ANTIGONE

1
ANTIGONE

• by
• Sophocles
• The best lecture ever!
• 85 slides of non-stop fun!

2
Vocabulary Words

• Write the following words on separate paper.
  Make sure you spell them correctly.
• Define and learn the meanings of the words.
• Some of the words will be defined during the
  lecture and during discussion, so pay attention.

3

• What is the difference between religion and
  mythology?
• Why study the mythology of Ancient Greece?
  Consider the cultural and historical values of
  the mythology.
• deity
• polytheism
• monotheism

4

• Zeus
• Ares
• Athena
• Dionysus
• circa
• oracle
• prophet / prophecy
• plague
• famine
• Hubris / pride
• heir

5

• regent (163)
• Ignominious (163)
• edict (163)
• Argive (165) (someone from Argos in the play,
  specifically a soldier from Argos who attacked
  the city of Thebes)
• interdict (166)
• desecrate (166)
• sepulcher (166)
• degeneracy (166)
• sovereign (167) (reign)
• martyr (168)

6

• revel (170)
• sabotage (171)
• exile (171)
• mourn (171)
• sentry (172)
• pious (173)
• obsequies (173)
• misgivings (174)
• libations (179)
• flagrant (179)

7

• nullify (179) (null)
• submission (180) (submit)
• complicity
• deity (184)
• deference (186)
• sanctity (186)
• anarchy (187)
• judicious (188)
• insolent (189)
• homage (191)

8

• dirge (194)
• sacrilege (195)
• retribution (195)
• portent (198)
• repent (199)
• desecrate (199)
• vanity (204)

9
The Tragedy of the Royal House of ThebesOutline
Notes

• Sophocles Greek Playwright
• Circa 495 406 BCE

10
The Three Plays of the Oedipus Cycle

• Oedipus the King
• Oedipus at Colonus
• Antigone
• Written circa 411 BC
• Antigone is the third play in the trilogy, but
  Sophocles wrote it
• before he wrote the other two plays.

11
Important Cities

• Pay attention to the next two maps.
• Look for the following cities
• Thebes
• Delphi
• Corinth
• Argos
• Region of Boeotia

12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
The Origin of The Royal House of Thebes

• The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
• Apollo was the god of Truth, Prophecy and Light
• The Oracle was the Priestess Pythia.
• She could communicate with Apollo and provide
  humans with a prediction of their fates.
• Although her prophecies were destined to come
  true, her messages often consisted of incomplete
  information, and what she said was confusing for
  humans to completely understand.

15
Apollo and The Temple at Delphi
16
Temple of Apollo at Didyma
17
Treasury of the Athenians at Delphi

• An Example of Greek Architecture

18
CadmusThe First King of Thebes

• Cadmus and his sister Europa were the children of
  Agenor I, the king of Phoenicia.
• Cadmus and Europa were descendants of the god
  Zeus (his great-great grandchildren).

19
Zeus and Zeus Fighting a Titan
20
Background The Founding of Thebes

• Princess Europa disappeared from the coasts of
  Phoenicia on the back of a bull (Zeus in disguise
  had kidnapped her).
• Agenor I, sent Cadmus in search of Europa,
  telling him not to return until he had found his
  sister.
• However, nothing was ever found of her, except
  for the name of the land called Europa. (She had
  been left by Zeus (the bull) upon the shore by
  Mount Dicte in Crete.)

21
The Abduction of Europa
22
What Cadmus Did

• Cadmus searched for Europa but could not find
  her.
• Cadmus in his wanderings came to Delphi. There
  the oracle told him to buy an ox which had a
  moon-shaped mark on its side, and to drive it
  before him. Where it lay down, it was fated that
  Cadmus would found a city and rule as its king.
• He settled in Boeotia (named for the ox), and
  founded in this new land the city of Cadmea,
  later called Thebes.
• These events took place approximately 200 years
  before the Trojan War.

23
Ares Serpent

• When the place for the new city was determined,
  Cadmus decided to sacrifice the ox to the goddess
  Athena.
• He sent some of his men to draw water from a
  spring (later called Dirce) belonging to Ares
  (the god of war).
• The spring was guarded by a serpent or dragon
  which was the sacred offspring of Ares.
• Ares dragon had a golden crest, flashed fire
  from its eyes, had a triple tongue, teeth ranged
  in triple rows, and its body was swollen with
  poison.
• It devoured Cadmus' men.
• Cadmus confronted the dragon and killed it.
• Athena told him to plant the dragons teeth in
  the earth.

