This page intentionally left blank GREEK TRAGEDY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Rationalism and Religion in Sophocles’ Theban Plays In Greek Tragedy and Political Philosophy, Peter J Ahrensdorf examines Sophocles’ powerful analysis of a central question of political philosophy and a perennial question of political life: Should citizens and leaders govern political society by the light of unaided human reason or religious faith? Through a fresh examination of Sophocles’ timeless masterpieces – Oedipus the Tyrant, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone – Ahrensdorf offers a sustained challenge to the prevailing view, championed by Nietzsche in his attack on Socratic rationalism, that Sophocles is an opponent of rationalism Ahrensdorf argues that Sophocles is a genuinely philosophical thinker and a rationalist, albeit one who advocates a cautious political rationalism Such rationalism constitutes a middle way between an immoderate political rationalism that dismisses religion – exemplified by Oedipus the Tyrant – and a piety that rejects reason – exemplified by Oedipus at Colonus Ahrensdorf concludes with an incisive analysis of Nietzsche, Socrates, and Aristotle on tragedy and philosophy He argues, against Nietzsche, that the rationalism of Socrates and Aristotle incorporates a profound awareness of the tragic dimension of human existence and therefore resembles in fundamental ways the somber and humane rationalism of Sophocles Peter J Ahrensdorf is professor of political science and adjunct professor of classics at Davidson College He is the author of The Death of Socrates and The Life of Philosophy: An Interpretation of “Phaedo” and the co-author of Justice Among Nations: On the Moral Basis of Power and Peace GREEK TRAGEDY AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY Rationalism and Religion in Sophocles’ Theban Plays Peter J Ahrensdorf Davidson College CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521515863 © Peter J Ahrensdorf 2009 This publication is in copyright Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press First published in print format 2009 ISBN-13 978-0-511-50849-3 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-51586-3 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate To Alejandra Contents Acknowledgments page ix Introduction 1 Oedipus the Tyrant and the Limits of Political Rationalism Blind Faith and Enlightened Statesmanship in Oedipus at Colonus 48 The Pious Heroism of Antigone 85 Conclusion: Nietzsche, Plato, and Aristotle on Philosophy and Tragedy 151 Bibliography Index 179 187 vii 178 Greek Tragedy and Political Philosophy If Aristotle is right, the greatest tragic poets were themselves philosophic But is Aristotle right? For Aristotle, the most illuminating example of tragedy is Sophocles’ Oedipus plays Aristotle praises Oedipus the Tyrant nine times in the Poetics, and suggests three times that it is either the “finest” and “best” tragedy or among the very finest and best (1452a24–26, 1452a32–33, 1453a7–12, 1453a17–22, 1453b6, 1453b29–31, 1454b6–8, 1455a16–18, 1460a27–32; 1452a32–33, 1453a17–22, 1455a16–18) I have argued in this book that Sophocles’ Theban plays indeed confirm the thesis that this tragic poet, at least, was philosophic Through our analysis of the magnificent heroes of these plays – from the anti-religious political rationalism of Oedipus the Tyrant and the religious anti-rationalism of Oedipus at Colonus to the pious heroism of Antigone and the cautious political