Will I love Oedipus the King?

The Oedipus myth, which seems so familiar to us, shakes me every time I return to the version written by ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus. The reason is that no one in the story is to blame for the carnage that ensues. At the center of the tragedy is Oedipus, who does and does not want to know the truth about himself: that he unwittingly killed his father and married his mother.

I am struck over and over again by the intricate ruses he uses against himself, and which we are all susceptible to. I put the book down every time,… show more.

Reading the ancient classics may not be overly popular nowadays, but I found this Greek tragedy of the Classical period to be a gripping insight into one of the most gifted playwrights of any age as he wrestled with questions of morality, personal responsibility, and the interaction between man and the divine as they centered on the character of Oedipus.