Introduction to Greek Drama and Antigone
This week we will begin reading the Greek drama Antigone. As with anything else, background knowledge
is needed in order to understand the Greek world and its literature. You will be doing research on this topic
on your laptops, using the Internet to carry this research out. Answer the following questions by following
the directions. Please respond to each question by typing in a word document. Once you have completed
this internet hunt, e-mail your answers to bobbimoss05@gmail.com.
Greek Drama:
Go to www.crystalinks.com/greece.html. Scroll down to THEATRE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Between what years did the Greek golden age fall?
What were the two types of plays performed at this time?
How often were the plays performed?
What was the forum in which they were performed, and in whose honor were they performed?
Who was Dionysus?
How did the Greek drama begin?
What gender were the actors? How did they show change in character or mood?
Who were the three main playwrights from this time period?
How did Aeschylus arrange his plays? Describe this format.
How was Euripides’s plays different from that of Aeschylus and Sophocles?
Scroll to AESCHYLUS to answer the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
When was he born? When did he die?
What did he found?
How many plays did he write? How many have survived?
What are the names of the surviving plays?
Scroll to EURIPIDES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Between what years did he live?
Who was he?
It is believed that he wrote _____ plays.
How did Euripides change Greek drama?
Name five plays that Euripides wrote, and the years in which he wrote them.
Scroll to SOPHOCLES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
When and where was he born?
Did Sophocles perform in any of his plays? Name one play in which he performed.
How many plays did Sophocles write? How many have survived? What two plays are his best
known?
Sophocles chose not to focus on ethical issues. On which issues did he choose to focus? Why do you
think he did this (give your opinion).
What are some other duties that Sophocles carried out, other than playwright?
When did he die? What did his death symbolize?
Scroll to CITY STATES-GOVERNMENT-SOCIAL STRUCTURE”
1.
2.
3.
What were the city states? Name three that existed. Did the city states ever join into a united Greece?
Why or why not?
When did the kings disappear?
After monarchy, what was the second form of government to evolve in Greece?
4.
5.
6.
What was the 3d type of government? What did this entail? What was the name for the individual
who seized power?
Give the ancient Greek definition for the word tyrant.
What did the tyrants help to facilitate in the 7th century? When was democracy established in Greece?
Scroll to GREEK CULTURE/DAILY LIFE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What qualities did the Greeks believe in and what qualities did they prize in an individual?
What was the role of men in ancient Greece? Name some activities that Greek men engaged in.
What was the role of Greek women in society? What level of freedom did they enjoy? Were they able
to come and go as they pleased?
Were women allowed to watch the Olympic Games? What was the only game in which women could
compete and win, and what was the contingency to winning?
How long did Greek women stay at home? At what age did Greek males leave home?
If you were a Greek woman, what were some of the activities you might enjoy?
Scroll to EDUCATION:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What was the goal of education in Greek city states?
At what age did Greek boys begin attending school? At what age did their education end? What are
some of the things they learned?
What did the poorer boys do after their formal education ended? What did the wealthier boys do after
their formal education ended?
How were girls in Athens educated? What were the most highly educated women called? What did
they learn and what was their duty after their education was completed?
Go to www.dictionary.com and define the following terms.
Your terms to define are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
tragic hero (use the 2d definition)
civil disobedience (use the 1st definition)
tragedy
deus ex machina
hubris

For the next part, use a search engine of your choice to find the following answers.
 Henry David Thoreau:
1. Who is he?
2. What idea did he introduce to the Western world approximately 150 years ago?
3. What is the title of the famous essay did he wrote about this idea?

Name two people in world history that used civil disobedience as a tool to facilitate change, and
answer the following questions about each.
1.
2.
3.
In what country did they live?
Why did they choose to use civil disobedience?
Did this method work to bring about change?