Clst 181SK Ancient Greece and the Origins of Western Culture
The Birth of Drama
The Birth of Drama
The three great Classical tragedians:
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Aeschylus 525-456 BC
Sophocles 496-406 BC
Euripides 486-406 BC
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pathei mathos - “learning through suffering”
Aeschylus, Agamemnon
The Birth of Drama
The three great Classical tragedians:
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Aeschylus 525-456 BC
Oresteia (includes Agamemnon), Prometheus Bound
Sophocles 496-406 BC
Oedipus the King, Antigone, Ajax, Philoctetes
Euripides 486-406 BC
Medea, Trojan Women, Iphigeneia, Orestes
The Birth of Drama
Theater of Dionysus, Athens !
The Birth of Drama
Theater of Dionysus, Athens !
The Birth of Drama
Theater of Dionysus, Athens !
The Birth of Drama
Theater at Epidaurus !
The Birth of Drama
Theater at Epidaurus, acoustics
The Birth of Drama
The Birth of Drama
Playwright !
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(e.g. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides)
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• didaskalos (cf. "didactic": literally, "teacher")
• text + music + dance + direction
• early on, also an actor
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The Birth of Drama
Actors
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• limited to 3 (early on 2, but all our plays require 3)
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• wore masks: probably paper-mache or the like, full
head, perhaps enhanced projection of voice; allowed
actors to play more than one part or to change the
nature of a given part (e.g. Oedipus himself)
The Birth of Drama
Chorus
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• 15 (early on 12) members
• dancing AND singing!
• choruses were widespread in Greek culture:
marriages, funerals, athletic victories, religious
festivals-- even battles!
The Birth of Drama
Chorus
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• 15 (early on 12) members
• dancing AND singing!
• choruses were widespread in Greek culture:
marriages, funerals, athletic victories, religious
festivals-- even battles!
Origins - Developmental narrative
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Chorus: Agrarian religious festival
Thespis: introduces an “actor” who responds to chorus
Two actors plus chorus
Three actors plus chorus
fundamental, and fundamentally different, is this opposition between chorus
and actor, the alternation between spoken lines and those sung and danced,
between lines that are part of the "drama" proper, and lines that are lyrical
reflections by the chorus (e.g. first chorus of the Oedipus the King, pp. 151)
The Birth of Drama
Origins - Developmental narrative
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Chorus: Agrarian religious festival
Thespis: introduces an “actor” who responds to chorus
Two actors plus chorus
Three actors plus chorus
Chorus: structure of Greek tragedy
Oedipus the King
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Prologue, 1-150. (Priest, Oedipus, Creon)
Parodos , 151-215 (Entrance of the Chorus: introductory Choral song during the procession)
First Episode , 216-462 (Oedipus, Teiresias)
First Stasimon , 463-512 (First Choral interlude: song, dance)
Second Episode , 513-862. (Creon, Oedipus, Chorus; Jocasta)
Second Stasimon , 863-910. (Second Choral interlude: song, dance)
Third Episode , 911-1085. (Jocasta, Messenger, Chorus; Oedipus)
Third Stasimon , 1086-1109. (Third Choral interlude: song, dance)
Fourth Episode , 1110-1185. (Oedipus, Shepherd, Chorus)
Fourth Stasimon , 1186-1222. (Fourth Choral interlude: song, dance)
Exodos , 1223-1530. (Messenger, Chorus; Oedipus, Creon)
Clst 181SK Ancient Greece and the Origins of Western Culture
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Classical Moment
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Sophocles
Oedipus the King
=Oedipus Rex [Latin],
ΟΙΔΙΠΟΥΣ ΤΥΡΑΝΝΟΣ [Greek]
Oedipus
& the Sphinx
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
pathei mathos - “learning through suffering”
Aeschylus, Agamemnon
People and places to know:
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Oedipus
Jocasta
Laius
(Polybus
Merope)
Sphinx
Teiresias
Apollo = Phoebus = Loxias = Pytho’s god
Delphi = Pytho
Cithaeron (mountain above Thebes)
Thebes
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Thebes
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Thebes
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Background
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Apollo and Delphi: Apollo as the voice of Zeus
miasma: blood pollution that infects the family, and for a royal
family the city itself
riddle of the Sphinx: what has a voice and is sometimes 2-footed, sometimes 3-footed, and
sometimes 4-footed, yet violates the natural principle that the animal with
more feet is the stronger? OR what is 4-footed in the morning, 2-footed in
the afternoon, 3-footed in the evening?
story of Oedipus: Outlines of the story appear already in the Odyssey. Coming to the play
Greeks would know the essentials: Oedipus King of Thebes killed his
father, slept with his mother bearing four children, blinded himself, was
exiled.
