Antigone
A Greek Tragedy by Sophocles
How Did Theatre Begin?
• Evolved from religious rites dating back
to at least 1200 BC
• A group arose during these religious
antics that worshipped Dionysus: God
of fertility and wine
• Cult of Dionysus practiced ritual
celebrations: intoxication, orgies,
human and animal sacrifices, and
hysterical rampages by maenads (crazy
ladies!)
• Took place in spring: Why?
These Ceremonies….
• Dionysiac ceremonies were simple at the
beginning but controversial
– Uninhibited dancing created altered mental
state (picture hippies dancing at Woodstock)
– Altered state = ecstasis
– This state became important: Greeks saw
theatre as way of releasing emotions:
– Catharsis
• little by little became more complex and
were accompanied by flutes and drums.
Dithyramb: Theatre Becoming a Bit More
Organized
• But the ceremony was still weird even though it
became a little more organized
• Dithyramb: hymn/ode to Dionysus accompanied
by flute and chorus of 50 “men”
• Satyrs = half human/half goat servants of the god
• Played instruments, danced around an effigy,
wore phallus headgear
• At first in dithyrambous, there were no actors
• The leader of the the dithyramb was the
EXCHARON
Changes Were Made
• Thespis
• Greek poet who reputedly
originated Greek tragedy
• Modified the dithyramb (which had
been exchanges between the
leader and the chorus)
• Introduced an actor separate from
the chorus.
• This actor = protagonist = birth of
dialogue
• This actor was called the hypocrit
or “responder.”
• Thespian = actor as well
• Now we’re getting to theatre as we
know now
Now, Instead of Crazy Ritual Dancing…
We have theatre competitions
hese take place in ampitheatres
heatre and ampitheatre come from theatron:
he wooden stands built on the hillsides
he word orchestra comes from the Greek
word for the platform between the raised
tage and the audience where the chorus was
Architecture of Ancient
Greek Theater
• Greek theatre buildings
were called a theatron
('seeing place')
• The theatres were large,
open-air structures
constructed on the
slopes of hills.
The centerpiece of the theatre was the orchestra, or
"dancing place", a large circular or rectangular area.
Site of the choral performances, the religious rites,
and, possibly, the acting. An altar was located in the
middle of the orchestra; in Athens, the altar was
dedicated to Dionysus.
SKENE-Behind the orchestra
used as a "backstage" area where
actors could change their costumes
and mask, Sophocles first started
painting scenery to the façade of the
skene.
Paraskenia
The Actor + the Chorus
• The chorus was considered to be the mouthpiece of
society (in its humble form) and morality and
suffered along with the heroes.
• After Sophocles, the chorus had 15 members and
stood in a circle
Tragedy
• A drama or literary work in which the main
character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme
sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic
flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with
unfavorable circumstances.
The etymology of the word
"tragedy" is "tragos"+"ode",
which means the hymn of
goats.
Tragoi (the goats) were the
priests of god Dionysus.
The Tragic Form
• Prologue: described
the situation and set
the scene
• Parados: an ode sung
by the chorus as it
made its entrance
• FIVE dramatic
scenes, each followed
by a KOMOS, an
exchange of laments
by the chorus and
protagonist
• Exodus: the climax
and conclusion
Ancient Greek Masks
•
The use of masks in ancient Greek theater draw their origin from the
ancient dionysiac cult.
•
The members of the chorus wore masks: usually similar to each other
but completely different from the leading actors
•
Main actors and masks: to play more roles: to help them project: to help
them be seen.
Sophocles
•
•
•
•
Greek dramatist. Together with
Euripides and Aeschylus, he is
considered one of the greatest
dramatists of ancient Greece. His
surviving plays include Ajax, Oedipus
Rex, Antigone, and Oedipus at
Colonus
A man of wealth, charm, and genius,
Sophocles was given posts of
responsibility in peace and in war by
the Athenians. He was a general and
a priest; after his death he was
worshiped as a hero
he composed about 123 dramas),
winning first place about 20 times
and never falling lower than second
A definitive innovator in the drama,
he added a third actor—thereby
tremendously increasing the
dramatic possibilities of the
medium—increased the size of the
chorus, abandoned the trilogy of
plays for the self-contained tragedy,
and introduced scene painting.
Antigone
• a tragedy written in
442 BC by
Sophocles
• chronologically the
third of the three
Theban plays but
was written first
– Oedipus the King
– Oedipus at Colonus
– Antigone
• The Story of Oedipus
• You have to know this
to understand the
story we’re about to
read.
• Now listen up!!
• Oedipus Background:
how he became king
• The current
ruler, Creon, has
made a decree:
Since Polynices
fought against
Thebes, he shall
not be buried.
Meanwhile,
Eteocles is to be
buried with full
military honors.
• Antigone, the daughter
of Oedipus and the
sister of the dead
brothers, believes this
proclamation to be
against the gods'
orders.
• She confides her plan
to bury Polynices
herself to her sister
Ismene. The more timid
of the two, Ismene
refuses to take part out
of fear, but agrees with
her motive.
Why study Antigone?
• Ancient Greek Drama is the basis for all
modern drama and film
• The story gives many important clues to the
Ancient Greek culture and character
• Tragedies still contain the basic elements that
they originated with
Film Versions of Antigone
• Antigone (1964)
Directed by Yorgos Javellas,
Sophocles’ play about the
daughter of King Oedipus caught
in a moral dilemma about
whether to obey the laws of the
state or to follow her conscience
is brought to the screen with
Irene Papas performing the title
role. English subtitles
• Antigone (1974)
Directed by Gerald Freedman,
this screen adaptation of
Sophocles’ play stars Genevieve
Bujold, Stacy Keach, and Fritz
Weaver.
• Antigone (1984)
Don Taylor directed this made
for TV adaptation of Sophocles’
play