The prophetic role of the hero's name in the story of Oedipus

Object of the article: This study illuminates the prophetic role of the name Οἰδίπους in the Oedipus story. Subject of the article: The author focuses on the hidden meanings of the hero's name and manifestation of those meanings in the plot through foreshadowing. Proceeding from the structural and semantic similarity between the name of Oedipus and the riddle of the Sphinx, the author argues that the solution to the riddle is hidden in the hero's name. Purpose of research: The article describes the prophetic function of the name Οἰδίπους and shows how it is realized in the plot. Research methods: The author uses linguistic data (Ancient Greek) and applies a structural-semantic approach. Results: The article shows that the name of Oedipus (Οἰδίπους) contains the plot of the Oedipus story in a reduced form and foreshadows the main motifs of vision-blindness, knowledge-ignorance, crime-punishment, as well as the future actions of the hero. In an indirect way the hero's name is connected to the revenge motif, which foreshadows the act of vengeance - the self-blinding of Oedipus. Field of application: literary studies, structural poetics, classics. Conclusion: The author argues that as the story of Oedipus unfolds, it reveals the hidden meanings contained in the hero's name. The inner dynamics of the plot is based on the prophetic function of the name Οἰδίπους which foreshadows the upcoming events and actions of the hero. For their help and encouragement, I am indebted to Dan Whitman and Svetlana Gracheva.