• THEME 1: WOMENS' ROLES

• THEME 2: THE GODS PARTICIPATING IN HUMAN AFFAIRS

• THEME 3: RULES OF XENIA, OR HOSPITALITY

• As a wife As a virgin: pathenos As a lover (victim usually) The implications/power of motherhood Marriage: a double standard or specific rules for each person.

• - Taking lovers- Populating the earth- Implementing the laws of gods and men- Maintaining the laws of gods and men- Punishments/Rewards for men and other gods

• Host/GuestGift givingStoriesTrespassing the rules... what consequences result

• 1. The hero’s mother is a royal virgin or princess • 2. The hero's father is a king (and often a near

relative of the hero's mother) • 3. Circumstances of hero's birth are unusual

• 4. He is usually reputed to be the son of a god or …

• 5. There is a prophecy surrounding his birth

• 6. At his birth, usually an attempt on his life is made (often by his parents)

• 7. He is rescued and spirited away, and • 8. He is raised by foster parents in a far away

country • 9. We are told little or nothing of his childhood,

but at reaching manhood he returns to his original kingdom or goes to claim his future kingdom.

• 10. He has a victory over a king, magical creature, or wild beast.

• 11. He marries a princess, usually daughter of his predecessor, usually abandons her

• 12. He reins peacefully for a while, until he loses favor with the gods.

• 13. He is driven from the city, meets mysterious death (often at the top of a hill) and his body is never buried.

• 14. His children, if any, do not succeed him

• What walks on four legs in the morning, two at mid-day, and on three legs before evening?

• A man. As an infant, he crawls on all fours at the beginning or "dawn" of his life; when grown, he walks upright; when old, he walks with a cane. – This is the riddle Oedipus had to solve in

order to save Thebes from the Sphinx.

Background on OedipusBackground on Oedipus

• Written by Sophocles est. 430 B.C.

• Other names – Oedipus Tyrannus

– Oedipus Rex

• Won 2nd place in a playwright competition in 430 B.C.

• Setting – Thebes, a city-state in Greece in the 400s BC

Characters• Oedipus A Priest• Creon A Chorus• Tiresias Jocasta• A Messenger Antigone,

Ismene• Guards and Attendants