Oedipus the Tragic Hero ... or Tyrant?

In this lecture, Professor Richard Seaford (University of Exeter) explores the concept of the 'tragic hero', arguing that the central figures of tragedy are better understood not as heroes (a word that is never used of any living character in tragedy) but as tyrants. In particular, we think about the Athenians' experience of tyranny in the sixth century BC, attitudes towards tyranny in the fifth century BC, and the set of characteristics that all tyrants were thought to have (e.g. shortness of temper, obsession with wealth, sexual perversity, suspicion of those around them, etc.) almost all of which are embodied in the character of Oedipus himself.