24
Cadmus and the Serpent
25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
AthenaGoddess of wisdom, war strategies, the
defense of cities, heroic endeavor, weaving,
pottery and other crafts, domestic arts,
agriculture, the olive tree, and Athens. She was
depicted as crowned with a crested helm, armed
with shield and spear, and wearing the
snake-trimmed Aegis cloak wrapped around her
breast and arm, adorned with the head of the
Gorgon. She was born fully grown from the head
of Zeus.
28
The Sparti

• From the sown teeth sprang forth armed men
  (Sparti) who began fighting and killing each
  other.
• Five of them survived the massacre.
• The five Sparti had supernatural powers with
  which they helped Cadmus build the new city.
• The Sparti were the progenitors of the following
  generations of citizens of Thebes.
• Cadmus married Harmonia. Together they ruled
  Thebes as its first King and Queen
• The Fate of Cadmus and Harmonia
• Cadmus and Harmonia were turned into serpents
  because he had killed the dragon of Ares.

29
Cadmus and Harmonia are turned into Snakes
30
(No Transcript)
31
Time to skip a few generations to focus on the
important part of the story.

• Cadmus founded the city of Thebes
• The throne of a city was passed on the eldest
  male heir.
• Women could not be rulers in Greek society.
• Cadmus son was Polydorus.
• Polydorus son was Labdacus.
• Labdacus son was Laius.

32
House of Thebes Family Tree (edited) Yes,
write this in your notes.

• Zeus Io
• Epaphus
• Poseidon Lybia
• Agenor
• Cadmus Harmonia
  Europa ( Zeus)
• Polydorus (son of Cadmus)
• Labdacus (son of Polydorus)
• Laius (son of Labdacus)

33
House of Thebes Family Tree(continued)

• Labdacus Menoeceus I (Great-Grandchild
• of Cadmus)
• Laius Jocasta Creon Eurydice
• Oedipus Haemon Menoeceus II

34
King LaiusA Curse on the House of Thebes

• Prior to becoming the King of Thebes, Laius
  lived in exile in Peloponnesus, hosted by King
  Pelops I.
• Laius fell in love with Pelops' illegitimate son
  Chryssipus II.
• Laius abducted Chryssipus and was eventually
  arrested by Chryssipus half brothers.
• However, Pelops did not wish to punish a man on
  account of his love.
• The gods took exception to the abduction (not to
  Laius love for Chryssipus) and set a curse on
  Laius that would last for three generations.
• Chryssipus was eventually murdered by the queen,
  who wanted her own sons to inherit the throne.

35
Laius Abduction of Chryssipus
36
Laius Return to Thebes

• Laius returned to Thebes as its rightful king
  with Jocasta (a distant cousin), daughter of
  Menoeceus I as his queen.
• Laius wanted to know if he would have an heir to
  the throne.
• The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi warned him not to
  have a son because that son was fated to kill his
  own father.
• But Laius disregarded the oracle (further grounds
  for him to be punished by the gods) and
  eventually he and Jocasta conceived a son.

37
Laius Attempts to Change his Fate

• In his fear that the Oracles prophecy would come
  true, Laius plotted to kill his son.
• Laius ordered a shepherd to take the baby and
  bind (or bolt) the babys feet so he could not
  walk, and then take the child to the mountains
  and abandon it.
• In this plot, Laius thought that he could not be
  accused of killing the child because he did not
  directly do it himself.
• The shepherd did as he was told,
• except . . .

38
Oedipus is Rescued

• Instead of abandoning the baby, Laius shepherd
  gave it to another shepherd, who in turn took the
  child to the city of Corinth.
• There, King Polybus adopted the child as his own
  son.
• The child was named Oedipus.
• Oedipus means swollen foot. His feet had
  swollen because they had been so tightly bound
  together. (Another version of the story
  indicates that his ankles had been riveted
  together with a bolt.)

39
Oedipus Becomes an Adult

• He encountered a drunkard on the street who told
  him that Oedipus was not the true son of the
  king, and that he could not inherit the throne of
  Corinth.
• Oedipus went to the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
  and learned bad news and worse news
• 1. You are going to kill your father.
• 2. You are going to marry your mother.

40
Banished from Corinth

• Continuing to believe that Polybus was his real
  father, Oedipus attempted to change his fate by
  vowing to banish himself from Corinth, never to
  return, so that he could not harm his father or
  mother.
• He was man without a homeland. He wandered
  Greece as he tried to determine what he should
  do.
• But as fate would have it . . .