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Function of the CHORUS
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Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Function of the CHORUS
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Prologue, 1-150. (Priest, Oedipus, Creon)
The priests of Thebes appear before Oedipus as suppliants, entreating him to find some end to the plague. Oedipus has already sent Creon to Delphi, who
arrives to report that the killer of Laius must be sought out and banished. Oedipus vows to find the killer and summons the people of the city.
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Parodos , 151-215.
The Chorus of Theban citizens offer prayers to Zeus, Apollo,
Athena for release from the plague.
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First Episode , 216-462.
Oedipus appeals for information and pronounces his curse on the murderer. Teiresias is summoned: at first he refuses to tell what he knows, but aroused by
Oedipus' taunts he declares Oedipus the murderer.
Oedipus declares a conspiracy by Creon. Teiresias declares that the murderer is present, and will be found son and husband to his mother.
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First Stasimon , 463-512.
The Chorus are fearful of the pronouncement of the seer, but declare their loyalty to their king.
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Second Episode , 513-862. (Creon, Oedipus, Chorus; Jocasta)
Creon is indignant at Oedipus' accusations. They argue over the charge. Jocasta tries to intervene.
Kommos , 649-697. The Chorus advise restraint and Oedipus lets Creon go, though he declares him an enemy. Oedipus tells Jocasta the source of the dispute
Jocasta tells the story of Laius' death, and Oedipus recognizes many details: but he was a lone killer, whereas a band of killers was reported.
Oedipus worries about the oracle; Jocasta denounces its veracity, adducing the prophesy about her son.
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Second Stasimon , 863-910. (Chorus)
Ode to the sanctity of divine law. The tyrant who ignores justice and reverence for the gods will fall. The oracles must be true.
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Third Episode , 911-1085. (Jocasta, Messenger, Chorus; Oedipus)
A messenger arrives from Corinth announcing the death of Polybus and Oedipus' ascension. He allays Oedipus' fear of the oracle (that he will marry his mothe
by telling him of his true birth. Over Jocasta's objections Oedipus vows to continue his search for the truth. Jocasta runs into the palace.
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Third Stasimon , 1086-1109. (Chorus)
Ode to Mt. Cithaeron: we will soon know the parentage of Oedipus.
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Fourth Episode , 1110-1185. (Oedipus, Shepherd, Chorus)
The shepherd arrives who exposed the infant of Laius and escaped when Laius was killed. Oedipus' parentage becomes clear. Oedipus rushes into the palace
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Fourth Stasimon , 1186-1222. (Chorus)
No man is blest: happiness is but an illusion, for even the great power and blessings of Oedipus have come to a fall.
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Function of the CHORUS
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Oedipus the King
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Prologue, 1-150. (Priest, Oedipus, Creon)
Parodos , 151-215 (Entrance of the Chorus: introductory Choral song during the procession)
First Episode , 216-462 (Oedipus, Teiresias)
First Stasimon , 463-512 (First Choral interlude: song, dance)
Second Episode , 513-862. (Creon, Oedipus, Chorus; Jocasta)
Second Stasimon , 863-910. (Second Choral interlude: song, dance)
Third Episode , 911-1085. (Jocasta, Messenger, Chorus; Oedipus)
Third Stasimon , 1086-1109. (Third Choral interlude: song, dance)
Fourth Episode , 1110-1185. (Oedipus, Shepherd, Chorus)
Fourth Stasimon , 1186-1222. (Fourth Choral interlude: song, dance)
Exodos , 1223-1530. (Messenger, Chorus; Oedipus, Creon)
Episode • Stasimon
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Function of the CHORUS - Pragmatics
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Often said that the chorus is the poet's voice, the means the poet uses of commenting
on the action, that this is what the poet "really" thinks. Sometimes true, but most often
not. Some fairly obvious (and rather mechanistic or formal) functions:
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• chorus is an "act-dividing song":
• allows for entrances and exits
• allows for the scene to change
• marks the passage of time (as after Oed. and Joc. enter the palace after
sending for the messenger, at 954ff)
• chorus comments directly on what is going on (yes, Oedipus, Creon makes
sense, you are being too hasty in your conclusion)
• chorus comments less directly (various forebodings, seemingly directed to the
audience, important for indicating mood swings much like the use of
background music in modern TV and film)
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Function of the CHORUS - Music and Dance
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Much more important
than these is the lyric, poetic function.
