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Loxias and Phoebus in Tragedy: Convention and Violation
- American Journal of Philology
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 135, Number 1 (Whole Number 537), Spring 2014
- pp. 1-27
- 10.1353/ajp.2014.0002
- Article
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In many discussions of tragedy, the names Loxias and Phoebus are generally ignored because it is assumed that metrical demands are influencing name choice. In this article, we begin by taking the semantics of each name seriously and examine the context in which each is used in four tragedies dealing with the Oedipus story: Aeschylus’ Seven, Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus Coloneus, and Euripides’ Phoenissae. The results of this analysis suggest that these two appellations were part of a naming convention with dramatic significance for the audience and its understanding of the characters and their actions at various moments in the plays.