Oedipus Rex
A guide to understanding Greek tragedy
Introduction
What is a tragedy?
Modern Definition
 “a drama in verse or prose and of a serious
and dignified character that typically
describes the development of a conflict
between the protagonist and a superior force
(as destiny, circumstance, society) and
reaches a sorrowful or disastrous
conclusion.” (Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary, Unabridged [1961;
1993 revision])
The Greek Tragedy
 Tragedy - tragoidia (Greek) = “song for a
goat”
 Refers to specific type of dramatic
performance; does not relate to content
matter. Aristotle said the content must be
“serious” but serious does not mean “sad”
 Plays performed annually during festival to
honor Dionysus in late March, held at the City
Dionysia
The Great Tragedians
 Aeschylus (525-456 BCE)
 Know titles of 82 plays; sources say wrote 90.
Seven survive (1 questionable)
 Sophocles (496-406 BCE)
 Know 118 plays; sources say 123. Seven
survive.
 Euripides (480-406 BCE)
 Know of 92 plays; 17-18 survive (Rhesus
thought to be by another author.
 Cyclops only surviving satyr play
Dionysus: Patron of the theatre
 Domains include frenzy and irrationality,
nature and plant fertility, wine
 Brother to Apollo, god of reason and
moderation
 Is considered a god even though technically
had human mother; incinerated. Fully
gestated in Zeus’ thigh
 Unclear how Dionysus became connected
with theatre still unclear to scholars
Tragedy as a religious medium
 Theory, started by Aristotle, tragedies
originated in rituals for gods
 Nietzsche believed all major characters (i.e.:
Oedipus) were “masks” of Dionysus
 Views adopted by many scholars, known as
the “Cambridge Ritualists”, thought original
drama would have been focused around
Dionysus
 Few modern scholars accept theory
Origin of the tragedy
 Choral performances of poetry common in
ancient Greece
 Thespis added an actor to chorus, thus
creating drama
 Tragedy came into own by 5th century BCE in
between two wars: Persian Wars(490 and
480 BCE) and the Peloponnesian War (431404 BCE)
 Athens undergoes great political changes
Reorganization of Athens
 508 BCE – Cleisthenes takes over and
institutes political reform, laying groundwork
for democracy
 Reorganizes Athens city-state into 10 groups
based on residence rather than family. Each
deme included residents from coast, city, and
rural areas
 Adult male citizens take active role in politics
– go to assembly to hear discussion and vote
Effect of reorganization
 Audience of tragedies used to meeting in
large groups and listening to the points of
view of different speakers
 Tragedies probably linked to the development
of rhetorical style at this time
Format of the tragedy
 Each tragedian submitted three plays and
one satyr play (burlesque)
 All plays connected thematically
 Content was almost exclusively drawn from
ancient myth – very rarely used current
politics
 Broad outlines of plot already known as
audience knew stories. Writer’s skill
depended on his use of traditional material

Could invent minor characters
Content of tragedy
 Often focus on conflict in family and (often)
destruction of family because of conflict
 Family conflicts lead to larger social themes:
justice, tension between public and private
duty; dangers of political power; relationship
between the sexes
 Political restructuring had weakened family
loyalties but not destroyed them altogether

Tension in plays between the family and the
state
Women and the tragedies
 Unclear whether women and slaves attended
tragedies. Under Athenian social norms,
women remained out of public with the
exception of religious holidays
 Greek tragedies have many strong female
characters who do not fit with traditional roles,
showing courage, depth
 Makes it clear perceptions of women’s roles
and social function complex