1. Sophocles Translated by Bernard Knox

2.  DramatistBornWrote  Aeschylus524 B.C.Seven Against Thebes  Sophocles496 B.C. Antigone Oedipus  Euripides480 B.C.Medea

3.  Lived a long happy life – a contrast to the tragedies that he wrote.  Well-to-do family  Carefree childhood  Educated  Became a distinguished public official  First Success at the age of 28  Defeated Aeschylus in annual dramatic competition  Won 24 1 st prizes over 60 years best record of any Greek playwright Lives until 90 years old!!

5.  Carved out of a stone hillside  Semicircle with steeply rising tiers of seats  Orchestra at the bottom of the semicircle where the chorus sang and danced  Open, bare stage for the actors

6.  Theban Plays  Cycle of Three Plays  Oedipus The King (2)  Oedipus at Colonus (3)  Antigone (1)  Not Performed Together  Written Over 35+ Years Apart

7.  Prologue – opening scene  Parodos – the first of the Chorus’s lyric songs  Dialogue a regular alteration of scenes  Choral odes  Exodus – concluding scene

8. Main Characters The Chorus Oedipus The King Queen Jocasta Creon Antigone & Ismene Tiresias the Seer Laius (not in play) Polybus & Merope (not in play) Oracle at Delphi (not in play)

9. Before the Play… Queen Jocasta & King Laius of Thebes  Fortold of Son’s future by Oracle  Bound child’s feet in rope  Asked servant to kill him (didn’t)  Child found and raised as King Polybus’s son  Oedipus means “Swollen Feet ”

10. Before the Play… Oedipus (Adult) Heard rumors about lineage Asks Oracle about parents Oracle tells him that he will: "Mate with [his] own mother, and shed/ With [his] own hands the blood of [his] own sire. Leaves because he did not want this to happen (believed Polybus and Merope were his parents)

11. Before the Play… On the way to Thebes Oedipus runs into Laius  Argument over right of way  Oedipus’s pride leads him to kill Laius and his men  Part of prophecy fulfilled because Laius was his biological father

12. Before the Play… Thebes blocked by Sphinx Oedipus solves riddle of the Sphinx: "What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?” Reward was Kingship and marriage to Queen Jocasta Second part of prophecy fulfilled

13. The Start of the Play Many Years Later…  Oedipus and Jacosta Have four children: Two Sons (Polynices &Eteocles) Daughters (Antigone & Ismene)  Plague in Thebes due to Laius’s death  Oedipus has vowed to find Laius’s murderer and exhile him (unaware that HE murdered Laius)

14.  The quest for identity  The nature of innocence and guilt  The nature of moral responsibility  Human will vs. fate  The abuse of power

15. Homework: Read pages 1-13