1. SOPHOCLES OEDIPUS REX

2. SOPHOCLES Born 497 B.C.E. Ancient Greek Playwright Member of the ruling class

3. ANCIENT GREECE Exclusionary Democracy Government Open Assembly Only 10 % of the population was eligible to participate Women, slaves and “non-citizens” were not a part of the process

4. RELIGIOUS IDEAS Greek Pantheon consisted of hundreds of deities in a complex hierarchy. The “Olympian” gods were a relatively small part of the overall scheme.

5. GREEK GODS Immortal but not all- powerful Subject to Fate and the will of other gods Free Will vs. Destiny

6. ORIGINS OF GREEK THEATER Time-line Six Century BCE Fifth Century BCE Events Thespis invented acting by stepping in from of the Chorus and performing solo. According to legend, this was recorded by Aristotle. Athens made tremendous advances in philosophy, rhetoric, literature, science architecture, and the visual arts.

7. TRAGEDIES Tragedies were performed in an annual competition as a part of the Great Dionysia Festival. Each playwright produced three tragedies and a satyr- play. All four were performed in a single day Sophocles wrote the “Thebian Plays” Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone.

8. CONVENTIONS OF THE GREEK THEATER Dramatic Irony used as a tool to build suspense Acted in daytime with minimal sets and props Actors were all male THREE UNITIES as described by Aristotle 1.Unity of time - all the action of the play took place within 24 hours, in continuous time; dialogue and the Chorus provided background information. 2.Unity of place – all so the action was limited to a single setting. 3.Unity of subject – one single main plot focused on the main character, There were no sub-plots.

9. CONVENTIONS (CONT.) Violence – due to the religious intent and dignified style, no violence was shown on stage. PURPOSE OF THE CHORUS (10 or 15 men ) 1. to present exposition and to provide commentary on the action and characters. 2. They were always on stage, and they frequently sang and danced. 3. They always had a leader who carried on a dialogue with the main characters or with the rest of the chorus. 4. set the tone

10. PURPOSE OF THE CHORUS (CONT.) 5. give background information 6. recall events of the past 7. interpret and summarize events 8. ask questions 9. offer opinions 10. give advice, if asked 11. stay objective, in the sense that it did not ever disagree with the leading character. 12. act like a jury of elders or wise men who listened to the evidence in the play and reached a moralistic conclusion at the end.

11. CHORUS’ SONG Highly formal and stylized back-and-forth movement that heightened the emotion of their performance Strophe – the first part of a choral ode or kommos, during which the chorus moves from left to right, or east to west. Antistrophe – that part of the choral ode, or kommos, that follows the strophe and during which the Chorus performs its return steps from right to left or west to east. Epode- the third part of a choral ode, following the strophe and antistrophe and completing the Chorus movement.

12. ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY 1. Peripeteia – reversal of fortune 2.Tragic hero 3. Downfall of the tragic hero 4. Hamartia - tragic flaw or character trait that will lead to the downfall 5. Hubris – excessive pride or arrogance. 6. Catharsis - purging of the audience’s emotions.