rationalism of Theseus – we finally encounter the true model of rationalism in Sophocles himself, who exhibits a genuinely philosophic clarity, intransigence, and humanity The outlook of Sophocles, then, is closer to the rationalism of Socrates than it first seems But, as I have shown in this chapter, the outlook of the classical philosophers is less optimistic, more somber, and therefore closer to the outlook of the tragic poet Sophocles than it first seems It is my hope that this study will substantially broaden and deepen our understanding of both classical rationalism and tragedy and that it will stimulate further political and philosophic studies of the great classical tragic poets Bibliography Adams, S M 1957 Sophocles the Playwright Toronto: University of Toronto Press Ahrensdorf, Peter J 1995 The Death of Socrates and the Life of Philosophy Albany: State University of New York Press Annas, Julia 1981 An Introduction to Plato’s Republic Oxford: Clarendon Press Anzieu, Didier 1966 “Oedipe avant le complexe ou de l’interpretation psychanalytique des mythes.” Les Temps Modernes, 245 (October): 675–715 Beer, Josh 2004 Sophocles and the Tragedy of Athenian Democracy Westport, CT: Praeger Benardete, 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Rorty, Richard 1989 Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ——— 1991 Objectivity, Relativism, and Truth Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ruderman, Richard S 1999 “Odysseus and the Possibility of Enlightenment.” American Journal of Political Science, 43: 138–61 Salkever, Stephen 1986 “Tragedy and the Education of the Demos: Aristotle’s Response to Plato.” In Greek Tragedy and Political Theory Ed J Peter Euben Berkeley: University of California Press, pp 274–304 Saxonhouse, Arlene 1986 “From Tragedy to Hierarchy and Back Again: Women in Greek Political Thought.” American Political Science Review, 80: 403–18 ——— 1988 “The Tyranny of Reason in the World of the Polis.” American Political Science Review, 82: 1261–75 ——— 1992 Fear of Diversity: the Birth of Political Science in Ancient Greek Thought Chicago: University of Chicago Press Schwartz, Joel D 1986 “Human Action and Political Action in Oedipus Tyrannos.” In Greek Tragedy and Political Theory Ed J 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“General Introduction.” In Tragedy and the Tragic Ed M S Silk Oxford: Clarendon Press pp 1–11 Silk, M S., and Stern, J P 1981 Nietzsche on Tragedy New York: Cambridge University Press Slatkin, Laura 1986 “Oedipus at Colonus: Exile and Integration.” In Greek Tragedy and Political Theory Ed J Peter Euben Berkeley: University of California Press, pp 210–21 Sophocles 1966 The Oedipus Tyrannus Ed Richard C Jebb Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ——— 1975 Fabulae Ed A C Pearson Oxford: Oxford University Press Strauss, Leo 1953 Natural Right and History Chicago: University of Chicago Press Tessitore, Aristide 2003 “Justice, Politics, and Piety in Sophocles’ Philoctetes,” Review of Politics, vol 65: 61–88 Tocqueville, Alexis de 2000 Democracy in America Trans Harvey C Mansfield and Delba Winthrop Chicago: University of Chicago Press Tyrrell, Wm Blake, and Bennett, Larry J 1998 Recapturing Sophocles’ Antigone Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Van Nortwick, Thomas 1998 Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life Norman: University of Oklahoma Press Vellacott, Philip 1971 Sophocles and Oedipus: A Study of the Oedipus Tyrannos New York: Macmillan Vernant, Jean-Pierre, and