41
Battle at the Crossroad

• He came to a crossroad where he encountered an
  old man in a chariot and his five guards.
• A conflict ensued between Oedipus and the old man
  regarding who had the right to pass.
• Neither would relinquish, swords were drawn, and
  a battle ensued.
• Oedipus killed the old man and four of his
  guards.
• The fifth guard escaped and fled.

42
Meanwhile, Back in Thebes

• The guard returned to the Palace of Thebes to
  reveal the news that King Laius had been murdered
  by a band of robbers.
• As Laius had no heir to the throne because he had
  disposed of his only son, Creon, the brother of
  Jocasta, the Queen, became the acting regent.
  (Women were not allowed to be in positions of
  power.)
• The first part of Oedipus fate had been
  fulfilled. He has unknowingly killed his father.

43
The Sphinx Asks a Riddle

• As if the death of the king were not bad enough,
  Thebes had another problem to deal with. A
  Sphinx had begun to terrorize the city.
• The Sphinx is creature that has the body of a
  lion, the upper torso of a woman, and it has
  wings.
• The Sphinx asked all passersby a riddle. If the
  person could not answer the riddle, the Sphinx
  strangled the victim, and then ate the body.
• Sphinx means the strangler.

44
Oedipus and the Sphinx
45
Creons Proclamation

• Creon had to save the city, so he proclaimed that
  anyone who could save Thebes from the Sphinx
  would be rewarded
• 1. The hero would become the king of
  Thebes.
• 2. He would marry Queen Jocasta.
• Along came Oedipus, who had heard of the offer.
  Being a man without a country, he had nothing to
  lose, so he accepted the challenge and approached
  the Sphinx.

46
The Riddle and the Prize

• What goes on four feet in the morning, on two at
  noon, and on three in the evening?
• Oedipus answered the question
• The answer is man At birth, he crawls, as an
  adult he walks upright on two feet, and as an old
  man he walks with a cane.
• The Sphinx threw itself from a cliff and died.
• Oedipus became the King of Thebes.
• Oedipus married his mother, Jocasta, and
  unknowingly fulfilled the second part of his fate.

47
Happy Family

• Oedipus and Jocasta successfully ruled Thebes for
  many years.
• They had four children
• Twin sons,
• Eteocles and Polyneices
• and
• Two daughters,
• Antigone and Ismene

48
House of Thebes Family Tree(completed)

• Laius Jocasta Creon Eurydice
• Oedipus Jocasta Haemon Menoeceus
  II
• Eteocles Polyneices Ismene Antigone
• 
  Haemon and Antigone
• 
  are engaged to be
  married.

49
More Bad News

• Thebes began to suffer from a Plague and a Famine
• Oedipus had to save the city, so he sent Creon to
  the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi to find out what
  had to be done.
• The Oracle told Creon that Thebes could only be
  saved by revealing the killer of King Laius.
• Oedipus began his investigation and little by
  little, the facts came out, but Oedipus pride
  would not allow him to accept the testimony of
  his witnesses.

50
The Truth and its Consequences

• Ultimately, the two shepherds who had been
  involved in Laius plot to kill his son came
  forth and revealed their roles, and the truth
  that Oedipus was, in fact, the son of Laius, and
  that Jocasta was his mother.
• Jocasta, in her shame, hanged herself.
• Oedipus, in his shame, took the two brooches from
  Jocastas gown and plunged the pins into his
  eyes, thus blinding himself from the vision of
  what he had done.

51
Oedipus
52
The Final Curse

• Oedipus promised to banish himself from Thebes,
  never to return.
• Antigone accompanied him on his journey Ismene
  stayed in Thebes to look after his affairs.
• Polyneices and Eteocles despised their father for
  what he had done, even though it was not his
  fault. They cursed their father and kicked him
  out of the city.
• As Oedipus left Thebes, he cursed his sons and
  told them that their inheritance would be divided
  by the sword.

53
A Kingdom Divided

• Creon once again served as Regent of Thebes until
  Oedipus died and Eteocles and Polyneices were old
  enough to rule.
• Because they were twins, Eteocles and Polyneices
  agreed to share the throne by ruling in alternate
  years.
• Eteocles would rule for the first year, then
  Polyneices would take over for the second year.
• At the end of the first year, Eteocles refused to
  give up the throne to his brother, and banished
  Polyneices from Thebes.

