The Epistemological Shift in Ancient Greece and the Political Semantics of Oedipus Tyrannos

Abstract

This article examines Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus Tyrannos as a critical reflection of a profound epistemological and political transformation in Ancient Greece. Dodds redefines Oedipus' tragic flaw (hamartia) not as a moral failing, but as an intellectual error—an act committed in ignorance. Advancing the line of thought opened by Dodds, the play emerges not merely as a story of individual downfall, but also as a text that signals a historical rupture in the foundations, production, and circulation of legitimate knowledge. I analyze this rupture along three main axes: the transition from tyranny to democracy; the shifts and semantic conflicts in the terms of sovereignty (anax, basileus, tyrannos); and the transformation of witnessing from a position tied to the sacred into a form of civic inquiry. The play is read as a crossroads-text that stages the dissolution of an archaic-heroic model of knowledge-power in the face of the polyphonic public sphere of Athenian democracy.

Keywords

• Epistemological Shift
• Political Semantics
• Oedipus Tyrannos
• Hamartia
• Tyranny
• Athenian Democracy

Antik Yunan’da Epistemolojik Kayma ve Oedipus Tyrannos’un Politik Semantiği

Abstract

Bu makale, Sophokles'in Oedipus Tyrannos tragedyasını, Antik Yunan’da yaşanan köklü bir epistemolojik ve politik dönüşümün kritik bir yansıması olarak ele almaktadır. Dodds, Oedipus’un trajik kusurunu (hamartia) ahlaki bir kusur olarak değil, entelektüel bir hata, kimi şeyleri bilmeden yapma olarak tanımlamaktadır. Dodds’un açtığı çizgi ilerletilince Oedipus Tyrannos oyunu, sadece bireysel bir düşüş hikayesi olarak değil, aynı zamanda bilginin meşruiyet temelleri, üretimi ve dolaşımındaki tarihsel bir kırılmaya işaret eden bir metin olarak da belirmektedir. Bu kırılmayı üç ana eksende inceliyorum: Tiranlıktan demokrasiye geçiş; egemenlik terimlerindeki (anax, basileus, tyrannos) kaymalar ve anlam çatışmaları ve tanıklığın kutsalla özel bir ilişki konumundan uzaklaşarak sivil soruşturma biçimini alması. Oyun, arkaik-kahramanca bir bilgi-iktidar modelinin, Atina demokrasisinin çoksesli kamusal alanı karşısında çözülüşünü sahneleyen bir kavşak-metin olarak okunmaktadır

Keywords

• Epistemolojik Kayma
• Politik Semantik
• Oedipus Tyrannos
• Hamartia
• Tiranlık
• Atina Demokrasisi

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