Oedipus

Introduction to Greek Tragedy

What ways can ones destiny be predicted?

How did the Ancient Greeks prophesize the future?

Can you name any political leader who made a mistake which cost them their career (even their lives)?What motivated them to make this

mistake?Can you think of a example where

pride was the major factor?

“Hubris”

Hubris means pride that is likely to invoke the wrath of the gods

Greek Theater

Evolved from religious festivals to honor Dionysus

Tragedy was a favorite of Greek TheaterAt its heart of all tragedies was the

characters hubris

Greek Theater

Attending plays was considered a civic duty.

The price of a ticket was equal to the wages an unskilled man might earn for a day's work.

There was a special fund that citizens could apply for to receive money if they could not afford the ticket on their own.

Greek Theater

Actors would rotate to play all speaking partsAll actors were men

Chorus also on stageEntered at open of playhad to project their voice without

microphones to audiences of sometimes 10,000 people

Greek Theater

Importance of masksAllowed for actors

to play multiple roles

Chorus would usually wear similar masks

This separated them from the main actors

Allowed men to play roles of women

Sophocles

Over 62 years, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, 24 of which won first prize; the others placed in second at the competition !

Only seven exist in their entirety today.

Ajax: 445 B.C. *Antigone: 440 B.C. Electra: 440 B.C. *Oedipus Rex: 430 B.C. The Trachiniae : 413 B.C. Philoctetes : 410 B.C. *Oedipus at Colonus: 401

B.C.

Sophocles

Sophocles changed Greek Theater

Changed cast size (Introduced a third actor and reduced the chorus from 50 people to 12)

Used more elaborate costumes, including masks

Introduction to Oedipus

The story of King Oedipus was written by the playwright Sophocles and won second prize in Athens' annual drama festival, in about 427 BC. Set in the city of Thebes, the tragedy contains one of the most famous riddles ever devised (the 'Riddle of the Sphinx'), and is an epic story of murder, incest, and terrible unintended consequences.

Speaking Parts

Oedipus Queen Jocasta Creon Teiresias a Priest First Messenger Second Messenger Herdsman Chorus

Originally three actors would have played all the speaking parts accompanied by the Chorus.

In ancient Athens they would also have sung and danced in procession.

The Sphinx

There was a single Sphinx in Greek mythology, a unique demon of destruction and bad luck

A winged lion with a woman's head

The Sphinx Riddle

The God Hera sent the Sphinx from her homeland to Thebes where she asks all who pass history's most famous riddle: "Which creature in the morning goes on

four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?"

She strangled anyone unable to answer to death. If anyone answered correctly, she killed herself.

Oedipus the King

Oedipus solved the riddle:Man — he crawls on all fours as a baby, then

walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age. Bested at last, the Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died.

As a reward for his victory, Oedipus is crowned the new king of Thebes

The Oracle

The Oracle at Delphi was able to tell the future. A woman priestess would go into a trance and reveal the words of the god Apollo.

Sacrifice

The oracle warned Oedipus' parents that he would grow up to kill the father and sleep with the mother. This so shocked them that the baby was taken away to be killed from exposure on the mountainside.

The baby's ankles were pierced and tied to keep him from moving. "Oedipus" means "swollen ankles" in Greek

SO BEGINS THE PLAY!