Oedipus and the Sphinx Oedipus and the Sphinx Oedipus and the Sphinx is an 1864 oil on canvas painting by Gustave Moreau that was first exhibited at the French "Salon" of 1864 where it was an immediate success. It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work was a fresh treatment of the established subject of the meeting between Oedipus and the Sphinx on the road to Delphi, notably portrayed at Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex. The painting depicts Oedipus meeting the Sphinx at the crossroads on his journey between Thebes and Delphi. Oedipus must answer the Sphinx's riddle correctly in order to
Representation of women in Athenian tragedy worried "about the ethical damage caused by the representation of 'womanish' emotions in tragedy." Plato unsurprisingly excludes poetry, embodied by the figure of a woman, from his ideal city-state. The Athenians however thought it important to place on "display those feature[s] of human experience that inspire terror, sorrow and rejection, and they accomplished their mission by giving women visibility and a powerful voice." Representation of women in Athenian tragedy The representation of women in Athenian tragedy was performed exclusively by men and it is likely (although the evidence is not conclusive) that it was performed solely for men as well.