Greek Tragedy The Land Located in Europe in the Aegean Sea

Greek Tragedy

The LandLocated in Europe in the Aegean

Sea

The Land

•Greece has thousands of

inhabited islands and dramatic mountain

ranges

The Land

The Land

The History

•Democracy was founded in Greece

• It had a patriarchal (male dominated) society

The Philosophy

•Philosophy, the art of thinking, began

in Greece (Socrates, Plato,

Aristotle)

Aristotle (342-322 BC)author of Poetics, which defined

Greek tragedy

Tragedy is a drama that recounts an important and unhappy event in the life 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 Hero

Must come from nobilityMust have a tragic flawUndergoes a reversal of fortune(fall from high place)

Finally recognizes his/her mistakes

The Unities

• A. Unity of Time (play is limited to a 24 hour period)

• B. Unity of Place (scenes/locations did not change)

• C. Unity of Action (one storyline without subplots or diversions

Purpose 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

moderation, duty, etc.• Violent acts were not permitted on stage

but were simply reported to the audience by a character

Dramatic Structure

Terms 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

The Myths– a key factor in Greek Tragedy

The Myths – Why they were written

1. Explained the unexplainable

2. Justified religious practices

3. Gave credibility to leaders

4. Gave hope

5. Polytheistic (more than one god)

6. Centered around the twelve Olympians (primary Greek gods)

To 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 Olympus

…Where the

Olympians lived.

Who are the Olympians?

The Olympians Are the 12 Main Gods

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Zeus

• King of gods• Heaven• Storms• Thunder• Lightning

Poseidon

• Zeus’s brother• King of the sea• Earthquakes• Horses

Hades

• Brother to Zeus and Poseidon

• King of the Underworld (Tartarus)

• Husband of Persephone

Ares

• God of war

Hephaestus

• God of fire• Craftspeople• Metalworkers• Artisans

Apollo

• God of the sun• Music• Poetry• Fine arts• Medicine

Hermes

• Messenger to the gods

• Trade• Commerce• Travelers• Thieves & scoundrels

Hera

• Queen of gods• Married to Zeus• Women• Marriage• Childbirth

Demeter

• Goddess of Harvest• Agriculture• Fertility• Fruitfulness• Mom to Persephone

Hestia

• Goddess of Hearth• Home• Community

Athena

• Goddess of wisdom• Practical arts• War

Aphrodite

• Goddess of love and beauty

Artemis

• Goddess of hunting and the moon.

Dionysus- a minor god

•God of Wine and

Partying (Revelry)Dionysus

Dionysian Festival

• Greek plays were performed during religious ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus and sacrifices were made

(generally on stage )

The Theater

• Business would shut down for days, people would

travel from all around to see the drama competitions—

even prisoners were temporarily released to see

the plays

The Theater

•Tragedy means “goat song” (related to

Dionysian rituals)

The Theater

The TheaterSix Main Portions of

Greek Theater:

Theatron – Seating

for audience

The TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:

Orchestra – “Dancing

Place” where

chorus sang to the

audience

The TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:

Thymele – altar to

Dionysus in center of orchestra

where sacrifices were made

The TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:

Skene – wooden scene

building used as a dressing room.

The TheaterSix Main Portions of Greek Theater:

Parados – entrance

to the theater used by

the Chorus

The Theater

Where and how were the dramas performed?

…In an amphitheatre

Where and how were the dramas performed?

…With a chorus who described most of the action.

Where and how were the dramas performed?

……With masks

The Stage

The Playwrights• Thespis was the

first playwright to tell a story. He had one chorus member step away from the others to play the part of a hero or god.

How were the dramas developed?

Aeschylus added a second individual

actor to the performance, thus

creating the possibility of

conflict.

How were the dramas developed?

•Sophocles adds a third actor; now

we have full-blown drama.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Set in Thebes (a 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 Oedipus

• Oedipus is given away by his parents, Laios and 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 a message from the gods

to mortals who brought their requests.

The Oracle at Delphi

Most famous oracle in Greek mythology.

Sophocles’ Antigone

• Oedipus learns of the oracle and believing the king and queen of Corinth are his

parents, he leaves to avoid the oracle.

Sophocles’ Antigone•Oedipus travels to Thebes, killing Laios on the way. He saves the city

from a terrible monster, the

Sphinx.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Thebes rewards him by making him king and giving him the

queen to marry.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•A plague hits the city and the oracle warns that it won’t go away until the killer of King Laios is

punished.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Oedipus investigates and finds out he killed

his father and married his mother.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Oedipus blinds

himself and Jocasta kills

herself.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Antigone is the daughter of

Oedipus and Jocasta.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Antigone’s brothers, Eteokles and

Polyneces, were to rule in alternate years.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Eteokles refused to give up the throne for Polyneces at the

end of his year.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Polyneces went to Argos and raised an army to gain

the throne.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Eteokles and Polyneces killed

each other in battle.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Antigone’s uncle, Creon, became king of Thebes.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Creon, gives Eteokles, his ally, a hero’s burial and issues a decree

against burying Polyneces.

Sophocles’ Antigone

•Antigone believes that he is wrong and that both of her brothers

should be buried with honor.

Ancient 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

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’ Antigone

The play is based on three major conflicts

• Human law vs. God’s law• Civic Duty vs. Family Duty

• Man’s role vs. Woman’s role