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Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics Podcast
Jocasta

Jocasta

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics vor 5 Jahren

The wife of Oedipus. And mother. A still spellbindingly shocking story. With Edith Hall.

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"Rock star classicist" and reformed stand-up Natalie Haynes is
obsessed with the ancient world. In these series she explores
(historical and mythological) lives from ancient Rome and Greece
that still have resonance today. They are hilarious and tragic,
mystifying, revelatory. And they always tell us more about
ourselves now than seems possible of stories from a couple of
thousand years ago.

Today Natalie stands up for Jocasta, whose second marriage was to
Oedipus. Now for some spoilers if you're thinking of watching or
reading Sophocles' play Oedipus Tyrannus.

After some years of happy marriage and four children, Jocasta
discovers that Oedipus is, in fact, her son, and the murderer of
her first husband (his father) Laius. Jocasta only has a few
lines in the famous play, but we learn a remarkable amount about
her character. She is smarter than her husband, quicker to
understand what's happening and its implications. She is
courageous. And she is quicker to act.

The story - in all its forms - is still spellbindingly shocking
today.

With Professor Edith Hall. Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC
Audio in Bristol