Levi-Strauss' reading of the Theban myth cycle
OVERRATING OF BLOOD RELATIONS
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UNDERRATING OF BLOOD RELATIONS | NEGATIVE VALUING OF CHTHONIC BIRTH | POSITIVE VALUING OF CHTHONIC BIRTH |
KADMOS SEEKS SISTER
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| KADMOS KILLS THE DRAGON |
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SPARTOI KILL EACH OTHER
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| | LABDACUS = "LAME" |
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OEDIPUS KILLS HIS FATHER LAIUS
| | LAIUS = "LEFT-SIDED" |
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| OEDIPUS KILLS SPHINX |
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| | OEDIPUS = "SWOLLEN FOOT" |
OEDIPUS MARRIES HIS MOTHER JOCASTA
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ETEOCLES AND POLYNICES KILL EACH OTHER
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ANTIGONE BURIES HER
BROTHER DESPITE PROHIBITION
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| narrative
telling of the story: chronology is top to bottom; left to right
structuralist understanding of the story: two columns of polarity
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