Oedipodea in the context of "Sphinx"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Oedipodea in the context of "Sphinx"




⭐ Core Definition: Oedipodea

The Oedipodea (Ancient Greek: Οἰδιπόδεια, romanizedOidipódeia) is a lost poem of the Theban cycle, a part of the Epic Cycle (Επικὸς Κύκλος). The poem was about 6,600 verses long and the authorship was credited by ancient authorities to Cinaethon (Κιναίθων), a barely-known poet who probably lived in Sparta. Eusebius says that he flourished in 764/3 BC. Only three short fragments and one testimonium survived.

The Oedipodea told the story of the Sphinx and Oedipus and presented an alternative view of the Oedipus myth. According to Pausanias, Cinaethon states that the marriage between Oedipus and his own mother, Jocasta, was childless; his children had been born from another engagement with Euryganeia (Εὐρυγανεία), daughter of Hyperphas (Ὑπέρφας). That is all we know about these two characters.

↓ Menu

In this Dossier

Oedipodea in the context of Cinaethon of Sparta

Cinaethon of Sparta (Greek: Κιναίθων ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος Kinaithon ho Lakedaimonios) was a legendary Greek poet to whom different sources ascribe the lost epics Oedipodea, Little Iliad and Telegony. Eusebius says that he flourished in 764–3 BC. Cinaethon's poetry is preserved only in fragments, primarily preserved by Pausanias. The surviving fragments of Cinaethon are from a genealogical poem, and are not attributable to any of the poems he was said to have written.

↑ Return to Menu

Oedipodea in the context of Theban Cycle

The Theban Cycle (Greek: Θηβαϊκὸς Κύκλος) is a collection of four lost epics of ancient Greek literature which tells the mythological history of the Boeotian city of Thebes. They were composed in dactylic hexameter verse and believed to be recorded between 750 and 500 BC. The epics took place before the Trojan War and centered around the Theban royal family.

The epics of the Theban Cycle were the Oedipodea, the Thebaid, the Epigoni, and the Alcmeonis.

↑ Return to Menu

Oedipodea in the context of Hyperphas

In Greek mythology, Hyperphas (Ancient Greek: Ὑπέρφαντος) was a leader of the Phlegyans and an ally of the Thebans. He was the father of Euryganeia who, according to Pausanias, married Oedipus after the death of Iocaste; Pausanias also maintains that it was she, and not Iocaste, who bore Oedipus his four children (Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone and Ismene). Defending this version, Pausanias refers to the poem Oedipodea and to a painting by Onasias, which depicted Euryganeia in grief over the conflict between her sons.

According to Hesiod, Hyperphas had another daughter, Euryanassa, who became the mother of Minyas by Poseidon.

↑ Return to Menu