Greek Theater: Antigone

Greek Theatre: LayoutTheatron: literally,

the “watching place”Orchestra: literally,

the “dancing place”Paradoi:

passagewaysSkene: “scene,” or

backdrop

TheatronDaylightClass seatingSeated 12,000-14,000

WomenComfort

OrchestraChallenges:

SizeDistance from audience

Holding interest

Skene(meaning “tent”)Behind orchestraServed as backdrop

Actors3 Actors, all men

Various rolesWore masksElaborate gestures, “over-acting”

ChorusBegan as 12; Sophocles

changed it to 15 menSingingDancingConsidered the

mouthpiece of society and morality

Felt the suffering along with the heroes.

Greek TheaterStructureThe basic structure of a Greek tragedy is fairly simple. After a prologue spoken by one or more

characters, the chorus enters, singing and dancing. Scenes then alternate between spoken sections (dialogue between characters, and between characters and chorus) and sung sections (during which the chorus danced). Here are the basic parts of a Greek Tragedy:

Prologue: Spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears. usually gives the mythological background necessary for understanding the events of the

play. Parodos: This is the song sung by the chorus as it first enters the orchestra and dances. First Episode: This is the first of many "episodes", when the characters and chorus talk. First Stasimon: At the end of each episode, the other characters usually leave the stage and

the chorus dances and sings a stasimon, or choral ode. The ode usually reflects on the things said and done in the episodes, and puts it into some

kind of larger mythological framework. For the rest of the play, there is alternation between episodes and stasima, until the final

scene, called the... Exodos: At the end of play, the chorus exits singing a processional song which usually offers

words of wisdom related to the actions and outcome of the play.

Sophocles495 B.C.E. :Born in

Colonus, in AtticaGreek Playwright 441: Writes Antigone431-404: Peloponnesian

War (Athens v. Sparta)429: Writes Oedipus

Rex406: Sophocles dies

SophoclesFirst to add a third actor

Wrote over 120 plays, only seven survived.

Oedipus the King is most famous works. Often called the

“perfectly structured play”

Antigone continues the story of Oedipus

TragedyDefinition:

a serious drama featuring a main character who strives to achieve something and is ultimately defeated

The main character’s downfall is often due to an inborn character flaw or weakness – the tragic flaw.

Tragedy600 - 500 BC, Tragedy originated as a new form of Greek Theater Told a story intended to teach religious lessons.

Showed the right and wrong paths in life. Viewed as a form of ritual purification

Depicted the life voyages of people who steered themselves or who were steered by fate into conflicts with society, life's rules, or simply fate.

The Tragic Protagonist: one who refuses out of either weakness or strength to give in to fate

Most often, the protagonist's main fault is hubris, meaning false or overweening arrogance. It could be the arrogance of not accepting ones destiny, the arrogance of

assuming the right to kill, or the arrogance of assuming the right to seek vengeance.

Whatever the root cause, the protagonist's ultimate conflict with fate, reality, or society is inevitable and irreversible.

Image and Textual References Ancient Greek Theater. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site:

http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/graphics/theaterdiagram.jpg Damen, (2006). Classical Drama and Theatre. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site:

www.usu.edu/.../11/vaseactorholdingmask.jpg Greek Drama. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site: www.baylor.edu/~John_Thorburn/Attica2.GIF Hellenic World Staff (2007). The Greek Sphinx. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from The Hellenic World

Web site: www.ancientworlds.net/.../08/55/00085574_320.jpg Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site:

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~tcf/pictures/electra.png&imgrefurl=http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~tcf/pastevents.html

Startz, A. (2006). Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site: http://casweb.ou.edu/home/news/events/images/sophocles.jpg

The Classical Greek Chorus. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site: www2.selu.edu/.../classes/engl230/Chorus.jpg

http://anarchon.tripod.com/indexGREEKTH.html