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On the Death of Jocasta.

Summary/Abstract: Jocasta's suicide and Oedipus' self-blinding are the subjects of the second messenger-speech in the Oedipus Tyrannus (vv. 1222-1296). This messenger belongs to the royal palace, but his exact position will never be clarified: he is as anonymous as a messenger must be in a Greek tragedy and neither his past nor his future will deserve attention in the play. He is one of the eye-witnesses of the queen's death, and some interesting inconsistencies in his report invite closer inspection. The essay tries to state in his speech what the messenger seems to have heard and seen with his own eyes. The reactions of Oedipus entering the palace and the scene when he finds his wife dead will change the focus of his report: in the light of the extremely naturalistic details of Oedipus' self-blinding he will totally forget the Jocasta-story, leaving some important details unexplained.

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