Oedipus Rex
and
Greek Theater
Social and Political – Athens 5th
Century BCE
• Sophocles born in Athens, 497 BC
• Athenian Government was “exclusionary
democracy”
– Run by elected officials in an open forum
– About 10% of the population was eligible to
participate (women, slaves, non-citizens excluded)
• Sophocles was a member of the ruling class
– Aware of the inequality
– His plays warned of divine retribution as a result of
prejudices and injustice to the poor
Religious Ideas
• Greek pantheon consisted of hundreds of deities
– familiar “Olympian” gods small part of overall scheme
• The gods were immortal and powerful but…
– subject to Fate and each other’s will
– seen in Oedipus Rex as the Delphic Oracle is the
prophet of Oedipus’ doomed fate, but not the author
(nor is Apollo)
• Some belief in Free Will
– however, the individual still had to face human and
cosmic consequences of his/her actions
– Free Will is not more powerful than Fate/Destiny
Some Important Gods
• Zeus-father of the gods and man
Some Important Gods
• Dionysus was the god of
wine and ecstasy. All
plays were performed in
his honor.
Some Important Gods
• Apollo/Phoebus—god
of light and music• Has an Oracle at Delphi
Origins of Greek Drama
• Sixth Century BCE
Aristotle records that
acting was essentially
invented by “Thespis”
who stepped in front of
the chorus and
performed a solo
• Fifth Century BCE
Playwrights in Athens
produced tragedies for a
festival honoring Dionysus
Greek Tragedians
• Aeschylus (525 – 456 BCE)
– Wrote Oresteia, a tragic trilogy
– Introduced usage of second actor onstage
– Developed more complicated plots
• Sophocles (496/497 – 405/406 BCE)
– “Theban Plays,” Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus and
Antigone (not a trilogy as is often assumed)
– Brought third actor onstage
• Euripedes (480 – 406 BCE)
– Represented traditional, mythical heroes as ordinary
people in extraordinary circumstances
Conventions of Greek Theater
Dramatic Irony
• Audience was familiar with plots, taken from
well-known myths, so they had more
information about the action than the actors
• The suspense was in how the well-known
events would transpire and in the audience’s
watching the events in “real time.”
Conventions of Greek Theater, cont.
• The plays were acted in the daytime
• All actors were male. They wore masks, wigs,
and high-heeled boots to increase visibility
and add to the formality
• Due to the religious and dignified style, no
violence was shown on stage. The messenger
ran on stage and told the audience about any
deaths or killings.
Aristotle’s Unities
• To increase dramatic intensity, the plays
observed the three unities
– Unity of time: all of the action took place within
24 hours, in continuous time; dialogue and Chorus
provided any necessary background information
– Unity of place: all of the action was limited to a
single setting
– Unity of subject: one single main plot focused on
the main character. No sub-plots.
Tragedy
• Aristotle defined tragedy
as a form of drama that
elicits pity and fear. It
focuses on the reversal
of fortune and downfall
of a tragic hero
• Audience experiences
heightened emotions as
they watch the hero
suffer, and in the end,
audience has a catharsis.
Tragic Hero
• A tragic hero must
have two traits: be
a god/demi-god or
hero and have a
tragic flaw or error
in judgment (called
hamartia)
• The most common
tragic flaw is pride,
or hubris (extreme
pride)
Chorus
• Functions as a narrator
• 15-20 men represented
citizens
• Always on stage,
frequently sang or danced
• Had a leader who carried
on a dialogue with main
character or rest of
chorus (as a song called a
kommos)
Function of the Chorus
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Set the tone
Give exposition
Recall events of past
Interpret events
Ask questions
Offer opinions
Give advice, if asked
Stay objective (did not
disagree with main
character)
• Act as jury of elders who
reach a moralistic
conclusion at the end
• All these things were done
in a formal/stylized song
with 3 major parts
 Strophe – first part of choral
ode, chorus moves left to
right or east to west
 Antistrophe – follows
strophe, chorus performs
return steps across the
stage
 Epode – third part of choral
ode, completes the
movements of the chorus
Exposition Information
• An Oracle foretells that the son of Laius will slay his
father and marry his mother
• Laius has son’s feet bound and leaves him to die on
Mount Cithaeron
• Shepherd finds baby, gives to another shepherd who
gives the baby to Polybus, the King of Corinth
• Child (Oedipus)grows up believing himself the son of
Polybus, questions his heritage, consults Oracle
• Oracle tells him he will slay his father and marry his
mother
• Oedipus runs away, encounters men at crossroads,
slays men (except one), arrives at Thebes
Oedipus Rex: the riddle
• Outside of Thebes, a
monster known as the
Sphinx has been killing
travelers, who couldn't
answer her riddle. The
riddle was "What creature
walk on four legs in the
morning, two legs at noon,
and three in the evening?"
• The Sphinx had head and
chest of woman and body
of lion, and in many Greek
paintings, she may also
have wings of eagle.
Oedipus Rex: the riddle
• Oedipus arrives and
correctly answers the
Sphinx' riddle, saying that
it was man. Man, because
as infant would crawl on
it hands and feet; in most
of his life, he would walk
on two legs; but when he
was old, he would have to
rely on a walking stick.
The Sphinx drowned
herself.
Oedipus Rex: the riddle
• When the Thebans heard
that Oedipus had solved the
riddle and got rid of the
monster that had troubled
their land, Creon (the uncle
of Oedipus) gave the
kingship to the young hero
by allowing him to marry his
sister Jocasta. Jocasta and
Oedipus then had 4
children: Eteocles,
Polyneices, Antigone and
Ismene.