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Example, the first choral interlude (151ff): the chorus dances a sacred dance and sings
a religious hymn that is, in effect, a prayer to the god: to an audience used to the
religious associations, this would be a forceful insertion of the central importance of the
divine to the tale.
Specifically, in that same chorus is the clear introduction of the themes of divinity and esp.
Apollo, divine brilliance and insight, divine wisdom that become almost a supernumerary
player in the production (visual images of light dominate this chorus: "gold ... brilliant ...
golden ... shine ... flame ... fire ... blazes ... golden ... radiant ... burns ... day .... lightning ...
light ... golden ... torches flaring ... gleaming gold ... aflame ... lightning ... blazing ... blazes
... burn”) And note the context: immediately before this chorus, Oedipus declares for
himself the central task of the play, “I will bring this to light again!” - 132
But also in this prayer are raised the holy dread felt by the chorus, and no doubt
conveyed by the music and dance: why, if Apollo, the voice of Zeus, is golden, brilliant,
the child of Hope, does he also provoke terror and dread? (The light that is divinity is both
divine deliverance -- the light of the truth -- and divine retribution -- the lightningbolt that
punishes.)
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Word play & the poetry of paradox:
riddle of the Sphinx: what has a voice and is sometimes 2-footed, sometimes 3-footed, and sometimes 4footed, yet violates the natural principle that the animal with more feet is the stronger?
OR what is 4-footed in the morning, 2-footed in the afternoon, 3-footed in the evening?
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Word play & the poetry of paradox:
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Central from the very beginning: the idea of paradox, of riddling wisdom, of the onethat-is-many: much of the meaning of the play derives from the specifics of the poetic
wording
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Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Word play & the poetry of paradox:
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the riddle of the Sphinx is central background to the tale
the very first line, in the original Greek, places the word for "new"
immediately next to the word for "old" (in your translation, “young sons and
daughters of old Cadmus")
Oidi-pous (Latinized as Oedi-pus for English) in Greek means "swollen
footed" (think of octo-pus = "eight footed")
But we can also analyze Oedipus in at least two other ways:
oidi- to a Greek sounds like oida, oide = "I know, he knows" (a central theme in the
play)
-dipous to a Greek means the "two-footed one," with obvious associations to the
riddle of the Sphinx (another central theme)
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Word play & the poetry of paradox:
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The play is full of other such verbal coincidences: arthra for instance means both
"joint" (think of arthritis) and "eye-socket," thus to stick a pin through the arthra has
a double meaning, referring both to the exposure of the infant Oedipus, whose
ankle joints were pinned together, and to his horrible blinding by the pins of
Jocasta’s broach. Note further the repeated insistence on the need to "pin down"
the murderer, that is, to solve the mystery, with its metaphorical link to "knowing"
and "seeing" the light, and with that the obvious link to the "coming into the
light" (=birth) of Oedipus and the "going into the dark" (=blinding) of Oedipus.
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Word play & the poetry of paradox:
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But knowing is itself problematized in the Oedipus the King: central to the text is
not only what is known and by whom, but what it means to "know"-- what is "true"
knowing. Over and over, we find questions like "do I know what I know, do I see
what I see, do the blind "truly" see, are the seeing "truly" blind?
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Word play & the poetry of paradox:
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IRONY
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Irony: when a remark shows a distance between apparent and intended meaning,
that is, where what is literally said is opposite to what seems to be the case.
Oedipus seems to have the "irony gene": the text is riddled with ironies. My favorite
is when Oedipus, in commenting on the killer or killers of Laius, says (line 844),
"one cannot be the same as many."
“You said that he spoke of highway robbers who killed Laius Now if he uses the same number, it was not I who killed him. One man cannot be the
same as many.” - 844
But of course Oedipus himself is exactly the one who IS the same as many, for he is
both father and brother, husband and son, etc.
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There are literally dozens of examples of irony in the play! (For the next class bring
in your favorites, and I will bring mine.)
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
Word play & the poetry of paradox:
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IRONY
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Irony: when a remark shows a distance between apparent and intended
meaning, that is, where what is literally said is opposite to what seems to
be the case.
