GREEK TRAGEDY
• Myth – an old story
• Tragedy – Greek stories with sad endings
Conflicts of a tragedy involve: loyalty to family,religion
and civil law.
• Comedy – Greek stories or plays with happy
endings
• Tragedy – from Greek words “song” and “goat”
• Chorus – Group of boys behind male actors
• Masks – oversized exaggerated to help with
the sound in the stadiums
It all began with a myth…
Characters and Terms:
King Laios – Oedipus’ birth father
Queen Jocasta –Oedipus’ birth mother who he will later marry
Thebes- City where story takes place.
Oracle at Delphi -predicts Oedipus will kill his father and
marry his mother
Oedipus- marries his mother and has 4 children with her
Corinth- King and Queen who adopt Oedipus
Sphinx –Body of a lion, wings of an eagle, face and chest of a
woman – asks riddles to enter the city of Thebes.
Chorus- The group behind the main actors who recite words
of wisdom
Choragos- Main speaker for the chorus of all that is to occur
Characters
siblings/children of Jacosta and Oedipus:
_______________________________________________________________
Polyneices –brother who leaves Thebes after his brother – Eteocles - refuses
to share thrown of Thebes. He is left unburied by Creon
Eteocles- brother who is given military burial
Antigone – Strong-willed sister who defends polyneices’ burial
Ismene – Timid sister of Antigone and Polyneices who does not know what she
should defend.
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Creon – Uncle of 4 children of Oedipus who sentences Antigone to death for
wanting to burying her brother
Haimon- Creon’s son – fiance of Antigone. Will warn his father against
executing Antigone
Sentry- much like a police officer
Teiresias- prophet who warns Creon to not fight with a corpse
The Oedipus MyTh…
“He will his father and marry his mother…”
Oracle predicted that King Laios and Queen Jacosta
would have a son who would kill his father.
The baby Oedipus is taken away to be killed
The King and Queen of Cornith were childless and adopt
Oedipus
Learning of the myth…Oedipus flees fearing he will kill
his adopted father – who he believes is his birth father
And so the prophecy begins…
Oedipus will wander for years, fearing he would kill his father
Oedipus meets an arrogant stranger on the road who tries
to run him over
Because of ego, both men fight and Oedipus kills the
other man
He reaches the gates of Thebes and answers the Sphinx’s riddle
Thebes welcomes him as a king, since their king has been
killed by someone, and offers their queen to him.
Oedipus does not realize he has killed the King of Thebes who is his birth father.
- “He will kill his father and marry his mother.”
The City of Thebes is cursed by a Sphinx who asks
Oedipus a riddle to enter.
“What creature goes on four legs in the morning,
two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?” “Man” = crawls on all fours as an infant, walks on two legs as
an adult, and leans on a cane in old age.
Oedipus lifts the curse of the Sphinx for the City of Thebes and
is hailed a savior. He will become king.
The Sphinx:
After questioning the prophet
Teiresias, Oedipus found
out that the stranger he
killed on the road years
ago was King Laios.
He also learned that he was
adopted by the king and
queen of Corinth. He was
actually the son of Queen
Jocasta and King Laios.
The oracle’s prediction had
been fulfilled.
ANTIGONE
ANTIGONE
Prologue – introduction to the story
Antigone Prologue – opens between 2 sisters
Antigone and Ismene
Antigone – brave and headstrong
Ismene – timid and cautious
Their 2 brothers were fighting for control of Thebes –
and were both killed. One brother is to be buried with
full military armor. The other left naked to rot. Anyone
who tries to bury him will be stoned to death.
Antigone and Ismene
Two sisters torn between society’s law
and sibling love
Antigone – Strong-willed sister wanting to
Oedipus
bury Polyneices
Ismene- Soft-spoken and timid sister. She w
try and stand beside Antigone, although
Antigone will not stand for it.
ANTIGONE
and Conflict
• MAN VS. MAN (ANTIGONE VS CREON)
• MAN VS. HIMSELF (CREON)
• MAN VS. SOCIETY (ANTIGONE)
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Map of Corinth