Gods, Myths, and ProphetsAlisa Atkins

Rachel ButtenhoffNimali Chandran

Margarita VizcanoKaela Walker

EntertainmentGreek

Role of Prophets...in Greek Plays• Generally give prophecies that end up coming true• In tragedies, this heightens the sense of unavoidable fate in

play; however, the character often can learn from the prophecies

• Illustrate how fate cannot be avoided

...in Antigone• Teiresias• Usually not believed

• Creon does not believe him (nor did Oedipus)• Leads to worse circumstances in the end• Defines an undesirable fate that is too late to change

(heightens sense of tragedy)• Helps Creon to see that his actions are wrong• Teiresias: “Yield to the dead man; do not stab him- / now he is

gone – what bravery is this, / to inflict another death upon the dead?” (1078-1080)

Antigone Premiere

ZeusDionysusHermesHadesAphrodite

EntertainmentGreek

•Ruler of Olympian gods•God of the sky•Punishes people for evil deeds, protects defenseless, etc.•In Antigone:

Referred to throughoutJudges characters’ actionsChorus: “For Zeus, who hates the most / the boasts of a great tongue... / ...struck him down...” (143-147)

•God of fertility, wine, the arts•God celebrated by theatre•Not an Olympian•In Antigone:

Shows celebration of war victory

Chorus: “Let Bacchus lead the dance” (169)

Anger of the gods/ their power:

Chorus: “The... son of Dryas... / in fury mocked Dionysus, / who then held him in restraint in a rocky dungeon” (1004-1007)

•Messenger of Zeus•God of thieves, commerce•An Olympian•Leads people to Underworld•In Antigone:

Referenced indirectly:

Sentry: “...I will never claim my shortness of breath / is due to hurrying, / nor were there wings in my feet” (243)- Reflects Sentry being a messenger

•Ruler of Underworld•God of wealth (though not exactly god of death (Thanatos))•An Olympian•In Antigone:

Antigone references Hades many times

Antigone: “My husband is to be the Lord of Death” (870) -Illustrates her willingness and courage to die for her cause

•Goddess of Love, Beauty, Desire•An Olympian•In Antigone:

Chorus: “For the golden Aphrodite holds her play there / and then no one can overcome her” (855-856)- Dislikes how the King is ruling cold-heartedly, disregarding Greek morals (of burying the dead)

Antigone Premiere

The FatesAresMusesHephaestusAthenaHectate

EntertainmentGreek

•Not Olympians•Three:

Clotho (spinner)– begins lifeLachesis (measurer) – determines how long life will beAtropos – ends life

•Life seen as a thread•In Antigone:

Chorus: “But, my child, the long-lived Fates / bore hard upon her, too” (1032-1033) - In talking about various myths

•God of War•An Olympian•In Antigone:

Referenced indirectly

Chorus: “There the god of war who lives near the city / saw the terrible blinding wound” (1016-1017)- In talking about the various myths

•Nine Muses:Clio (History)Calliope (Epic Poetry)Erato (Love Poetry)Euterpe (Lyric Poetry)Polyhymnia (Songs to Gods)Urania (Astronomy)Melpomene (Tragedy)Thalia (Comedy)Terpsichore (Dance)

•Not Olympians•In Antigone:

Chorus: “when he provoked the Muses that love the lyre” (1013)

•God of Fire, Forge•An Olympian•In Antigone:

Teiresias: “...the god of fire refused to burn from the sacrifice” (1055) -Illustrates gods’ displeasure with Creon’s actions

•Goddess of Wisdom, the City, Agriculture...•An Olympian•In Antigone:

Eurydice: “I / was going out to greet Pallas with my prayers” (1252)- Said almost in passing

•Goddess of Crossroads•Not an Olympian•In Antigone:

Messenger: “We prayed to Hectate, goddess / of the crossroads” (1265-1266)- May be referring to Oedipus and how he met his fate at crossroads (with killing his father), hoping that this does not happen to Antigone

Antigone Premiere

Sophocles

EntertainmentGreek

Antigone Premiere

EntertainmentGreek

NiobeStory:

Niobe was boastfulBecause of this, her children were killedEnded up as a stone on Mount SiphylusTears were rivers on mountain

In Antigone:Antigone: “But indeed I have heard of the saddest of deaths - / of the Phrygian stranger” (878-879)

Antigone does not see her own death as sad, since it saved her brother from a poor afterlife

DanaeStory:

Locked up to prevent the prophecy that her son would kill her father from being fulfilledGave birth to Perseus by Zeus

Son fulfilled prophecy anywayIn Antigone:

Chorus: “Danae suffered, too, when, her beauty lost, she gave / the light of heaven in exchange for brassbound walls” (994-995)

Compares Danae’s punishment to Antigone’s

CleopatraStory:

First wife of Phineus but locked upSecond wife of Phineus blinded her sons

In Antigone:Chorus: “the terrible and blinding wound / dealt by his savage wife / on Phineus’ two sons” (1016-1019)

Reflects poor fate of Antigone, Haemon, etc.; seems to bring in blinding as well (such as in Oedipus)

LycurgusStory:

Lycurgus, a king, insulted Dionysus because of new worship

Imprisoned in rocky chamber as a resultIn Antigone:

Chorus: “The hot-tempered son of Dryas... / in fury mocked Dionysus, / who then held him in restraint / in a rocky dungeon” (1004-1007)

Similar to Antigone being put in a “rocky tomb” (931, Creon)

Quest of the Golden FleecePart of Story:

King Æeates did not want Jason (and the Argonauts) in his landTold them they had to sow dragon’s teeth and defeat the army created as a result to get the fleece

In Antigone:Chorus: “in the ground sown by the fierce dragon’s teeth” (1191)

Shows that because of Oedipus’s dishonor, Antigone was fated to have problems; also shows how Creon’s policies are harming the land

The Myths

Works CitedInformationBooth, Alison, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to

Literature. 9th Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2005. Print.Greek Mythology. Greek Mythology.com, 2010. Web. 4 September 2013.Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1969. Print.Sophocles. Oedipus the King. 429 B.C.E. Print/ Play.

PicturesMarie, Kassadee. “Sony PlayStation Home Presents: Mount Olympus.”

HomeStation Magazine, 2010. Web. 4 September 2013.Nordstrom. Nordstrom, Inc., 2013. Web. 4 September 2013.Theoi. Theoi Project, 2008. Web. 4 September 2013.Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2013. Web. 3 September 2013.