Oedipus Rex Background
Ancient Greek Theater and
Tragedy
The Origin of Tragedy
– Almost everything in modern theater dates
back to theater in Golden Age of Greece
– Roots: Religious rituals and festivals in
honor of Dionysus (god of wine and
procreation) in Athens
• Songs and dances in honor of gods develop
into theater
• Chorus—group of about 12 who sang and
danced at outdoor theaters during the festival
– Around an altar, sacrificed goats
– Tragedy = “goat-song”
Origin of Tragedy, cont.
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Importance of festivals/theater
– Gov’t would suspend business for a week for the
festivities
– Citizens expected to attend and participate in
Chorus
– Experienced performers raised to status of actor—
even excused from military duty
– Greeks thought plays should be instructional as
well as entertaining
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Women not allowed to participate, sometimes
not even to attend
5th Century Athens – Heyday of
Greek Theater
After Persian War (490s-480s BC)
 During Pericles’ reign (495-429 BC)
 Before the Peleponnesian War Athens
vs. Sparta 431-404 BC
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Famous Greek Playwrights
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Thespis (6th century BCE)
– “Father of Drama”--thespians
– First “actor” and dialogue (534 BCE)
• Before, only the Chorus spoke the text of the
play; now an “answerer” interacts with the
Chorus leader
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Aeschylus (525-426 BCE)
– 2nd actor; lessens importance of Chorus
– Wrote trilogies on unified themes
Famous Greek Playwrights, cont.
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Sophocles (496-406 BCE) **
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Adds the 3rd actor
Fixes Chorus number to 15
Introduces painted scenery
Made each play of the trilogy separate in nature
• Although Oedipus Rex is part of the Oedipus cycle,
Antigone, etc. are performed in different years
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Euripides (486-406 BCE)
– Relies on heavy prologues and deus ex machina
endings (intervention from heaven)
Structure of the Theater
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Theatron— “seeing place” where audience
sat
Orchestra—circular dancing place where
actors and Chorus perform
Thymele—altar to Dionysus in center of
Orchestra
Skene—building used as dressing room
Proskenion—facade of skene which served
as a backdrop
Parodos—entrance to theater used by
Chorus
Actors and Acting
Actor and dramatist originally the same
 Never have more than three actors
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– Protagonist— “first contestant”
– Deuteragonist –second actor
– Tritagonist –third actor
– Each can play many roles; some roles are
played by many actors
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All male performers
– Played the female parts
Costumes and Masks
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Used to indicate shifts between characters
 Larger than life
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Long flowing robes with symbolic colors
Heavy padding to make actors bigger
High boots, often with raised soles
Masks—linen, cork
• Identified age, gender, emotion
• Exaggerated features—large eyes, open mouth
• General enough features to be a sort of “Everyman”
– This allows audience to take instructional message
personally
Acting Style
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The cumbersome costumes make movement
difficult
– Rely on sweeping, general gestures to convey
emotion
• Beating chest or hanging head
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Line delivery reflects costumes and Greek
values
– Declamatory style—long monologues
– Debates between characters
• Stichomythic dialogue: single lines of verse dialogue
alternate between two characters in ping-pong fashion
Chorus
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Greek tragedy originates in song and dance
– Musical accompaniment for choral odes—flute,
lyre, percussion
– Odes broken into alternating strophes and
antistrophes (like stanzas)
– Dance = expressive rhythmical movement
• Chorus moves back and forth and gestures in unison
• Shift directions with strophe and antistrophe
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Choragos—chorus leader or spokesperson,
can interact with central characters
 Function: Gives dramatic focus and the
language is a fine example of Greek poetry
Functions of the Chorus
In essence, it represents the vox populi, the voice of the people, but as
such, it can do many different things such as:
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Discuss issues raised by the main characters
or action
Express how the people of the city feel
Gossip
Provide a moral backdrop against which the
events of the play happen
Reflect on the political situation of the city
Reveal background information to the
audience (exposition)
Show disagreement/conflict between different
factions in the city
Worship the gods
Conventions
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Unities—Aristotle’s idea of 3 unities
– Action—simple plot with no subplots or
irrelevancies
– Time—often a single day
– Place—one scene throughout (market, temple,
courtyard, etc.)
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Messenger
– Tells news happening away from scene
– Reports acts of violence not allowed to be seen
Conventions, cont.
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Limitations of Greek Theater
– Continuous presence of Chorus
• Usually standing in the background between
odes
– No intermissions
• Continuous flow of action and Choral odes
– No curtains; No lighting
• Plays performed in outdoor theaters during
daylight hours
Greek Dramatic Structure
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Prologos (Prologue):
– the opening portion of the play, which sets the scene and
contains the background info
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Parados:
– the entrance song of the chorus
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Episodes (Scenes):
– scene in the action of the drama, peformed by the actors
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Stasimons (Odes):
– a choral passage, alternating with the episodes of the plot of
the drama
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Exodos:
– the concluding section of the tragedy, ends with the chorus
singing their final lines as they exit
Structure of Oedipus Rex
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Structure of this play lines up with what we
expect from modern drama
– Prologos
• Exposition: background, prepares way for plot
– Episode 1/ Stasimon (Ode) 1
• Conflict: the struggle
– Episode 2/ Stasimon 2 and Episode 3/Stasimon 3
• Rising action: complications leading up to climax
– Episode 4
• Climax: crisis or turning point of play, born of conflict
– Stasimon 4
• Falling action: action simplifies or unravels
– Exodos
• Falling action/Resolution: revelation of meaning
Oedipus the King (or Rex)
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Does Oedipus change his character?
 Sophocles is the “Godfather of Irony”
 Aristotle praised Sophocles a century later
(300s BC) for his theatrical influenced and
technical skills
 Aristotle used “Oedipus” as the model
tragedy, citing its tight form and organization:
desis (ravelling up) and lusis (unravelling)