Greek Drama and Oedipus Rex
Intro to Myth
Greek Theater
Greek Theatre: Main components
Theatron: literally,
the “watching
place”
 Orchestra: literally,
the “dancing place”
 Skene: “scene,” or
backdrop

Actors
3
Actors, all
men
 Various roles
 Wore masks
 Elaborate
gestures,
“over-acting”
Chorus
12-15 men
 Sang and
danced (sort of)
the odes
 One of the
chorus may also
play a part in
the actual play

Structure of Greek Drama
Prologue
The exposition of the play.
 The Prologue’s purpose is to give
background information to situate
the conflict.

The Odes

Serve to separate
one scene from
another (since
there were no
curtains in Greek
theaters).

Also allowed the
chorus’s response
to the preceding
scene.
Parts of the Ode

Strophe – part of
the ode that the
chorus chants as it
moves from right
to left across the
stage.

Antistrophe – part
of the ode chanted
as the chorus
moves back across
the stage from left
to right.
Parodos (first ode)

Choral song chanted by the chorus
as they enter the area in front of the
stage.
First Scene

Following the Parodos, the first
scene presents the conflict of the
play.
Paean

(follows scene 5)
A hymn in praise of a god.
Exodos

Final scene of the play.
Oedipus Rex
Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy
Any serious and dignified drama
that describes a conflict between
the hero (protagonist) and a
superior force (antagonist)
 Reaches a sorrowful conclusion
that arouses pity or fear in the
audience (catharsis)

Recognition and Reversal

Recognition is a change from
ignorance to knowledge.


The new knowledge often identifies an
unknown relative or dear one whom the
hero should cherish but was about to
harm or has just harmed.
Reversal is a change of a situation to
its opposite.
Characteristics of the Tragic Hero

The tragic hero:
Is not all good or bad
 Is of the noble class or highly
renowned and prosperous
 Has a tragic flaw
 Recognizes his error and accepts the
consequences
 Arouses the audience’s pity and fear

Sophocles

495-406 B.C.E.


Lived during the
Peloponnesian War
(Athens v. Sparta)


Born in Colonus, in Attica
431-404 B.C.E.
429: Writes Oedipus Rex

The play shows his anger
about his society’s turning
away from the gods
Plot Summary

Oedipus Rex is the story of a king
of Thebes upon whom a
hereditary curse is placed and
who therefore has to suffer the
tragic consequences of fate.
Oedipus
protagonist
 his name means “swollen-foot”
 he inspires both pity and fear
 he is wise, revered by his
subjects, and dedicated to the
discovery of truth

Jocasta (Iocaste)
the wife of Oedipus
 she alternately condemns and
upholds the authority of the oracles
as best suits the direction of the
argument at the moment


Symbolic of Sophocles’ culture
Laios
Former King of Thebes
 Died before the beginning of the
play
 Oedipus married Laios’ wife and
inherited his throne

Creon
Brother of Jocasta
 2nd in command in Thebes

Teiresias
Blind prophet of Apollo
 Highly regarded by most Greeks

Polybos and Merope
King and Queen of Corinth
 Raised Oedipus

Antigone and Ismene
Daughters of Oedipus and Jocasta
 Present in the play, but they do not
speak

Chorus
men of Thebes who honor and
respect the king and the gods
 their odes reveal both a strong
attachment to the king as well as
grounding in religious culture
 choral odes bring an additional
viewpoint to the play
