An accessible companion to Oedipus Tyrannus designed for the general readerCombination of a close reading of the play with a broader overview of the meaning of the play, the relation between the play and the myth, and Sophocles' conception of tragedy and tragic heroismClear and nontechnical discussion of the philosophical questions in the background of the playIn addition to literary analysis, discussed the interpretation of myth and the relation between literature and myth, with the focus on a major Greek tragedyCorrects some of the most common errors in reading the play, refocusing the discussion away from the unfruitful "tragic flaw" or "puppet of the gods" approach, to concetrate on Sophocles' tragic view of the human condition and the problem of knowledgeClear and concise synthesis of both older and more recent scholarship on the development and meaning of the myth of Oedipus, including the work of Freud, Girard, Lacan, Levi-Strauss, Vernant, and othersAccount of recent interpretive scholarship on the playConcise discussion of the influence of the play on later art and literatureCoverage of the social, historical, intellectual, and literary background and discussion of the conventions of the ancient Greek theaterDraws on new approaches to the study of Greek tragedy, including feminist scholarship, the "metatragic" or self-referential dimension of tragedy, the problem of closure, but without losing perspective on the central issues on interpretationDraws on the most recent scholarship on the Greek text, on the mythical background, iconography, and the folklore versions of the myth. No other work has been able to take account of this range of new materialAnnotated up-to-date bibliography.