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Greek Drama and Oedipus Rex Mr. Sweeney Southwest High School

Greek Drama and Oedipus Rex

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Greek Drama and Oedipus Rex. Mr. Sweeney Southwest High School. Drama. Drama – a story written to be performed onstage by actors The plot is divided into acts , which are further divided into scenes Dialogue – the conversations of the characters. Comedy vs. Tragedy. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek Drama and Oedipus RexMr. SweeneySouthwest High School

Page 2: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

DramaDrama – a story written to be

performed onstage by actors◦The plot is divided into acts, which

are further divided into scenes◦Dialogue – the conversations of the

characters

Page 3: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Comedy vs. TragedyComedy – a play with a happy

ending; usually deals with the struggles of common people against social forces

Tragedy – depicts the downfall of a main character known as a tragic hero

Page 4: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek TragedyQualities of a tragic hero

◦Nobility◦Hamartia – a flaw that brings about the

hero’s downfall; all tragic heroes have one◦Hubris – also known as arrogance; it was

the most common flaw in Greek tragic heroes

Catharsis – the emotional cleansing we experience as we watch the character realize he has destroyed himself

Page 5: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek PlaysOnly three actors

were used for all the main roles; each often played multiple roles

Actors wore masks so the audiences knew which characters they were supposed to be in each scene

Page 6: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek PlaysA chorus of 10-15 people

commented on the action and divided the play by reciting odes

Each scene was, therefore, an episode (“between the odes”)

Page 7: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek PlaywrightsThree most

famous:◦Aeschylus◦Euripides◦Sophocles

Page 8: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek Theaters

Orchestra

Skene

Proskenium

Theatron

Page 9: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek Theaters

Page 10: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

Greek PlaysPlays were usually performed as

part of religious festivalsAwards were given to the authors

of the very best plays at these festivals (Sophocles won first place in 24 of the 62 festivals he entered)

Oedipus Rex was first performed at the Festival of Dionysius in Athens; Dionysius was the Greek god of wine

Page 11: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

The Tale of OedipusKing Laius of Thebes learns from an

oracle that he will have a son, and that this son will kill his father (Laius) and marry his mother (Jocasta)

When the baby is born, Laius has his feet pinned together

Laius then gives the baby to a servant and instructs him to take the baby into the wild and kills him

Page 12: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

The Tale of OedipusThe servant cannot bring himself to kill

the innocent child, so he passes him on to a Corinthian shepherd he meets

The shepherd takes the baby back to Corinth and presents him to the Corinthian king and queen

They name him Oedipus (“swollen foot”) because of the wound to his feet; they do not tell him he was adopted

Page 13: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

The Tale of OedipusWhen he has grown to a young

man, a drunken servant tells Oedipus that he was adopted

Since no one else will tell him the truth, Oedipus goes to an oracle, who tells him he will kill his father and marry his mother

Distraught, Oedipus vows never to return to Corinth

Page 14: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

The Tale of OedipusOn the road, Oedipus

meets a wealthy traveler, who picks a fight with him; Oedipus kills the man, and the man’s servant runs away

Oedipus continues traveling and meets the Sphinx, who has terrorized the city of Thebes with his riddle

Oedipus solves the riddle and kills the Sphinx

Page 15: Greek Drama and  Oedipus Rex

The Tale of OedipusThe people of Thebes are

overjoyed, but their king has been killed – the do not know who did it

They name Oedipus their new king and so he marries the old king’s widow, Jocasta

As the play begins, he has been king for about 20 years, and has multiple children with Jocasta