Vidal-Naquet, Pierre 1988 Myth and Tragedy in Ancient Greece Trans Janet Lloyd Brooklyn, NY: Zone Books Waldock, Arthur 1966 Sophocles the Dramatist Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Bibliography 185 Walker, Henry J 1995 Theseus and Athens Oxford: Oxford University Press Whitman, Cedric H 1971 Sophocles: A Study of Heroic Humanism Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Wilson, Joseph P 1997 The Hero and the City: An Interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press Winnington-Ingram, R P 1980 Sophocles: An Interpretation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wohl, Victoria 2002 Love Among the Ruins: The Erotics of Democracy in Classical Athens Princeton: Princeton University Press Zeitlin, Froma 1986 “Thebes: Theater of Self and Society in Athenian Drama.” In Greek Tragedy and Political Theory Ed J Peter Euben Berkeley: University of California Press, pp 101–41 Index Adams, S M., 49, 65, 67, 70, 75, 83 Aeschylus, 2, 152 Ahrensdorf, Peter J., 167 Annas, Julia, 151 Antigone (see also Sophocles) Antigone and Creon, 90–3, 96, 97–8, 115, 120–6, 146–7 and divine law, 101–2, 120–1, 126–7, 128–32, 134, 131 and Haemon, 91, 113, 133–4 Hegel on, 107, 115 and her family, 86–7, 96–7, 110–12, 122–6, 127–33 heroism of, 90–3, 98–9, 101, 104, 149 and Ismene, 98–100, 105–10, 112–13 piety of, 85–7, 100–1, 104–5, 108–10, 120–2, 128, 134 and Sophocles, 150 and Thebes, 121, 126 understanding of justice, 96–7, 111–12, 120–32 burial of the dead, 101–4, 146–7 Creon and the chorus, 114 and divine law, 114, 115–16, 120, 134–6, 146–7 Goethe on, 88 and Haemon, 125, 135–46 Hegel on, 115 and his family, 114, 135–8, 140–6 piety of, 87–8, 122, 144–8 and Teiresias, 89, 145–7 and Thebes, 87–8, 116–20, 136–41 understanding of justice, 115–20, 122–4, 134–46 Daring (tolma), 93–6, 104 Eros, 95, 97, 113, 133, 143–4 gods in, 85–90 Goethe on lines 904–920, 131 Ismene and Antigone (see Antigone and Ismene) and Socrates, 106, 113 second choral ode (on man), 93–6 Heidegger on, 93, 95 anti-rationalism (see also Piety) of Oedipus, in Oedipus at Colonus, 54–5, 56–7, 68–9, 72–3, 82–3 187 188 anti-rationalism (cont.) of Sophocles, according to Nietzsche, 1–6, 14, 82–3 Anzieu, Didier, 97 Aristophanes, 62 Aristotle, 7, 8, 153, 170, 177 Nicomachean Ethics, 64, 165, 174 Poetics, 48, 169 on error (hamartia), 174–6, 177 on purgation (catharsis) of pity and fear, 169, 170–4, 176–7 on tragedy and philosophy, 168–78 on tragedy and piety, 171 Politics, 173 Rhetoric, 66, 71, 131, 139, 171 Nietzsche on, 155 Beer, Josh, 49, 54, 77, 83 Benardete, Seth, 5, 10, 12, 18, 22, 39, 89, 98, 100, 109, 125 Bible Exodus, 62 I Samuel, 104 blindness of Oedipus, 50–5 Bloom, Allan, 152 Bloom, Harold, 5, 25 Bolotin, David, 6, 160 Bowra, C M., 49, 65, 67, 70, 73, 77, 82, 83 burial of the dead, 101–4, 146–7 Index Davis, Michael, 170 Diodorus Siculus, 5, 54, 101 Diogenes Laertius, 171 divine law (see also gods; piety) and Antigone, 101–2, 120–1, 126–7, 128–32, 134 and Creon, 114, 115–16, 120, 134–6, 146–7 Dodds, E R., 6, 13, 34, 38, 45 Edmunds, Lowell, 51, 61 Ehrenberg, Victor, 6, 22, 88, 93 Enlightenment liberalism, 1, 83 eros, 95, 97, 113, 133, 143–4 error (hamartia), 174–6, 177 Euben, J Peter, 6, 151 Euripides, 152 The Phoenecian Women, 11 Suppliants, 101, 102 Calme, Claude, 54 Carter, D M., 115, 140 Catharsis (see Aristotle; purgation) family (see also incest and patricide) and Antigone (see also Antigone; Antigone and Ismene) 86–7, 96–7, 110–12, 122–6, 127–33 and Creon (see also Antigone; Creon