Examples (from the class)
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Limits to Human inquiry and understanding
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Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Limits to Human inquiry and understanding
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Apollo: the god who carries fire, light
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• sun, day, clear, blazing, burning
• fever, blazing, burning: sender of plague and the Healer
• intelligence, clear, seeing
• brilliance, poetry (riddling)
• truth (knowledge), clear, seeing
• divine prophecy, clear, seeing
• (but given by a blind man, or a raving priestess: who among mortals can
see the divine light?)
(Apollo as voice of Zeus, Teiresias as voice of Apollo)
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Paradoxically, divine prophecy is described by humans as dark, obscure,
riddling, to be brought to light by the clear-sighted brilliance of human wisdom:
but is this correct?
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
The Limits to Human inquiry and understanding
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Oedipus: what sort of man is he? what are the basics of his heroic temper?
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Man of action, caring but haughty: 8 (“whom men call Great”), 62ff etc.
Revealer of the truth: 133
Solver of riddles: 397ff “I solved the riddle (of the Sphinx) by my wit alone”
note esp. his confidence in human wisdom
quick, foreseeing, insightful: an almost superhuman intelligence: he has
already sent Creon to the oracle when it is suggested, he has already sent
for Teiresias when that is suggested
But full of human faults too: quick to anger, quick to accuse, first Teiresias,
then Creon (and cf. Creon's defence, and Oedipus' haughty replies at 583ff:
telling to the democracy witnessing the play)
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Solver of dark riddles, heroic seeker of truth and light, in his confidence in human
wisdom a quick skeptic of oracles
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
pathei mathos - “learning through suffering”
Aeschylus, Agamemnon
What has Oedipus done to deserve such awful suffering? Why must he suffer?
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
What has Oedipus done to deserve such awful suffering? Why must he suffer?
Often said to be his "hubris/hybris" (both
spellings are acceptable).
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What is hybris? NOT really "pride"-- a poor
translation. Rather, it is the quality of not
keeping awareness of your human
limitations: the opposite of sophrosyne (=
"moderation").
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Compare the meaning of the saying of
Thales inscribed above the temple of
Apollo at Delphi: gnothi sauton: "know
thyself" = "know that you are not a god, that
you have human limitations"
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
What has Oedipus done to deserve such awful suffering? Why must he suffer?
Sometimes said to be because of Oedipus' "character
flaw": but this is merely a misreading of Aristotle, who in
any case lives two or three generations later. hamartia =
"error" not "character flaw": this is not to deny that
Oedipus HAS character flaws, simply that it doesn’t
seem central to motivating a reason for his suffering.
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
What has Oedipus done to deserve such awful suffering? Why must he suffer?
Among the reasons for his suffering surely
must be divine retribution, in some sense. But exactly what sense is hard to tease out. A prominent reason why Oedipus may
deserve divine retribution is hinted at in
several places, however, and has to do with
human (over)confidence in their ability to seek
out truth, and (consequence) skepticism of
oracles and divine wisdom.
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
What has Oedipus done to deserve such awful suffering? Why must he suffer?
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chorus at lines 462ff, esp. 496ff: combines themes of hybris and
the problem of belief in oracles, though in some particulars the
exact relevance to Oedipus is questionable
Jocasta's several statements doubting the divine wisdom of the
oracles: 708ff, 850ff, 945ff, 964ff, and esp. 977ff
Oedipus' abuse of Teiresias (the "voice of Apollo") and his final,
gleeful agreement with Jocasta on the falseness of the oracles
is Oedipus made then to suffer so horribly as an example to
humans that divine knowledge, and in particular divine prophecy,
is a powerful truth?
it is not, in any case, as though Oedipus has sinned, and is
therefore struck down by the gods: but he does, increasingly it
seems, have faults, those of hybris and disbelief in the oracles (he
is at first depicted as pious: line 77)
Sophocles
Oedipus the King
What has Oedipus done to deserve such awful suffering? Why must he suffer?
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But there is a frustrating, bewildering logic here: each step taken
to avoid the oracles paradoxically brings Laius, Jocasta, Oedipus
one step further towards the road to fulfilling the oracle
what would have happened had they believed in, and not resisted,
the prophecy of the god?
could it be that if they had trusted in the oracle, then the oracle
would nothave come true? but the oracle MUST come true! thus
man MUST NOT believe it! so why does the divinity tell man this
oracle?
the wisdom that informs this paradoxical world is a riddling
wisdom -- where you must disbelieve for the word of the gods to
become true, where the blind see, and the sighted are blind -- a
divine wisdom incomprehensible to humans
the Sophoclean notion of divine wisdom seems then to assume
essential truths beyond the ability of humans to comprehend (not
far from certain strains of Christian theology)