2.  What is social commentary?  How are we exposed to social commentary?  How do the arts provide vehicles for social commentary?

3.  Greece’s history is one of a great adventure of the human mind.  Advocated self-knowledge  Art, science, philosophy  The passionate search for the truth began with the Greeks.

4.  Predominant role of morality  Awakening to the voice of the conscience  Justice, sobriety, selflessness, kindness, moral maturity  Never expected to be listened to

5.  Student of Socrates: taught a spirit of absolute devotion to the truth  Interest in father-son relationships  Reason and wisdom should govern  Apparent world vs unseen world

6.  Student of Plato  Saw philosophy as scientific study  Left works on logic, ethics and aesthetics  Opened broad avenues in history and science  “Natural philosophy” examined the phenomena of the natural world which today would include biology, physics and other natural sciences

7.  Deeply religious character of the Greeks  Intensely aware of their dependence on the gods  The hero of Greek tragedy often breaks the bond and feels himself to be his own master which leads to his downfall

8.  Nothing of importance was attempted without cultic sacrifice  Lived in a world pervaded by a sacred atmosphere  Viewed the sea, lightning, thunder, seasons, rivers, trees, and animals as sacred and personified them as gods

9.  Art and literature were linked to religion  These grew out of the cult of the gods  Greek sculpture displayed the gracefulness of movement – they were at home with their own bodies

10.  In the beginning there was void (chaos/emptiness), and from the void, came Earth and Eros (desire)  Disorder to order  Whereas the Hebrew God creates from nothing, the Greek god creates from void  Hebrew God created the universe: the universe created the Greek gods

11.  At its height during the 5 th Century B.C.  The great Athenian tragedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides emerged during this era  Plays based on traditional myths employing well known plots and characters

12.  Interpreted the stories to express their individual conception of man involved in the struggle to understand himself, his fate and his place in human society and the universe.

13.  Tragedy festivals were held at which the dramatists competed for prizes  Most important honored Dionysus, god of vegetation (especially the vine)  3 days; dramatists each offered 3 tragedies and a satyr play  Satyr plays were often obscene and grotesque but were meant to offer comic relief; only 2 remain

14.  A jury awarded prizes to the authors and their sponsors  Playwrights often directed and sometimes acted in their own plays  Aeschylus, father of tragedy; 7 complete tragedies survive. Yearly favorite; won 12  Sophocles 100 plays, 7 complete tragedies survive; won 18-20 1 st place prizes  Euripides only five wins

15.  Expected to fulfill an educational function  Responsible for shedding light on the dark recesses of human conscience and the mysteries and tragic side of human destiny  Showed that even great man can fall prey to tragic situations