and Haemon) 114–15, 135–8, 140–6 and Oedipus (see also Oedipus the Tyrant; Oedipus and Jocasta) 13, 30–8, 39–42 Foley, Helene P., 131 Freud, Sigmund, 33 Fukuyama, Francis, Fustel de Coulanges, Numa Denis, 101, 102 Dannhauser, Werner J., Daring (tolma), 93–6, 104 gods (see also divine law; piety; Teiresias) 189 Index in Antigone, 85–90 in Oedipus at Colonus, 48–58, 73, 79–81 in Oedipus the Tyrant, 14–18, 19–23 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 115 on Antigone, lines 904–920, 131 on Creon, 88 Gould, Thomas, 6, 22 Grene, David, 49, 56, 61, 67, 68, 70, 79 Griffith, Mark, 74, 97, 143 Halliwell, Stephen, 151, 157, 161, 167, 170, 171, 172–3, 175, 177 Hamartia (see error) Hegel, Georg, 88 on Antigone, 107, 115 on Creon, 115 Heidegger, Martin, on Nietzsche and tragedy, 152, 156 on Oedipus, 25 on second choral ode (on man) in Antigone, 93, 95 on tragedy, 155 heroism of Antigone, 90–3, 98–9, 101, 104, 149 of Oedipus, 15 of Theseus, 82–3 Hesiod, 171 Homer, 171, 175 Iliad, 22, 37, 75, 90, 101, 102, 127, 157, 159, 172 Odyssey, 37, 127, 157, 160–1, 177 in Plato, 151, 152–3, 157–63, 168 incest and patricide in Oedipus at Colonus, 58–9, 60–3, 66 in Oedipus the Tyrant, 9–10, 13–14, 21–2, 28, 30–43 Isocrates, Jebb, Richard C., 42, 56, 61, 71, 77, 86–7, 93, 107–8, 125, 131 Johnson, P J., 74, 97 justice Antigone’s understanding of, 96–7, 111–12, 120–32 Creon’s understanding of, 115–20, 122–4, 134–46 Kaufmann, Walter, 49, 73 Kitto, H D F., 13 Konstan, David, 173–4 Knox, Bernard, 5, 9, 18, 22, 49, 50, 54, 56, 82, 83, 86, 88, 91, 93, 97, 100, 106, 120, 131, 135, 136, 140, 142, 149 Lacan, Jacques, 97, 115, 146, 171 Lane, Warren J and Ann M., 113 Lattimore, Richard, 6, 12, 16, 22 law (see divine law; tyranny of Oedipus) Lear, Jonathan, 151, 169, 171, 176, 177 Locke, John, Lord, Carnes, 171, 173, 175 Meier, Christian, 115, 136, 140 Mills, Sophie, 49, 67, 70, 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 83 190 modern political rationalism, 1–2, 83–4 Mogyorodi, Emese, 113 Montaigne, Michel de, 101 Naddaff, Ramona A., 151, 157 Nietzsche, Friedrich, 3, 5, 7, 8, 156, 168, 172 on Aristotle, 155 on Oedipus, 3–4, 82–3 on Socrates, 2–3 on Sophocles’ anti-rationalism, 1–6, 14, 82–3 on tragedy and philosophy, 1–3, 151–2, 153–7 Nussbaum, Martha, 14, 93, 95, 118–19, 120, 136, 142, 143, 151, 159, 164, 170, 171, 175, 176 O’Brien, Michael J., 45 ode on man (second choral ode) in Antigone, 93–6 Heidegger on, 93, 95 Oedipus at Colonus (see also Sophocles) Creon and Thebes, 67, 75–6 gods in, 48–58, 73, 79–81 Oedipus anger of, 66, 69–75, 82–3 anti-rationalism of, 54–5, 56–7, 68–9, 72–3, 82–3 blindness of Oedipus, 50–5 Nietzsche on, 3–4, 82–3 piety of, 53–8, 59–60, 64–5, 66–9, 71–3, 82–3 Sophocles and, 82–4 suffering of, 50–1, 60–1, 64–8 and Teiresias, 53–4 Index and Oedipus the Tyrant, 48–50 patricide and incest, 58–9, 60–3, 66 piety of Athenians, 79–80, 81–2 Theseus heroism of, 82–3 political rationalism of, 75–7, 80–3 and Teiresias, 80 Oedipus the Tyrant (see also Sophocles) gods in, 14–18, 19–23 incest and patricide, 9–10, 13–14, 21–2, 28, 30–43 Oedipus and his family, 13, 30–8, 39–42 Heidegger on, 25 heroism of, 15 and Jocasta, 14, 24–5, 35–8, 40–1 Nietzsche on, 3–4 piety of, 14–15, 19–25, 27, 32, 43–6 political rationalism of, 16–19, 45–6, 52–3 Sophocles and, 45–7 and Teiresias, 16–17, 20–2, 27–9, 39–40, 51–3 and Thebes, 10–12, 18, 23–4, 25–30, 34–5 tyranny of, 9–13, 15–19 and Oedipus at Colonus, 48–50 riddle of the Sphinx, 4–5, 15–16, 52–3, 54 Second Messenger, 42 Opstelten, J C 67, 77, 