

M. G. Recupero
2019-01-01

Abstract

The contribution reflects on the mythical figure of Oedipus, a symbol par excellence of Greek wandering. The tragedy Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, presents an alternative vision as compared to the Jewish Exodus. The path of Oedipus is a continuous trek between Thebes and Corinth, in a wandering journey that crosses not only space, but also time, and different visions of existence. It is a road that begins with an ex-odos from the origins, where fate (tyche) inevitably leads him to the end of an existential path prophesied by both the Oracle of Delphi and the monstrous Sphinx. Oedipus – literally "Swollen Feet" – walks maliciously, making his way by confusing "enigma" and "mystery". The Greek term αἴνιγμα means "obscure enunciation", with an unequivocal reference to a word “pronounced”; the term μυστήριον can be connected to the verb μύω, which means moreover “I'm silent”. The enigmatic solution belongs to the domain of logic. The mystery, instead, is inaccessible to the hold of the logos. It’s exactly mystery that lies beyond the knowledge and power of the king Oedipus, which is aimed at omniscience and omnipotence. The heroic attempt to reach the “absolute”, in knowledge as well as in power, falls into a tragic delirium (hybris) that of logically solving the mystery of human ‘being’. Using the tools of symbolic hermeneutics the article will focus on the paradoxical circularity of “power that cannot gain knowledge”, and “knowledge that cannot gain power”.
2019
978-1-62273-771-0
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Exodus_Recupero.pdf

solo utenti autorizzati

Tipologia: Versione Editoriale (PDF)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 2.09 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.09 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/3145605
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact