logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
1h 34m

97: Sophocles - Oedipus Rex & Oedipus at...

Untimely Reflections
About this episode

Welcome to season five of The Nietzsche Podcast! First of all, a warm thank you to all of my listeners and patrons who have helped to make this show such a phenomenal success. For our first episode in this new collection of episodes, we're diving headfirst into the Oedipus plays of Sophocles: Oedipus Rex & Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles triumphed with the best tragedy at the Dionysia more than any other playwright, and Aristotle named Oedipus Rex the model tragedy. We will fully explore the tragic downfall of Oedipus, his redemptive last days at Colonus, and Friedrich Nietzsche's interpretation of the significance of Oedipus in Birth of Tragedy.

Episode Art: Jean-Antoine-Theodore Giroust, Oedipus at Colonus (1788), Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Up next
Oct 7
Q&A #13
If you would like to have your own questions answered on The Nietzsche Podcast, no matter how unusual, niche, or rambling, then join the Patreon and participate in our regular Q&As that happen about twice per season. Season six starts next week! 
2h 12m
Sep 23
The Gay Science #20 (IV.328-342)
The conclusion of the main books of The Gay Science! We'll cover some of the best aphorisms so far: the greatest weight, the dying Socrates, long live physics, and many more. Thus begins Zarathustra's down-going. Episode art: Nicholas Roerich - Zarathustra (1931) 
2h 25m
Sep 16
The Gay Science #19 (IV.311-327)
More aphorisms concerning drives, the way that impulses appropriate thought for their own ends, "moral pluralism", means of finding happiness, pleasure and pain as means rather than ends, and experimentation as method.Episode art: The Two Crowns (1900) by Frank Dicksee 
2h 14m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 24
603. Greek Myths: The Riddle of the Sphinx (Part 2)
What is the story behind the writing of Oedipus, the notorious king of Thebes who murdered his father and unwittingly married his mother? Was it based on a real historical event? What are Oedipus’ cursed mythic origins in Thebes? Who was Sophocles, the legendary Greek playwright? ... Show More
1h 5m
May 2025
The Dark Sign of the Gods: Antigone by Sophocles Part I
Antigone is the "dark sign from the gods." Today, Dcn. Harrison Garlick is joined by Mr. David Niles of the Catholic Man Show and Dr. Frank Grabowski to discuss the Greek tragedy "Antigone" by Sophocles.Check out thegreatbookspodcast.com for our reading schedule!Check out our Pat ... Show More
2h 10m
Jun 2025
Short Stuff: Oedipus Complex
The Oedipus complex is probably Sigmund Freud’s most famous theory – that every little boy or girl goes through a phase where they want to kill one parent and, well, do things with the other. Good thing Freud just made it up.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
12m 42s
May 2022
The Oedipus Complex
In this episode, Dr. Carveth discusses the Oedipus complex as a universal, narcissistic trauma. Dr Carveth works with Aodhán Moran to produce this podcast. If you'd like to inquire about Aodhán's services, contact him here. 
52m 23s
Aug 2024
THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET: WHO IS TO BLAME?
Who’s to blame for Hamlet? This week, The Alarmist (Rebecca Delgado Smith) welcomes back Adam Lustick to discuss the events that transpire in the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. Arguably Shakespeare’s greatest work, there’s hardly a main character left standing by the time it’s ove ... Show More
1h 6m
Dec 2023
Carl's pick: Oedipus – The Musical
Meet Oedipus. He's the main character in one of the world’s oldest stories. He lived a long time ago and he did some pretty bad things. But was it his fault or was it fate? Was there anything he could have done to avoid tragedy? Join Molly, Carl and Matt as they sing their way th ... Show More
27m 17s
Sep 2024
Episode #212 ... Nietzsche and Critchley on the tragic perspective. (Amor Fati pt. 2)
Today we begin by talking about Nietzsche's concept of life-affirmation. Contrasting it with the renunciative, rational traditions of Western thought. The episode then delves into Greek tragedy through the lens of Simon Critchley's work; making a case for how these ancient plays ... Show More
38m 29s
Jan 2025
The Castle of Otranto
In this episode of The Classical Mind, Fr. Wesley Walker and Dr. Junius Johnson dive into Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic novel and a cornerstone of literary history. They examine its groundbreaking blend of medieval romance, supernatural terror, and fami ... Show More
1h 3m
Apr 2025
Close Readings: 'Vanity Fair' by William Makepeace Thackeray
Thackeray's comic masterpiece, 'Vanity Fair', is a Victorian novel looking back to Regency England as an object both of satire and nostalgia. Thackeray’s disdain for the Regency is present throughout the book, not least in the proliferation of hapless characters called George, ye ... Show More
33m 7s