Topography and the representation of memory in Oedipus Tyrannos: the mountain, the road and the house

Oedipus Tyrannos centres upon a series of revelations, as Oedipus seeks to heal the land of Thebes from the plague and barrenness that ravages it. By attempting to discover who murdered Laius, the previous ruler of Thebes, Oedipus uncovers his own identity and the truth about his incestuous relationship with his mother. This discovery is played out as a series of journeys encompassing Corinth, Delphi, Thebes, and Mount Cithaeron. It is in the landscape of these places that, gradually, fragments of Oedipus’ memory are revealed to have been embedded. 

In the beginning of the play, Oedipus focuses single-mindedly on where events happened, as he attempts to retrace a ‘track’. It is as if he imagines the land to be able to ‘remember’ Laius’ murder, perhaps unconsciously suggesting that the land ‘responds’ to the actions of humans. However, as the ‘track’ is ‘hard to make out’, it can also be linked to Oedipus’ own psyche. The ‘track’ that Oedipus wishes to make out in fact encompasses the memories of his own past. 

Ancient Greek theatre, like most mythical narratives, often casts time onto physical space. The most poignant image of Oedipus’ past which is reflected in the topography of this play is Mount Cithaeron. The physical symbol of a mountain, which was understood to have been formed in the beginnings of the cosmos, is the perfect metaphor for the past. Due to its height and presence, Mount Cithaeron towers over the city, just like Oedipus has (unknowingly) crushed Thebes through his actions. 

Throughout the play, there are continuous references to the ‘three roads’, a highly significant meeting-point of places from Oedipus’ past. Each ‘road’ represents a decision that Oedipus made at some point in his past, which was a turning point in his life. The first road evokes Oedipus’ banishment as a baby from the house of Laius and the ‘civilised’ world of Thebes. The second road signifies Oedipus’ upbringing in Corinth, once he was taken there from Mount Cithaeron as a foundling and was adopted by king Polybus and his wife Merope. The final road symbolises the oracular prophecies that were produced at the Delphic oracle. It was these that foretold Oedipus’ destiny, thus forcing him to leave Corinth and finally return to Thebes. The ‘three roads’ could be construed as an allusion to the ‘track’ which Oedipus was first trying to pinpoint. 

In Greek mythic imagination, mountains were imagined as wild and uncultivated, often embodying the polar antithesis of the polis. There, the normal societal rules no longer applied. Mountains accepted the unwanted subjects of the polis, including undesirable children. Oedipus’ name, which literally means ‘swellfoot’, is a reference to his own rejection as an infant upon his birth on account of the oracle by Apollo. It is a constant reminder for the audience of how Laius ‘fastened his ankles’ as if Oedipus were an animal. The wound might have even caused the character to limp and therefore, could have been a physical representation of his flawed existence. Shockingly, in her description of Oedipus’ abandonment as a baby, Jocasta does not show any maternal feelings toward her infant son. Instead, she emphasises the briefness of the time Oedipus spent within the house: he was only kept there for ‘three days’. Oedipus was not nurtured within the civilised space of the house, but threw away on the mountain; the primal forces that inhabit the mountain are thus inherent in Oedipus from his earliest days. Later in the play, Mount Cithaeron is referred to as Oedipus’ ‘mother’ and is implied therefore to be the substitute for Jocasta. This may suggest that Oedipus has inherited the wild nature of the mountain which so early on in his life became his surrogate ‘mother’. 

The life-turning event which occurred on the ‘three roads’ was the death of Laius. In the long monologue where Oedipus explains to Jocasta his memories from that fatal encounter, the hero is shown to finally remember his past. Once again, topography plays a major role here: the ‘hidden glade’, to which Oedipus refers at the end of the play, is a representation of how his past was both hidden and in plain sight, like the open path hidden by the trees. It thus demonstrates how the memory of the killing was suppressed within the recesses of the hero’s mind. 

O three roads, hidden glade, coppice and narrow path where three ways meet, ways that drank my own, my father’s blood shed by my hands, do you still remember what deeds you saw me do and what deeds I did when I came here? (OT 1398- 1403, trans. Lloyd-Jones) 

Furthermore, Oedipus’ narration has a supernatural element as the earth is portrayed as a monster who ‘drank’ the blood of his father. The common image of the earth being nourished by life-giving water has been subverted, as the ground has instead become defiled by blood which caused the earth to respond violently. The description of the murder of Laius causes the audience to realise that the plague and barren landscape of Thebes are indeed associated with the earth’s response to Oedipus’ violation of the natural order. The fertile properties of the earth have subsequently changed to reflect the violence that Oedipus has committed: by sowing the blood of his father in the earth and by sleeping with his mother, Oedipus has brought about death. By recreating the journey that he made in the past, Oedipus is able to connect his own abandonment to the death of his father, as the ‘three roads’ and the locations that these roads join together constitute the backdrop for both events. The ‘track’ that Oedipus was initially seeking has now been displayed as ‘three roads’, all of which lead back to him. The audience can understand that the earth does indeed ‘remember’ the deeds of the past. Nevertheless, the journey does not end at the ‘three roads’. In order to completely retrace the voyage, one must return to the house. It is the house which harbours the worst crime Oedipus has committed, the sexual relationship with his mother. The connection between mountain and house is first made by Tiresias, when he is forced to prophecy the downfall of Oedipus. Tiresias merges the past and the future together in his description of Mount Cithaeron. In a famous, heart- wrenching passage, Teiresias’ language emphasises the ‘hollows’ and cavities on the mountainside, which connote images of the female body and Jocasta’s womb: There is no anchorage, no hollow of Cithaeron’s mountainside, that shall not resonate in echo to your cry, once you have learned about your marriagesong, and what a treacherous harbour-home you entered in full sail, thinking your voyage fair. (OT 420-5, trans. Taplin) Jocasta’s womb is pivotal to the storyline, as it is what brought Oedipus into the world and what subsequently was defiled by Oedipus, leading to his downfall. The feminine images along with the ‘cry’ that Oedipus is said to give out evoke his despair at the end of the play, when, upon realising that he has slept with his mother, he demands to be exiled to the mountain. The ‘marriage-song’ that Teiresias spoke about was, after all, a song of lamentation, and a reflection of their unnatural marriage. This image of the wild mountain culminates in the major crime of Oedipus as he has found himself to have gone, unknowingly, horrifically against nature. The crime of incest is also described in the agricultural images of the play, with his children referred to as ‘misbegotten crops’ and ‘double crops’. The images of infected nature and flawed growth highlight how Oedipus’ incestuous relationship has caused the earth to react violently. Oedipus, after the revelation that he killed his father and had incestuous relations with his mother, can at the end of the play remember and recognise that his actions have indeed caused the earth to respond violently. However, with this discovery, devastating as it is, Thebes has the potential to heal. As the play draws to a close, Oedipus expresses his wish to retreat to Mount Cithaeron, the only space that he feels is appropriate for his unspeakable deeds. In conclusion, understanding the topography of Oedipus Tyrannus is highly significant for appreciating this play. Oedipus’ past, engraved on the landscape, has always been there waiting for him to remember it. Sophocles represents the land as having been indelibly marked by the past. It is only once Oedipus retraces and reconnects these significant places with one another, that he can learn of his past and his identity. * Amy Rutherford is a Classical Civilisation Finalist. She wrote this piece as part of her coursework for the ‘Space and Place in Ancient Greek literature and thought’ honours module.