54
Polyneices Retaliates

• Polyneices went to the city of Argos and acquired
  the aid of the Argive armies.
• Seven armies with seven chieftains returned to
  Thebes and attacked its gates.
• Because the ancestors of Thebes were related to
  Zeus, he assisted in the defense of Thebes by
  hurling thunderbolts at the Argives.
• The Argive armies were defeated and Thebes was
  victorious.

55
During the Battle

• Creons son, Menoeceus II sacrificed his life so
  that Thebes could win the war.
• Eteocles and Polyneices met face-to-face on the
  battlefield and mortally wounded each other.
• Because there were no more male heirs to the
  throne, Creon was once again in charge of Thebes
  as regent.
• His wife, Eurydice, became the queen.

56
Creons Edicts

• Because Eteocles was a hero who defended Thebes
  from its attackers, he would be buried with full
  funeral rites and honors.
• Because Polyneices was a traitor to Thebes, his
  body would be left on the battlefield to be eaten
  by dogs and vultures. Also, all of the bodies of
  the dead Argives would be left on the battlefield
  to rot.
• Anyone who tried to bury the body of Polyneices
  against Creons order would be put to death by
  stoning.

57
The Burial of the Dead

• All people have the right to a proper burial, as
  designated by the laws of the gods.
• The souls of the unburied are not allowed to
  enter Hades, and are destined to walk the earth
  in torment.
• Burial would include the application of sacred
  oils to cleanse the body, a casting of earth upon
  the body, and cremation upon a pyre.
• One of the worst disgraces a person could suffer
  would be to remain unburied.

58
And so the play Antigone begins

• The Characters
• Creon acting King of Thebes
• Eurydice his wife
• Haemon their son, and fiancé of Antigone
• Antigone and Ismene the daughters of Oedipus
• The Chorus and Leader represent the voices of
  the citizens of Thebes and serve as advisors to
  Creon
• A Sentry charged with guarding the body of
  Polyneices
• A Messenger
• Tiresias the blind prophet of Thebes who can
  predict the future and interpret signs sent by
  the gods

59
Architecture of the Greek Ampitheater
60

• Spectators sat in semicircular rows of seats
  built into a hillside which formed a natural
  outdoor amphitheater.

61
(No Transcript)
62
(No Transcript)
63

• At the bottom of the theater was a round space
  called the orchestra in which the chorus danced
  and sang.
• Dances were done in a circular motion. Strophes
  move from right to left antistrophes move from
  left to right.

64
(No Transcript)
65

• As the structure of drama evolved and actors were
  introduced, sets were created with the
  construction of a raised platform and a backdrop
  of simple scenery behind the orchestra.

66
Examples of Tragic Masks
67
Greek Masks

• The actors in these later plays wore large masks
  with fixed and exaggerated expressions that could
  be easily identified by people in the upper rows
  of the audience.
• Masks would identify characters tragic, comedic,
  male or female.
• All actors were male.

68

• A Greek mask is a kind of mask used to conceal an
  actor's face during a Greek theater performance.
  This practice is extremely useful for the
  following reasons
• There were times when a single actor had to play
  more than one character in the script. This was
  easily achieved through the use of masks.
• During those times, women were forbidden from
  participating in theater roles. Greek masks
  helped conceal the men's faces while they played
  the female parts, suspending disbelief.
• There was a theory that masks helped accentuate
  the actor's voice during a stage performance.

69
The Origins of Greek Drama

• Stories were based on myth or history, but varied
  interpretations of events
• Dionysus (Roman name is Bacchus) the god of wine
  and revelry, rebirth, the tragic arts, protector
  of the theater.
• Drama in the Western world was invented by the
  ancient Greeks.
• Greek dramas were first performed in connection
  with the worship of Dionysus.
• Early performances featured a chorus which would
  sing and dance in a ritual that honored Dionysus.
  

70
The Festival of Dionysia

• Held in Athens, the Festival of Dionysia was an
  annual event of considerable religious and civic
  significance. Nearly all of the citizens of
  Athens would attend the festival.
• The celebration was held in the spring, and
  consisted of a three-day competition among
  playwrights to present new tragedies to the
  citizens.
• Sophocles was renowned for having won these
  competitions many times.

71

• Sophocles is also credited with introducing the
  concept of having three characters in a play.
• The actors performed the actions that were
  narrated in the choral songs.
• Eventually, spoken dialogue was introduced,
  beginning the concept of staged drama as we know
  it today.

