ANTIGONE WEBQUEST

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ANTIGONE WEBQUEST

• An Introduction to Greek Tragedy

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Welcome to the Antigone WebQuest!

• Before beginning your exploration into the world
  of Antigone, you must first become acquainted
  with Sophocles and The Greek Theater.
• The following pages will provide you with the
  information you need.

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Meet Sophocles(496-406 B.C.)

• Sophocles was born and raised in Athens
• He is regarded as one of the worlds greatest
  playwrights.
• He frequently won 1st place at the Dionysian
  festivals, which were competitions between
  playwrights.

• During his life, he wrote over 100 plays, but
  only 7 have
• survived.
• Among these 7 are Oedipus the King, Oedipus
  at
• Colonus, and Antigone.

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The Greek Theater
Theater was a celebration in ancient Greece that
was held in honor of Dionysos (the god of wine).
During these celebrations, Athenians gathered to
watch competitions between playwrights. It was
these competitions that Sophocles often won. The
plays performed at these festivals usually
exposed arrogance which emphasized reverence for
the gods and included tragic events. Although
violence and disrespect were central to the plot
of most tragic plays, violence was never depicted
on stage. Instead, these events occurred off
stage.
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Tragedy

• Tragedy is a work of literature that results in a
  catastrophe for the main character.
• In Greek drama, the main character was always a
  significant person, a king or a hero, and the
  cause of the tragedy was a tragic flaw, or
  weakness in his or her character.

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Typical Structure of a Tragedy

• Ancient Greek playwrights used a consistent
  format for most of their productions.
• A Chorus is used to divide the scenes (similar to
  how a curtain does in present day performances)
  through a song that comments on the action of the
  previous scene.
• The Choragos is the leader of the chorus, and
  serves as another character in the play

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• The typical structure of a tragedy is as follows
• Prologue exposition which provide background to
  the conflict
• Parados or parode Opening song or ode
• Strophê the chorus sings a stanza while moving
  from right to left while singing
• Antistrophê - the chorus sings a stanza while
  moving from left to right while singing
• Epode included in some odes as a final stanza
• Paean a thanksgiving to Dionysos
• Exodos final exiting scene

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Now that you are familiar with Greek Tragedy, you
are ready to begin your task

• Your Task
• You are a detective assigned to investigate the
  death of Antigone.
• Before you can understand her death, you must
  first become aware of the circumstances
  surrounding her life.
• You will obtain background information about
  Anigones family life, and the society in which
  she lived, by following the trail of clues linked
  to her death.

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Family Life Antigones Dad

• Antigone, is part of a trilogy about the royal
  family of Thebes. The trilogy includes Oedipus
  the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone
• Follow the two links below to learn more about
  Antigones father, Oedipus
• Oedipus Early Life
• Oedipus Exile

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A Tragedy between Brothers

• As if the tragedy surrounding her fathers life
  and exile was not horrific enough, Antigone must
  now face the death of her brothers.
• Click here to learn more about Eteocles and
  Polyneices

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Greek Society

• Religion
• Government
• Funeral Rites only read the first paragraph
• Role of Women click on the Daily Life tab and
  then click on Womens Life
• Hubris Find the definition

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The following information can be used to fill out
your STUDY GUIDE

• Title Antigone
• Author Sophocles
• Publication Date 442 B.C
• Setting The city of Thebes Ancient
• Greece
• Genre Drama

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Congratulations!

• You have just completed the Antigone WebQuest.
• You are now ready to begin your reading of the
  play.