Athens, Sophocles, and the Greek Theater

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Athens, Sophocles, and the Greek Theater
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Athens of Classical Greece

• Brief Historic Overview
• A. Self-governing city-state (polis)
• B. During the 5th Century B.C., Athens was
  the richest and most advanced of all city-
  states
• C. Great wealth led to the support and
  promotion of arts and entertainment,
  especially the Festival of Dionysus, where
  Sophocles produced his tragedies

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Athens of Classical Greece

• D. Lack of farmland led to frequent
  battles with neighboring city- states by end
  of 5th century B.C., Sparta had starved Athens
• into submission and Athenian Power ended.

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II. Importance and Emphasis of the Arts

• A. Public Unity - The theatrical experience was
  an all encom-passing public experience. Attending
  the theater was social, political, and religious.

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II. Importance and Emphasis of the Arts
A. Public Unity (Contd) - Ancient Greek
myththe theme of most dramatic tragediestouched
the individual and the universal heart and drew
the audience together, especially in times of
hardship.
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II. Importance and Emphasis of the Arts
B. Sacred Art - Dramatic tradition began as
choral performance celebrations to Dionysus
(Roman god Bacchus), god of wine, pleasure, and
fertility
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II. Importance and Emphasis of the Arts

• Civic Duty - Because the Festival of Dionysus
  served as a ritual to honor the god, attending
  the theater was a religious duty and
  responsibility of all pious citizens.

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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)
Although information about the Greek playwright
Sophocles is vague and incomplete, there are some
important details about his life that remain. He
is considered one of the most influential writers
upon Western culture and one of the most tragic
playwrights of all time. Sophocles lived during
the Classical Period (500 to 400 B.C.), a time
of important transition for Greece, when
political and cultural events were changing and
shaping the Athenian culture.
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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)I. Early Years and
Education

• A. Birth - Born about 496 B.C. at Colonus near
  Athens, Greece.
• B. Family - His father was a wealthy
  weapons-maker and a leading citizen, which
  prepared the way for Sophocles to play an
  important role in Athenian society.

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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)I. Early Years and
Education
C. Education - Sophocles studied poetry, music,
dancing, and gymnastics-all of which were
considered to form a well-rounded education for
citizens.
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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)I. Early Years and
Education
D. Awards - By age 15, he won the honor of
leading the boys' chorus in the victory paean
celebrating the Athenian naval victory over
the Persians at Salamis in 480.
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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)I. Early Years and
Education
E. Influences - Sophocles read and studied the
ancient traditions and first epic poetry of
Greece, written by Homer.
F. Teacher - Studied under the Greek playwright
Aeschylus
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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)II. Adult Years and
Public Service
A. Served as a diplomat, a general, and as a
priest of Alscepius, a minor god of healing.
C. Won first prize for dramatic writing at the
Festival of Dionysus 18 times
B. In 443 B.C., the great Athenian leader
Pericles chose Sophocles to be treasurer of the
Delian Confederation.
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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)III. Contributions to
Literature and Drama

• Wrote over 120 plays
• Credited for pioneering the use of on-stage scene
  paintings

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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)III. Contributions to
Literature and Drama
C. Created more complexity in drama by adding a
third actor to the traditional pair increased
the Greek chorus from twelve to fifteen, and
began to integrate chorus into the action.
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Sophocles (496-406 B.C.)III. Contributions to
Literature and Drama

• Aristotle, Greek philosopher, said, The purpose
  of tragedy is to arouse pity and fear in the
  audience, and so create a catharsis, or cleansing
  of emotionsthat will enlighten people about life
  and fate. Sophocles' entire Oedipus Trilogy
  achieves catharsis!
• Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King) (430 B.C.) is
  regarded as his masterpiece.

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The Greek Theater I. History
A. Began when writer Thespis separated one man
from the chorus and gave individual lines to
speak B. In 534 B.C., Thespis produced the first
tragedy at the Festival of Dinoysus
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The Greek Theater II. Performance
A. Theater Actors performed in an open-air
theater with audiences of up to 15,000!
B. Staqe Bare floor with wooden skene behind it
http//gigapan.org/gigapans/78096/
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The Greek Theater II. Performance
C. Costume Actors wore long robes with masks
that depicted their characters they also often
wore cothurni, platformed shoes, to give the
illusion of great height when playing the parts
of gods, goddesses, and mythical heroes.
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The Greek Theater II. Performance
ISMENE And what life is dear to me, bereft of
thee?ANTIGONE Ask Creon all thy care is for
him.ISMENE Why vex me thus, when it avails thee
nought?ANTIGONE Indeed, if I mock, 'tis with
pain that I mock thee.ISMENE Tell me,how can I
serve thee, even now?ANTIGONE Save thyself I
grudge not thy escape.ISMENE Ah, woe is me! And
shall I have no share in thy fate?
D. Declamatory script Because over-sized
costumes made movement difficult, the script
relied heavily upon the actor's dramatic delivery
of lines, which is seen in lengthy monologues and
stichomythic dialogue between two debating
characters.
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The Structure of the Greek Drama
Historians believe that the structure of the
Greek tragedy influenced the eventual division of
a play into acts and scenes. Given the study of
Greek and Roman manuscripts, it is reasonable to
assume that this is true.
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The Structure of the Greek Drama
The Greek tragedy is divided into five distinct
sections 1. The Prologos (Prologue) - The
opening portion of the play, which sets the scene
and contains the exposition (introduces the theme
and main characters) 2. The Parados - The
entrance song of the chorus, named after the
broad aisles on either side of the theater and in
front of the orchestra along which the chorus
entered or exited. 3. The Episodes (Scenes) The
scenes in the action of the drama performed by
the actors. The episodes alternate with and are
distinguished from the stasimons, which are
performed by the chorus.
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The Structure of the Greek Drama
4. The Stasimons (Odes)- A choral passage (ode)
alternating with the episodes of the plot. The
odes (lyrical poems) use exalted and dignified
language created for the choral passages. The
chorus often sang and danced the tragic odes,
accompanied by musical instruments (usually flute
and harp). The tragic ode consisted of strophes
and antistrophes, essentially stanzas of the
poems. 5. Exodos (Epilogue) - The concluding
section of the tragedy. The exodus ends with the
chorus singing their final lines as they exit.
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The Structure of the Greek Drama

• The Chorus
• The chorus of the Greek tragedy served several
  purposes
• Created odes, which contained music and dancing
• 2.Introduced and questioned new characters
• 3. Pointed out significant events
• 4. Established facts
• 5. Affirmed society's outlook and expressed
  societal
• attitude toward developments in the story
• 6. Covered passages of time between events
• 7. Separated the Scenes (Episodes)

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ASSIGNMENT DUE WEDS., 11/2

• Create a collage, Voice Thread, Prezi, or
  PowerPoint describing your lifes quest and
  addressing the following
• Who are you? Where do you come from? What makes
  YOU you?
• What is your purpose in life?
• Where do you hope to go in life? What is your
  goal?
• What are some of the potential roadblocks or
  dangers to getting there?
• What universal question(s) are you seeking to
  answer at this point in life?
• Include photos, clip art, objects, etc. that help
  represent who you are and your lifes quest.

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• THEBES CORINTH
• Agenor
• Cadmus
• Polydorus
• Labdacus
• Laius Jocasta
• Polybus Merope
• Oedipus Oedipus