She-Sphinx

Last week, we went to West Wycombe Park, where there are a number of monuments and statues inspired by Greek mythology. As I am a Greek mythology buff and this is a time of year when I like to revisit Greek myths, I was quite excited. There were among the statues this she-sphinx, paired with another she-sphinx at the foot of a staircase. Now you may think that making the sphinx female was a mere flight of fancy, but in the myth of Oedipus, the sphinx who gives riddles to the future king of Thebes is actually depicted as female. So this statue is accurate to the myth. It also depicts the sphinx as it should, showing both femininity and menace.

The Sphinx

I took this picture in Derbyshire. I can bet it represents the Sphinx. The Greek monster, with his face mixing leonid and human features. The Sphinx from the myth of Oedipus, who gave a riddle to the hero that made him dictator of Thebes and also thus sealed his doom. I am blogging about it today because I am slowly getting into an Easter mood, as we see more and more displays of Easter in the shops. And I associate Easter with Greek mythology (see this post). I want to go back to it this year and re explore the myth of Oedipus.

Le Sphinx

Je fais encore une fois dans la mythologie grecque sur Vraie Fiction. Cette photo a été prise dans le Derbyshire. Je crois sans craindre de me tromper que c'est le Sphinx: les traits mélangent ceux du lion et de l'homme. Ça devrait être la Sphinx, et donc les traits devraient être ceux d'une femme: en grec, le nom Sphinx est féminin, on devrait dire la Sphinge. Mais c'est malgré tout une représentation intéressante de la bête.

Oedipus rocks

This is a live post. As mentioned here, I am listening to this. I am sorry if I did not have time, as I wanted, to write a reminder. I want to blog more about this. Let's just say now that I believe that it is a masterpiece. And you can listen to it again on BBC iPlayer.

Oedipus soon

Here is a quick reminder (and a plug I have already done back in November) for those who can listen to it: on the 26th of February at 21:00 there will be Anthony Burgess' adaptation of Oedipus the King on BBC Radio 3. Oedipus will be played by Christopher Eccleston. It is partially produced to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Anthony Burgess. You do not want to miss it. My favourite writer's take on the haunting Greek myth, played by a great British actor. As I said in November, it is more than a dream coming true, it is a dream so good one would not even dare to have it. So mark it on your calendar and make time to listen to it.

Oedipus with a Northern accent

Here is a cultural announcement I have been wanting to give since a few days already. It is a great piece of news I got from the Anthony Burgess Foundation: Christopher Eccleston will play Oedipus in a BBC Radio 3 production of Anthony Burgess's adaptation of the most famous play of Sophocles. More details in RadioTimes and in Manchester Evening News. Now for me this is not merely a dream coming true: it is a dream I never even dared to have. Anthony Burgess is my favourite writer and it is always great to have his work featured on stage, TV, cinema or on the radio. I love Greek mythology and I have re-discovered Greek tragedy in recent years. As for Christopher Eccleston, I have been following his career since I first saw him in Cracker. I love him as an actor. I actually thought even then that he should play in some adaptations of the work of Anthony Burgess, should they actually get produced. Both writer and actor being Northerners, I thought it would make sense, that they had similar sensibilities in their respective craft. So that is such welcomed news. So anyway, the play will be broadcast on the 26th of February 2017 for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Anthony Burgess. Watch this space for further news and mark it on the calendar. It is going to be amazing.