I suppose howver that the exposure story is not central to the understanding
of the play so much as it being what Hitchcok used to refer to as a
McGuffin, or some theatrical device to hang a plot on.
I suppose we could examine the notion of naming people after physical
characteristics wherin Oedipus would be translated as "the gimp"
Notions of blindness too were different in ancient greece where spectacles
had not been invented.
It is certainly true that the Fascists of Italy and Germany looked back to
classical ideals, which are apparant in there architecture as much as
anywhere else.
Interesting that in the 30's the eugenics movement elsewhere co-incided with
this neo claccisism too.
As for another abiding legacy of the Greeks there is the whole of medical
terminology which in modern usage isolates a thing from the person by giving
it a name seperate from common understanding or usage, for instance
Iatrogenic, for something caused by an incompetent doctor.
Laurentius.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of keith armstrong
> Sent: 12 August 2002 02:20
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Oedipus?
>
>
> Dear Michael,
>
> Thank you for your helpful comments.
>
> There were a number of reasons for 'exposure', infants were a
> risk if they were born out of rape, if they were female, the
> result of slavery or at a time of famine; throughout Greece and
> Rome, until Augustus's edict. However, it was only in Sparta,
> where the killing of disabled infants was a legal requirement.
>
> There are a number of mythological stories referring to
> 'exposure', Oedipus requires detailed research in itself because
> the story lends itself to so many interpretations. However,
> there are parallels with the killing of disabled children in Nazi
> Germany (which ended on the 29th of May, 1945). Nazi 'ideals', T4
> was certainly a pseudo pseudo Spartan idea.
>
> Keith
>
>
>
> On Mon, 12 Aug 2002 07:49:31 +1000
> Michael Bleasdale <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Dear Keith,
> >
> > It's a good twenty years since I studied Greek at university,
> so I am certainly not aware of any textual criticism that
> approaches the play from a purely disability perspective. Your
> reading of the text is correct - it does deal with the return of
> an "exposed" infant, a practice that has been identified by
> disability studies scholars as a method of disposal of those who
> had impairments. Taking on board Larry's concern about out
> ability to adequately perceive the mindset of those who lived in
> ancient Athens, I still believe that the play would beneift from
> being critiqued from a disability perspective. The political
> dimension, particularly the division amongst city states at that
> time (often overlooked by scholars who tend to relate to "Ancient
> Greece" as somehow culturally homogeneous) must also be
> addressed, and perhaps the question asked about whether there was
> some serious questioning of the practice of "exposure" on the
> basis of impairment (although used here to avoi!
> d the fulfillment of a prophecy) on the part of Athens as opposed
> to, say, the more militaristic Sparta, amongst other things.
> >
> > Good luck with the quest. If I come across anything I will let
> you know.
> >
> > Michael Bleasdale
>
> --
> Have you been to:
>
> < http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Absolutely_Visual >
>
> < http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BeforeAscii_ART >
>
> < http://groups.yahoo.com/group/disabilitystudies >
>
> < http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Art_in_Context >
>
> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecurrentwar/>
>
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