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Greek TragedyGreek Tragedy
The LandThe Land
Located in Europe in the Aegean
Sea
The LandThe Land
•Greece has
thousands of
inhabited islands and inhabited islands and
dramatic mountain
ranges
The LandThe Land
The LandThe Land
The HistoryThe History
• Democracy was founded
in Greece
• It had a patriarchal (male
dominated) society
The PhilosophyThe Philosophy
•Philosophy, the art
of thinking, began of thinking, began
in Greece
(Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle)
Aristotle (342Aristotle (342--322 BC)322 BC)
author of author of PoeticsPoetics, which defined , which defined
Greek tragedyGreek tragedy
Tragedy is a drama that recounts an important and unhappy event in the life of a significant personlife of a significant person
A tragic hero must be a person capable of great suffering
Tragedy explores humankind’s questions of the ways of god or fate
Tragedy shows how a person is brought to disaster by a single character flaw
Tragedy arouses the emotions of pity, fear, wonder, awe, and ends with a
catharsis of emotions.
Aristotle’s Tragic HeroAristotle’s Tragic Hero
�Must come from nobility
�Must have a tragic flaw
�Undergoes a reversal of fortune(fall �Undergoes a reversal of fortune(fall
from high place)
�Finally recognizes his/her mistakes
The UnitiesThe Unities
• A. Unity of Time (play is limited to a 24 hour period)
• B. Unity of Place (scenes/locations did not • B. Unity of Place (scenes/locations did not change)
• C. Unity of Action (one storyline without subplots or diversions
Purpose of the PlaysPurpose of the Plays
• Everyone was expected to attend based on civic duty
• Plays were a form of religious worship
• They taught moral lessons such as • They taught moral lessons such as moderation, duty, etc.
• Violent acts were not permitted on stage but were simply reported to the audience by a character
Dramatic StructureDramatic Structure
Terms to KnowTerms to Know
• Catharsis- the release of pent up emotions or tension, sometimes through art or music and sometimes through behavior
• Hubris- having excessive pride or arrogance
TheThe MythsMyths–– a key a key
factor in Greek Tragedyfactor in Greek Tragedyfactor in Greek Tragedyfactor in Greek Tragedy
The Myths The Myths –– Why they were writtenWhy they were written
1. Explained the unexplainable
2. Justified religious practices
3. Gave credibility to leaders
4. Gave hope4. Gave hope
5. Polytheistic (more than one god)
6. Centered around the twelve Olympians (primary Greek gods)
To give credibility to leadersTo give credibility to leaders
The Greeks used myths
to create family trees
for their leaders,
enforcing the made-
up idea that the
emperors were
related to the gods
and were, then,
demigods.
Mount OlympusMount Olympus
…Where the
Olympians
lived.lived.
Who are the Olympians?
The Olympians Are the 12 Main The Olympians Are the 12 Main GodsGods
Temperaments o
f the
Olympians
Temperaments o
f the
Olympians
ZeusZeus
• King of gods
• Heaven
• Storms
• Thunder• Thunder
• Lightning
PoseidonPoseidon
• Zeus’s brother
• King of the sea
• Earthquakes
• Horses• Horses
HadesHades
• Brother to Zeus and
Poseidon
• King of the
Underworld (Tartarus)Underworld (Tartarus)
• Husband of
Persephone
AresAres
• God of war
HephaestusHephaestus
• God of fire
• Craftspeople
• Metalworkers
• Artisans• Artisans
ApolloApollo
• God of the sun
• Music
• Poetry
• Fine arts• Fine arts
• Medicine
HermesHermes
• Messenger to the
gods
• Trade
• Commerce• Commerce
• Travelers
• Thieves & scoundrels
HeraHera
• Queen of gods
• Married to Zeus
• Women
• Marriage• Marriage
• Childbirth
DemeterDemeter
• Goddess of Harvest
• Agriculture
• Fertility
• Fruitfulness• Fruitfulness
• Mom to Persephone
HestiaHestia
• Goddess of Hearth
• Home
• Community
AthenaAthena
• Goddess of wisdom
• Practical arts
• War
AphroditeAphrodite
• Goddess of love and
beauty
ArtemisArtemis
• Goddess of hunting
and the moon.
