Oedipus, tyranny and truth

Abstract

In Oedipus the King, there is a scene that has already been said to be the caesura, the antirhythmic in the rhythm, the incalculable in the calculation: that of the tyrant with Tiresias. As the seer is said to be the one in whom “[...] only/ the unveiling is infused: Aletheia”, I read this scene as a scene from aletheia, as a scene in which aletheia is enacted. Certainly, it is a scene analogous to what is told of the relationship between Oedipus and the Sphinx, in which the Sphinx protects the enigmatic, while the other one believes in deciphering the enigmatic. If Oedipus is, as he says, the investigator of all speeches, how does he behave in relation to that which, in language, as aletheia, is what matters most? Likewise, how does Tiresias behave? While, in his position in front of the truth, Oedipus assumes a position of tyranny, in Tiresias, aletheia and aporia overlap, making us think, if we still need to use the name, in an aporetic “truth” like the one that poetically matters. Thus, there would be a double paradigm in the respective tragedy regarding the way of thinking the truth: one to be avoided, that of Oedipus; another one, to be followed, that of Tiresias.

Keywords: Oedipus; tyranny; truth; Tiresias; aporia