83 Ormand, Kirk, 22, 40, 131, 138 Index patricide (see incest and patricide) philosophy (see tragedy and philosophy) piety (see also anti-rationalism; divine law; gods; Teiresias) and tragedy in Aristotle’s Poetics, 171 in Plato’s Republic, 160–2 of Antigone, 85–7, 100–1, 104–5, 108–10, 120–2, 128, 134 of Athenians, 79–80, 81–2 of Creon, 87–8, 122, 144–8 of Oedipus in Oedipus at Colonus, 53–8, 59–60, 64–5, 66–9, 71–3, 82–3 in Oedipus the Tyrant, 14–15, 19–25, 27, 32, 43–6 Plato (see also Socrates), 151 Apology of Socrates, 102, 152, 153, 166 Cratylus, 151 Crito, 62 Laws, 10, 62, 64, 102 Meno, 64 Phaedo, 102, 165, 167 Republic, 10, 151, 152, 159, 164 on tragedy and philosophy, 152–3, 156–68 on tragedy and piety, 160–2 Symposium, 167 Nietzsche on, 153 Plutarch, 15, 75, 77 political rationalism (see also rationalism of Sophocles) modern, 1–2, 83–4 of Oedipus, 16–19, 45–6, 52–3 of Theseus, 75–7, 80–3 Protagoras, 175 191 purgation (catharsis) of pity and fear, 169, 170–4, 176–7 Racine, Jean, rationalism of Sophocles, 6–8, 45–7, 77, 82–4, 148–50, 178 Rehm, Rush, 22 Reinhardt, Karl, 6, 17, 49, 61, 67, 68, 70, 74, 75, 76, 82, 83, 85, 91, 93, 131, 140 riddle of the Sphinx, 4–5, 15–16, 52–3, 54 Rocco, Christopher, 5, 6, 16, 22, 25, 45, 54 Rorty, Richard, Ruderman, Richard S., 46, 71 Salkever, Stephen, 169–70 Saxonhouse, Arlene, 6, 7, 15, 33, 46, 96, 98, 104, 133, 143 Schwartz, Joel D., Scodel, Ruth, 77, 83 Segal, Charles, 4, 5, 6, 22, 49, 50, 54, 56, 67, 68, 70, 81, 83, 88, 94–5, 96, 104, 109, 125, 143, 145, 147, 172 Shakespeare, William Henry IV, Parts One and Two, 33 Tempest, 167 Silk, M S., 3, Slatkin, Laura, 59, 57, 75 Socrates (see also Plato) 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 102, 106, 113, 151–2, 153, 157, 160, 164, 170 and Ismene, 106, 113 and Sophocles, 1–4, 6–8, 178 Nietzsche on, 2–3 on tragedy and philosophy, 151–2, 156–68 192 Sophocles (see also Antigone; Oedipus at Colonus; Oedipus the Tyrant) Ajax, 20, 21, 55, 37, 101, 102 and Antigone, 150 and Oedipus, 45–7, 82–4 Philoctetes, 15, 21 rationalism of, 6–8, 45–7, 77, 82–4, 148–50, 178 and Second Messenger in Oedipus the Tyrant, 42 and Socrates, 1–4, 6–8, 178 and Theseus, 77 Trachinian Women, 15, 62 Sphinx (see riddle of the Sphinx) Stern, J P., Strauss, Leo, 166 suffering of Oedipus, 50–1, 60–1, 64–8 Teiresias and Creon, 89, 145–7 and Oedipus, 16–17, 20–2, 27–9, 39–40, 51–4 and Theseus, 80 Tessitore, Aristide, Thebes and Creon in Antigone, 87–8, 116–20, 136–41 in Oedipus at Colonus, 67, 75–6 and Oedipus, 10–12, 18, 23–4, 25–30, 34–5 Thucydides, 4, 7, 9, 22, 66, 77, 63 Tocqueville, Alexis de, tragedy and philosophy in Aristotle’s Poetics, 168–78 in Plato’s Republic, 152–3, 156–68 Index Nietzsche on, 1–3, 151–2, 153–7 Socrates on, 151–2, 156–68 tragedy and piety (see piety and tragedy) tyranny of Oedipus, 9–13, 15–19 Tyrrell, Wm Blake, and Larry J Bennett, 87, 92, 108, 109, 115, 125, 131 Van Nortwick, Thomas, 16, 54 Vellacott, Philip, 12, 13, 21 Vernant, Jean-Pierre, 5, 6, 12, 33, 41, 54, 76, 88, 97, 142 Vidal-Naquet, Pierre, 5, 6, 12, 33, 41, 54, 76, 88, 97, 142 Waldcock, Arthur, 6, 14, 49, 83 Walker, Henry J., 77, 79, 83 Whitman, Cedric, 6, 12, 22, 49, 53, 64, 67, 68, 70, 76, 77, 81, 83 Wilson, Joseph P., 5, 6, 13, 16, 49, 51, 56, 61, 68, 73, 74, 81, 82 Winnington-Ingram, R P., 49, 50, 56, 57, 62, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 82, 87, 90, 98, 110, 115, 131 Wohl, Victoria, 10 Xenophanes, 171 Xenophon Hellenica, 9, 101, 102 Hiero, Memorabilia, Symposium, 168 Zeitlin, Froma, 51, 81, 138