The Rest Is History – Episode 603
Greek Myths: The Riddle of the Sphinx (Part 2)
Date: September 24, 2025
Hosts: Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook
Episode Overview
In this deep dive, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook unpack the enduring myth of Oedipus and the Riddle of the Sphinx, focusing especially on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and the profound resonance it has had from ancient Athens to Freud’s Vienna and beyond. They explore the myth’s origins, its transformation through literature, its cultural and political significance in ancient Greece, and its psychological legacy. The hosts also discuss related mythic backstories, the evolution of Theban myths, and the lasting philosophical questions Sophocles raised about fate, law, and the gods.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Introduction to Oedipus in Greek Myth and Tragedy
[03:40–09:00]
- The earliest literary account of Oedipus is found in Homer’s Odyssey:
“Then I saw the mother of Oedipus, the beautiful Epicaste…she married her own son…” (Dominic; quoting Homer, [01:47])
- Oedipus is central to Western culture due to his role in myth and as namesake for the Oedipus complex:
“He is one of the most influential, famous, celebrated damned characters in all human culture.” (Dominic, [03:25]) - The best-known version of the story comes from Sophocles rather than Homer. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex reflects the anxieties and cultural strife of 5th-century BC Athens (Tom, [05:00]).
2. Oedipus’ Story Retold
[09:00–15:30]
- Oedipus is abandoned by his parents, Laius and Jocasta, to defy a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
“He drives the skewer through the ankles of the baby.” (Tom, [07:15]) - Adopted in Corinth, Oedipus later hears a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother—prompting him to leave Corinth.
“No one wants to hear that.” (Dominic on the Oracle’s prophecy, [09:59]) - Oedipus kills a stranger in a roadside confrontation (his real father, Laius).
- Thebes is plagued by the Sphinx—a monster posing a deadly riddle.
“She had the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion, the wings of a giant predatory bird.” (Tom, [12:30])
- Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddle (“man”), destroying the monster and winning the hand of Jocasta, his mother.
3. The Power of the Riddle and the Detective Story Structure
[15:30–21:00]
- The iconic Sphinx riddle:
“What goes on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?”
- Oedipus’ victory leads to him marrying Jocasta and becoming king, but a plague devastates Thebes, prompting a search for King Laius’ killer.
- Tiresias, the blind prophet, triggers the play’s famous dramatic irony:
“You yourself are the killer you seek.” (Tiresias, via Tom, [20:22])
“Blind though I am, you are blinder still.” (Tiresias, [20:34]) - The plot’s tightly wound detective story format makes the tragedy even more powerful for the audience.
4. Recognition and Catastrophe
[21:00–26:00]
- The dramatic build-up to the revelation of Oedipus’s true parentage unfolds as a psychological and emotional crescendo:
“It is absolutely hypnotic…the sense of dread as the two of them start to realize…” (Dominic, [21:50])
- The slave and messenger’s revelations unravel Oedipus’s identity; Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus blinds himself with her brooches.
- The play ends with Creon taking over and the chorus lamenting the tragic events:
“None can truly be called happy until that day when he bears his happiness down to the grave in peace.” (Tom, [26:14])
5. Literary and Historical Significance
[26:00–32:00]
- Aristotle lauded Oedipus Rex as the model of tragedy, praising its unity of time, place, and action.
- The play’s structure also inspired the later development of the detective genre:
“The detective investigating a crime who discovers that he himself is the criminal.” (Tom, [27:43])
6. Oedipus from Freud to Mythic Timelessness
[32:00–35:10]
- Freud saw the Oedipus myth as universal, establishing the “Oedipus complex”:
“As with my patients, so with myself, I have identified love of the mother and jealousy of the father…” (Freud, quoted by Dominic, [31:22])
- Freud considered his theory a key to human psychology, but Tom voices skepticism about applying Oedipus’ story universally.
7. Is Myth Timeless? Debating Historical Context
[35:10–41:23]
- Cultural views of myth as bearers of timeless truths persist, but Tom stresses myths are products of their historical and social contexts:
“I do not think that myth is timeless…The tragedy itself emerges from very precise and distinctive historical contexts.” (Tom, [35:14])
- The Theban myths have deep roots, with Cadmus (founder of Thebes) carrying a curse linked to the city’s misfortunes.
8. The Theban Cycle: Blood, Curses, and Wars
[41:23–46:00]
- Tom and Dominic outline the multi-generational saga of Thebes, including Cadmus, Laius, and Oedipus’ sons Eteocles and Polynices—whose fratricidal war prefigures the devastation of Thebes and reverberates through Greek literature.