DionysusDionysus-- a minor goda minor god
•God of
Wine Wine
and
Partying
(Revelry)DionysusDionysus
Dionysian FestivalDionysian Festival
• Greek plays were performed
during religious ceremonies
held in honor of Dionysus held in honor of Dionysus
and sacrifices were made
(generally on stage )
The TheaterThe Theater
• Business would shut down
for days, people would
travel from all around to see travel from all around to see
the drama competitions—
even prisoners were
temporarily released to see
the plays
The TheaterThe Theater
•Tragedy means
“goat song” “goat song”
(related to
Dionysian rituals)
The TheaterThe Theater
The TheaterThe TheaterSix Main Portions of
Greek Theater:
Theatron – Seating
for audience
The TheaterThe TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:
Orchestra –“Dancing
Place” where where
chorus sang to the
audience
The TheaterThe TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:
Thymele –altar to
Dionysus in center of center of orchestra
where sacrifices were made
The TheaterThe TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:
Skene –wooden scene
building building used as a dressing
room.
The TheaterThe TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:
Parados –entrance
to the to the theater used by
the Chorus
The TheaterThe Theater
Where and how were the dramas Where and how were the dramas
performed?performed?
…In an amphitheatre
Where and how were the dramas Where and how were the dramas
performed?performed?
…With a chorus who described most of the action.
Where and how were the dramas Where and how were the dramas
performed?performed?
……With masks
The StageThe Stage
TheThe PlaywrightsPlaywrights
• Thespis was the first playwright to tell a story. He had one chorus one chorus member step away from the others to play the part of a hero or god.
How were the dramas developed?How were the dramas developed?
Aeschylus added a second individual
actor to the performance, thus performance, thus
creating the possibility of
conflict.
How were the dramas developed?How were the dramas developed?
•Sophocles
adds a third
actor; now actor; now
we have full-
blown drama.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Set in Thebes (a
city in ancient city in ancient
Greece)
Is based on the myth of
Oedipus, which all Greek
audiences would have known
well
This allowed the audience to
focus on the message being
delivered rather than the events
The Story of OedipusThe Story of Oedipus
• Oedipus is given away by
his parents, Laios and
Jocasta when they learn Jocasta when they learn
from an oracle that their son
would kill his father and
marry his mother.
• The ancient citizens of
Greece would sacrifice and
pray to an ORACLE.
• An oracle was a priest or
priestess who would send priestess who would send
a message from the gods
to mortals who brought
their requests.
The Oracle at DelphiThe Oracle at Delphi
Most famous oracle in Greek
mythology.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
• Oedipus learns of the oracle
and believing the king and
queen of Corinth are his queen of Corinth are his
parents, he leaves to avoid
the oracle.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
• Oedipus travels to Thebes, killing Laios on the way. He saves the city He saves the city
from a terrible monster, the
Sphinx.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Thebes rewards him
by making him king by making him king
and giving him the
queen to marry.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
• A plague hits the city and
the oracle warns that it
won’t go away until the won’t go away until the
killer of King Laios is
punished.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Oedipus
investigates and investigates and
finds out he killed
his father and
married his mother.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Oedipus
blinds
himself and himself and
Jocasta kills
herself.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Antigone is the
daughter of daughter of
Oedipus and
Jocasta.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Antigone’s brothers,
Eteokles and Eteokles and
Polyneces, were to
rule in alternate years.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Eteokles refused to
give up the throne give up the throne
for Polyneces at the
end of his year.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Polyneces went to
Argos and raised Argos and raised
an army to gain
the throne.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Eteokles and
Polyneces killed Polyneces killed
each other in
battle.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Antigone’s uncle,
Creon, became Creon, became
king of Thebes.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
• Creon, gives Eteokles,
his ally, a hero’s burial
and issues a decree and issues a decree
against burying
Polyneces.
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
•Antigone believes that
he is wrong and that he is wrong and that
both of her brothers
should be buried with
honor.
Ancient Greek Burial TraditionsAncient Greek Burial Traditions• 1. Bury or burn the body to keep the soul from wandering the earth
• 2. Dead are washed and dressed in fine clothing.
• 3. The mouth and eyes of the dead are shut to prevent the soul from leaving the body.
• 4. Mourners wear black and/or cut their hair.
• 5. The body is followed by a procession.
• 6. Wine was poured over the gravesite and there was a sacrifice of • 6. Wine was poured over the gravesite and there was a sacrifice of food and drink.
• 7. Flowers were laid on the gravesite.
• 8. A funeral feast was prepared.
• 9. Dead were buried in a special place called a necropolis “city of the dead”.
• 10. A coin was placed inside the dead’s mouth to pay the ferryman for a ride across the River Styx into the underworld.
• http://video.pbs.org/video/1082075672/
Sophocles’ Sophocles’ AntigoneAntigone
The play is based on three
major conflicts
• Human law vs. God’s law• Human law vs. God’s law
• Civic Duty vs. Family Duty
• Man’s role vs. Woman’s role