The Theban Plays -By Sophocles King Oedipus

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The Theban Plays -By SophoclesKing Oedipus
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Sophocles The Theban Plays

• King Oedipus

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Sophocles 496 BC-406 BC approx
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Sophocles Historical Analysis

• Born at Colonus near Athens

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Sophocles Historical Analysis

• The most famous Greek tragedies The Theban
  Plays
• He wrote over 123 plays in his life, 118 titles
  are known and only 7 survive
• Compared to Shakespeare who wrote 36-39 plays in
  his lifetime
• Was considered to be an extremely good natured
  man

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Sophocles Historical Analysis

• Father - Sophillus
• Not an aristocrat but a very wealthy man
• Sophocles was given an excellent education
• He took part in many competitions and won many
• At 16 he was chosen to lead a boys choir
• He entered many Athenian play competitions
• At 28 he won a competition against the great
  Aeschylus

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Greek Theatre
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Oedipus the King Background information

• King Oedipus is the end of a dramatically long
  story
• Myth begins a few generations before Oedipus was
  born
• The city of Thebes was founded by a man named
  Cadmus, who slew a dragon and was instructed to
  sow the dragon's teeth in order to give birth to
  a city. From these teeth sprang a race of giants
  who were fully armed and angry they fought each
  other until only five were left, and these five
  became the fathers of Thebes. Ancient Greek
  audiences would already know the background, and
  in fact the entirety, of the Oedipus story.

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Oedipus

• The name Oedipus will be recognized from Sigmund
  Freud's famous "Oedipus Complex
• His theory that young boys lust after their
  mothers and see their fathers as competition for
  their mothers' favors.
• Sigmund Freuds theory was heavily derived from
  the Sophocles play. However this theory is not
  helpful to the play. Oedipus is not a child when
  Sophocles play takes place
• Oedipus is that he is unaware of the identity of
  his parents when he respectively murders and
  sleeps with them.

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Oedipus the King
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Masks in Theatre

• In 5th Century Athens plays were performed by
  only 2 or 3 characters. Men would also play the
  characters of women.
• Think of examples of modern day plays that use
  masks in their performances?