9. Athenian Drama as Civic Competition and Propaganda
[46:00–50:00]
- Athenian drama was intimately linked to democracy and civic pride.
- Thebes’ depiction as a city of impiety and horror was partly Athenian propaganda:
“Any play that makes the Thebans look bad is absolute catnip to the Athenians. The Athenians hate the Thebans.” (Tom, [45:35])
- Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus (his last play) symbolically aligns Oedipus with Athens as a source of hope after the Peloponnesian War.
10. Sophocles’ Profound Questions: Law, Fate, and the Divine
[50:00–59:00]
- Oedipus Rex isn’t just anti-Theban propaganda; its enduring power comes from its exploration of fate, divine law, and mortal responsibility:
“The horror of it is the expression of timeless divine laws that all mortals are bound to honour.” (Tom, [52:39])
- Oedipus is blameless yet bound by a cosmic inevitability, mirroring Athenian anxieties amid war and plague.
- The play reflects on the tension between human and divine law, a concern even more explicit in Antigone.
11. Antigone and the Clash of Laws
[59:00–63:30]
- Antigone explores the clash between civic law (Creon) and unwritten divine law (Antigone):
“I do not believe your laws, you being only a man, sufficient to overrule divine ordinances, unwritten and unfailing as they are.” (Antigone, quoted by Tom, [59:24])
- Both sides suffer ruin, illustrating Sophocles’ willingness to expose and probe the contradictions in Greek religious and social norms.
- The tragedies speak to universal questions of justice, fate, the limits of human understanding, and the dangers of moral certainty.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the enduring horror of Oedipus’ story:
“Murdering your father and marrying your mother…seems to speak to something in the human condition.”
— Dominic Sandbrook ([03:25]) -
On Tiresias’s revelation:
“You yourself are the killer you seek…Blind though I am, you are blinder still.”
— Tom Holland as Tiresias ([20:22], [20:34]) -
On the legendary Sphinx riddle:
“When it walks propped on the most feet, then is the speed of its limbs least.”
— Tom Holland ([13:13]) -
On the detective structure:
“It is a play, as well as being a tragedy, that is also the first great detective story.”
— Tom Holland ([17:20]) -
On the intensity of the play:
“It is absolutely hypnotic…a sense from the very outset of the walls beginning to close in.”
— Dominic Sandbrook ([21:50], [26:14]) -
On history shaping myth:
“That play could not have been written in fin de siècle Vienna. It could only have been written in the democracy of 5th century Athens.”
— Tom Holland ([35:13]) -
On universal vs. contextual meaning in myth:
“I do not think that myth is timeless and even if its power can transcend history…the tragedy itself emerges from very precise and distinctive historical contexts.”
— Tom Holland ([35:13]) -
On the difficulty resolving human and divine law:
“It raises the question…if the tension between the laws given by the gods and the laws given by mortals is so excruciating, is it possible that the stories that are told about the gods, that they’re not actually authentic?”
— Tom Holland ([62:26])
Episode Timeline & Important Segments
- [03:40–09:00]: Early literary accounts and the rising fame of Oedipus
- [09:00–15:30]: The full mythic narrative: fate, prophecy, and tragedy
- [15:30–21:00]: The Sphinx’s riddle and the detective story format
- [21:00–26:00]: Revelation, catastrophe, and the play’s emotional climax
- [26:00–32:00]: Artistic appraisal—Aristotle’s “perfect tragedy” and genre-defining features
- [32:00–35:10]: Freud and the universality (or not) of myth
- [35:10–41:23]: Historical and sociopolitical context of the Theban myths
- [41:23–46:00]: The Theban cycle—four generations of violence
- [46:00–50:00]: Athenian drama as democratic festival and Theban propaganda
- [50:00–59:00]: Sophocles’ probing of law, fate, and the divine; Oedipus as Athenian reflection
- [59:00–63:30]: Antigone and the irresolvable clash between divine and civic law
- [62:23–63:10]: Closing reflections on myth, faith, and philosophical doubt
Closing & Next Episode Preview
- Sophocles' plays are recognized as foundational, both artistically and philosophically, for their willingness to confront the paradoxes of living under the rule of gods and men.
- Many tensions and anxieties of Athenian society are reflected in these myths’ retelling.
- Teaser: The next episode will explore Euripides’ Bacchae, promising “frolics in woods and violent dismemberings and a spot of transvestism.” ([64:07])
End of summary.