The Greek Drama

1
The Greek Drama
Oedipus Trilogy
2

• Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• The Theater

• Sophocles

• Oedipus

• Antigone

3
The Theater
4
The Theater
Six Main Portions of Greek Theater Theatron
Seating for audience
5
The Theater
Six Main Portions of Greek Theater Orchestra
Dancing Place where chorus sang to the audience
6
The Theater
Six Main Portions of Greek Theater Thymele
altar to Dionysus in center of orchestra where
sacrifices were made
7
The Theater
Six Main Portions of Greek Theater Skene
wooden scene building used as a dressing room.
8
The Theater
Six Main Portions of Greek Theater Parados
entrance to the theater used by the Chorus
9
The Theater
Six Main Portions of Greek Theater Proskenion
where most of the action took place also served
as a backdrop
10
The Stage
11
The Theater

• Greek plays were performed during religious
  ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus, the Greek
  god of wine and revelry or partying (altars
  generally on stage)

12
The Theater

• Businesses would shut down for days, people would
  travel from all around to see the drama
  competitionseven prisoners were temporarily
  released to see the plays

13
How were the dramas performed?
With a chorus who described most of the
action.
14
How were the dramas performed?
With masks
15
Each morning, one of the playwrights presented
three tragedies and a satyr play.
16
That afternoon, another playwright presented a
comedy.
17
This went on for three days and then a winner
was chosen.
18
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was a Greek philosopher,
  scientist, teacher
• Aristotle felt that tragedy was an imitation of
  action arousing pity and fear

19
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• In his work of literary criticism, Poetics,
  Aristotle created what he thought were necessary
  rules any tragedy should follow

20
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• catharsis - release of emotion (pity or fear)
  from the audiences perspective
• hamartia the tragic downfall that leads to a
  heros downfall

21
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• tragic flaw main characters or heros weakness
• hubris excessive pride arrogance before the
  gods

22
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• tragic hero - a character who makes an error of
  judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with
  fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy

23
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• recognition - occurs as the hero meets his
  catastrophe, at which point, he recognizes his
  flaw and the reason he must die

24
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• Reversal - occurs when the opposite of what the
  hero intends is what happens

25
Aristotles Rules for Tragedy

• Dramatic unities
• time the play has to take place within a
  24-hour period
• place the action of the play is set in one
  place
• action the play contains one hero and one plot

26
Major Greek Dramatists
27
How were the dramas developed?

• 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.

28
How were the dramas developed?

• Aeschylus added a second individual actor to the
  performance, thus creating the possibility of
  conflict.

29
How were the dramas developed?

• Sophocles adds a third actor now we have
  full-blown drama.

30
Sophocles

• For 50 years, most awarded playwright
• Wrote more than 120 plays, but only 7 survived in
  complete form
• Ajax, Antigone, Trachinian Women, Oedipus the
  King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus
• Most famous plays are called the Theban Plays
  (the Oedipus Trilogy)

31

• Oedipus the King
• Oedipus at Colonus

32
Oedipus

• Oedipus is given away by his parents, Laius and
  Jocasta when they learn from an oracle that their
  son would kill his father and marry his mother.

33
Oedipus

• Oedipus learns of the oracle and believing the
  king and queen of Corinth are his parents, he
  leaves to avoid the oracle.

34
Oedipus

• Oedipus travels to Thebes, killing Laius on the
  way. He saves the city from a terrible monster,
  the Sphinx.

35
Oedipus

• Thebes rewards him by making him king and giving
  him the queen to marry.

36
Oedipus

• Oedipus and his new queen had four children
• 2 boys Polynices Eteocles
• and
• 2 girls Ismene Antigone

37
Oedipus

• A plague hits the city and the oracle warns that
  it wont go away until the killer of King Laius
  is punished.

38
Oedipus

• Oedipus investigates and finds out he killed his
  father and married his mother.

39
Oedipus

• Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus blinds himself

40
Oedipus

• Jocastas brother, Creon, becomes king of Thebes.

41
Oedipus

• Oedipus is banished by Creon
• Oedipus wanders blindly throughout Greece
• His daughter, Antigone, accompanies him
• His other daughter, Ismene, chooses to stay in
  Thebes

42
Oedipus

• Antigone's brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, were
  to rule in alternate years.

43
Oedipus

• Eteocles refused to give up the throne for
  Polynices at the end of his year.

44
Oedipus

• Polynices went to Argos and raised an army to
  gain the throne.

45
Oedipus

• Oedipus dies in Colonus

46

• Antigone

47
Antigone

• Eteocles and Polynices killed each other in
  battle.

48
Antigone

• Creon gives Eteocles, his ally, a heros burial
  and issues a decree against burying Polynices.

49
Antigone

• Antigone believes that he is wrong and that both
  of her brothers should be buried with honor.

50
Antigone

• The conflict between Antigone and Creon is the
  basis for the play.