72
The Chorus

• The Chorus consisted of men (varied in size from
  3 - 50, but 12 15 seems a more common number)
  who would sing and dance in unison during the
  performance of their lines.
• The Chorus leader was assigned individual lines,
  and represented an influential advisor to the
  king.
• The Chorus as a whole represented the elder
  citizens of the city in which the story was
  taking place.
• The Chorus provided the perspective of the common
  man, and could provide interpretations of the
  meaning of the action, as well as recall past
  events and foreshadow events to come.
• The Chorus could give advice and comment on the
  actions of the main characters, especially in
  relation to the ethics of their decisions in the
  play.

73
The Three Unities

• The structure of Greek Tragedy relies upon the
  following elements
• Time
• Place
• Action

74
TIME

• The events occur in a continuous forward movement
  through time.
• (The events move forward from the beginning to
  the end.)
• Information about the past may be revealed
  through character dialogue or through the chorus.
• The events in Antigone take place during the
  course of a single day, beginning in the morning
  and ending later in the same day.

75
PLACE

• The setting remains constant.
• For example, in Antigone, the setting is in the
  Palace of Thebes. No action is shown outside of
  the palace.
• Events involving violence and death occur
  offstage.
• Messengers or other characters serve as witnesses
  to relate information of events that occur
  outside of the palace.

76
ACTION

• The conflict remains constant.
• Focus is on the resolution of the conflict.
• Action is simple with focus on characterization
  through dialogue.
• Focus is on emotional, psychological and
  ethical/moral attributes of characters
• Very little physical action takes place on the
  stage.

77
What is a Greek Tragedy?

• The concept of a tragedy is to reaffirm the fact
  that life is worth living, regardless of the
  suffering or pain that is part of human
  existence.
• Tragedies are about people in conflict with the
  universe.
• Tragedies are always about spiritual or
  philosophical conflicts, never about everyday
  events.
• Tragic actions arise from a character's inner
  conflict.
• Do not confuse the concept of Greek Tragedy with
  the modern use of the word tragic, which is
  often used to describe events that we think of as
  being sad or unfortunate. Although characters
  may die in Greek Tragedies, the tragedy arises
  from the protagonists poor choices which result
  from his tragic flaw.

78
Predetermined Fate

• Each individual is born with a fate that is
  determined by the gods at birth.
• Ones fate cannot be changed or avoided.
• Each person is given a personal allotment of
  unavoidable suffering.
• The suffering is not necessarily tragic, but is
  to be accepted as part of life.

79
Freedom of Will and Action

• Each person is expected to accept his fate and
  fulfill it with dignity.
• Those who accept their fates should suffer no
  more than their allotted amount of suffering.
• The misuse of freedom to try to change ones
  fate may result in additional suffering.

80
Five Traits of the Greek Tragic Hero

• 1. He is an uncommon man who possesses the
  greatness to battle his own destiny. A tragic
  protagonist must have magnitude his struggles
  are great because he is important to society.
• 2. He is a basically good and noble person who
  causes his own downfall, and possibly that of
  others around him, because of Hamartia (tragic
  flaw).
• (i.e. His intentions may be good, but his
  decisions are misguided.)

81

• He usually suffers from Hubris (Pride) as
  shown through Hamartia (a tragic flaw, character
  flaw, or error in judgment).
• He suffers from a reversal of fortune or fall
  from high to low. He suffers a loss of dignity,
  as well as suffering caused by the loss of loved
  ones.
• 5. He can never escape his fate, but he will
  insist upon accepting fate on his own terms. He
  must become aware of the consequences of his
  actions, and then face the world alone.

82
Hamartia

• A characters tragic flaw
• A personality trait which causes a character to
  make poor decisions, sometimes in an effort to
  control his fate, or to save his dignity.
• Hamartia ultimately results in a loss of dignity,
  and additional pain and suffering.

83
Hubris

• The predominant type of tragic flaw.
• An exaggerated sense of pride or self-confidence,
  often accompanied by stubbornness and the refusal
  to listen to the reason of others.
• Placing oneself in a position of superiority over
  other.
• Hubris results in a tragic end or punishment.

84
Catharsis

• The protagonist's actions should arouse feelings
  of both pity and fear in the audience.
• Pity because the protagonist is better than we
  are, so we place ourselves into his position
  (empathy)
• Fear because we too do not know our future or
  fate.
• By the end of the play, the audience should be
  purged of pity and fear, so they go through a
  catharsis.
• Catharsis the elimination of feelings of pity
  and fear
•    

85
THE END

• of the best lecture ever.