Dissertation Title:
Male Homoeros, the ��dipus Complex, and the ��dipus Myth
Candidate:
Michael Comlish
Date, Time & Place:
May 1, 2021 at 9:30 am
Virtual
Abstract
This hermeneutic study reconsiders the ��dipus complex in relation to the extended ��dipus myth, which contains homoerotic themes that Sophocles did not include in the Greek tragedy that inspired Freud. Another aim of this study is to understand and reaffirm male homoeros from a depth psychological perspective, which entails an examination of male homoeros in ancient Greek culture and myth. Freud���s revolutionary theories of sexuality are explored, particularly regarding male homosexuality and the ��dipus complex, followed by an examination of how later psychoanalytic theorists constructed the pathological male homosexual in reaction to Freud���s ��dipal theory. The study then explicates the extended ��dipus myth, emphasizing La簿us���s abduction of Chrysippus, and proposes that the extended ��dipus myth might allow for a new conceptualization of the ��dipus complex that affirms same-sex erotic orientations as natural variations of human sexuality. Finally, archetypal psychology is utilized to amplify themes found in the extended ��dipus myth, in order to demonstrate how they might serve as metaphors in working psychotherapeutically with men of all sexual orientations.
- Program/Track/Year: Clinical Psychology, A, 2014
- Chair: Dr. Christine Downing
- Reader: Dr. Douglas Thomas
- External Reader: Robert Hopcke
- Keywords: Oedipus Complex, Greek Mythology, ��dipus Myth, Male Homosexuality, Depth Psychology, Freud, Psychoanalysis, Jung, Archetypal Psychology
