Greek Theatre

1
Greek Theatre

• Tragedy and Oedipus Background

2
The Poetics

• Work by Aristotle in which he analyzed and
  described the characteristics of Tragedy
• Aristotle used Oedipus Rex by Sophocles for many
  of his examples

3
Tragedy is

• an imitation of an action that is serious,
  complete, and of a certain magnitude in language
  embellished with each kind of artistic
  ornamentin the form of drama not of narrative
  through pity and fear effecting the proper
  purgation of these emotions.

4
The Poetics

• Serious subject matter must be elevated, deal
  with royal subjects
•   Complete beginning, middle, end
• Presents no more than one significant event in
  the characters life, and the plot must be of a
  length which can be easily embraced by the
  audience.

5
Drama

• The action must be acted out rather than told
• This is the complete working out of a single
  motivation to its conclusion in the recognition
  of a truth
• The Three Unities
• Time
• Place
• Action

6
Tragic Terms

• Purgation (catharsis)
• The drama arouses fear and pity within the
  audience and leads to a cleansing of these
  emotions.
• Because we experience these things vicariously,
  we are renewed without damage
• Hamartia (tragic flaw)
• Allows the common man to relate to the great man
• This is interstpersed artfully with the role of
  fate and the gods

7
Tragic Terms

• Ideally two things should happen simultaneously
• Peripeteia (reversal)
• Anagnorisis (recognition, or understanding)
• This allows there to be good in the midst of the
  terrible
• The tragic hero, though not always responsible
  for the state of affairs, shoulders the burden
  and accepts the consequences

8
Content

• Tragedy dealt with stories that were known.
• Why bother telling a story everyone knows?

9
Theater Terms

•  
• Dionysus
• goddess of fertility and wine
• great festivals would be thrown in her honor
• Had competitions for writing plays
• Comedy
• Tragedy

10
Stage shapeAmpitheater

• Orchestra
• Area where the chorus stood
• Skene
• Building behind stage used for Deus ex machina
• God from the machine fixed lousy ending with
  god making everything come together

11
Stage cont.

• Colonnade
• Backdrop
• Proscenium
• Raised wooden stage
• Parados
• Aisles where actors entered and exited

12
Play Parts

• Prologue
• The introduction of a drama so that the audience
  can understand the significance
• Chorus
• Sometimes as few as two or three but can be 12-15
  actors who represent the public or mob, and does
  not necessarily represent the poet
• Parados sung by the chorus as it first enters
  can summarize or advise protagonist  
• Stasimon
• any choral ode sung subsequent to the parodos

13
Next

• The twisted family tree of one Oedipus, King of
  Thebes.

14
Labdacus

• Father of Laius
• Grandfather of Oedipus
• King of Thebes
• After his death, Lycus took over
• Lycus overthrown by Amphion and Zethus

15
Laius

• As an infant and after the coup, Laius was taken
  to court of Pelops, King of Pisa
• After deaths of A and Z, Laius should have
  returned to Thebes as king, but
• Fell in love with Chrysippus (the illegitiate son
  of Pelops)

16
OOPs

• Kidnapped Chrysippus and raped him
• Chrysippus then
• Commited suicide
• Was killed
• Was rescued
• Traditions vary

17
And then

• Married Jocasta
• Became king of Thebes
• Unable to have children the consulted the oracle
• Oracle told them that Jocasta would bear him a
  son who was destined to kill Laius and marry
  Jocasta

18
So

• Laius resolved to never have relations with
  Jocasta

19
But

• He got drunk one night, forgot his plan and..
• Along came little Oedipus

20
Oedipus

• When he was born Laius had his ankles pierced and
  gave him to a shepherd to leave him exposed on
  Mt. Cithaeron
• Shepherd had mercy and gave him to a shepherd
  from Corinth
• Oedipus was raised by Polybus and Merope (King
  and Queen of Corinth)

21
Oedipus

• Happy childhood until a drunk called him a
  bastard and questioned his parentage
• Oedipus consulted the oracle and instead of being
  told of his parentage was told of his destiny to
  kill dad and marry mom.
• Oedipus still thinks he is from Corinth and vows
  to leave and never return

22
Meanwhile back at the ranch

• Laius heard the prophecy was about to come true
  and was heading to the oracle

23
The place where three roads meet

• Oedipus and Laius meet on the road.
• One of Laius men attempts to drive Oedipus from
  the road and
• Oedipus, in a rage, kills all but one man.
• One of the men killed is his father, Laius
• The only survivor is the original shepherd who
  saved Oedipus at the beginning
• Part one of prophecy!

24
The Sphynx

• In Laius absence, Thebes is devastated by the
  Sphynx, a winged female monster
• The Riddle of the Sphynx
• Solve it or die!!!!

25
Desperation

• Creon, Jocastas brother and Regent of Thebes is
  desperate to defeat the Sphynx
• Offers the throne of Thebes and the hand of
  Jocasta to anyone who can defeat the Sphyx
• And who should wander into town?

26
Our Hero! Tragic that is

• Oedipus solves the riddle (Sphynx threw herself
  off the wall), saves Thebes, and marries Jocasta
• Four children
• Polynices
• Eteocles
• Ismene
• Antigone
• Part two of the prophecy!

27
And now the play

• Thebes encounters a great dry spell and folks
  begin to look for reasons for the sudden bout of
  bad luck.
• Oedipus vows to find the culprit and save the
  city.

28
OOPS!