Oedipus the King

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• Oedipus the King
• Background Information

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Spirituality

• Ancient Greeks believed gods took an active
  interest in human affairs.
• Peoples successes were viewed as the sign of
  divine favor.
• Peoples problems and failures were interpreted
  as the result of divine anger.

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Plague

• Between 430 and 426 BC, a plague killed 1/3 (or
  just over 33) of the Greek population.
• Victims were, seized first with strong fevers,
  redness and burning of the eyes, and expelled an
  unusually foul breath. Next came, sneezing,
  hoarseness, a powerful cough, and every kind of
  bilious vomiting.

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prophets

• A seer was taught to be capable of interpreting
  signs of what was to come.
• These signs were sent by the gods through bird
  signs, animal entrails, and other various
  methods.

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exile

• When a person in Ancient Greece was exiled, it
  meant he was sent away for a certain amount of
  time.
• He could not have any communication or connection
  with his home, or the people in it.
• Exile was the standard punishment for
  unintentional murder.

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FATE

• Ancient Greeks believes that each person had a
  fate assigned to him or her.
• A person who sought to overstep his or her fate
  would be found guilty of hubris, or excessive
  pride.

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GODS

• The ancient Greeks believed that it was not wise
  to anger the gods.
• They built temples all over ancient Greece. 
• Each temple honored a different god. The major
  gods had more than one temple built in their
  honor. 

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The oracle at delphi

• An oracle was a person who could predict and
  interpret the future based on information given
  to the oracle from the gods.
• The myth or story, of The Oracle at Delphi, says
  that one day, Apollo, the God of music, reason,
  and light, decided that he needed his own
  personal oracle, through whom he would give
  information to mortals.

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• Apollos oracle was a priestess named Pythia.
  She was kept in a temple at Delphi, and people
  would come from all over visit her.
• A person was expected to accept the information
  given to them by an oracle, or seer. To question
  it, or try to change it, would be to play with
  fate , and would be considered to be a sign of
  hubris.

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• Anyone who disregarded the information given to
  him by an oracle or seer would face consequences,
  and the wrath of the gods.

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DRAMATIC TERMS
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• Play Story told through dialogue

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• Drama - Tragedy, explored society questions

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• Dramatic Form actual written script

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• Dramatic Structure the way the action of a play
  is arranged

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• Dramatic Irony When the audience knows
  something but the characters dont

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• Theme Message, lesson, moral of the play

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• Tragos tragic downfall

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• Hubris excessive pride

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• Oedipus Complex At the age of 3 to 5, a child
  begins to form an attraction to the opposite sex
  parent and hostility towards the same sex parent

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What is tragedy?

• Write down what YOU think a tragedy is in your
  notebook

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• Tragedy unhappy ending explores society
  questions