Unit Six: Greece from the Archaic to

the Classical

Readings: Sophocles, Oedipus the KingRogers, 96-114

1. Who is the author?

2. Who is his audience?

3. What is the environment of author and text?

4. What is the author's purpose?

Before reading any text remind yourself of the following 4 items.

Athenian Tragic Drama:A Window on Polis Life

• Greek Tragedy grew out of the rituals associated with Dionysius, god of wine and extreme behavior.

• It was an expressive medium designed to elicit a cleansing response of extreme emotions elicited in extreme situations (catharsis) as a religious experience.

Social Purposes of Greek Tragedy

• Greek tragic performances provided a platform for the discussion of life's issues-the interplay of man and his surroundings.

• By experiencing a catharsis in extreme circum-stances, spectators could vent their psychoses.

• The consequences of flawed lives provided social commentary and raw insights into life in society. (The Greeks preferred negative examples)

Basic Elements of Greek Tragedy1. Greek tragedy worked on the basic principle that there

is an order to the universe.2. They assumed a basic order in the sequence of events.3. That each person had his/ her place.4. And drama depicted attempts by individuals to deal

with their place in the order of things.5. In Sophocles' world, concern was for life in the polis. 6. Disaster occurred as the result of characters who

exhibited a character flaw or defect—a tragic flaw.7. A tragic flaw (hubris) was the mistaken belief that

caused someone to believe that he could over come the bounds of his/her fate.

8. For example, King Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles.

Greek Tragedy: Vehicle of DemocracyShape of a Greek theatre and the form of the drama were designed to involve the audience.

Chorus: Instrument of Participation &

Group Expression. I. Group of actors who communicate

at times directly to the audience.II. Their discourse sets the scene and

directs the action by: • Describing past actions• Commenting on truths or lessons

learned from the actions• Or dialoguing with the audience:

(Humans working out human problems.)

Oedipus the King. The Chorus (Bríd Ní Chumhaill, Ann-Marie Taaffe, Audrey McCoy, Martin

Life in the Polis:

The Background for Sophocles: Oedipus the King

Sophocles

Louis Bouwmeester as Oedipus in a Dutch production of Oedipus the King c. 1896.

The Irony that Makes Life Tragic: Oedipus

Oedipus was a good leader trying to do what was right, to save his people from a devastating plague. But in trying to do what was correct, he denied his past and thereby brought about his own and his family's destruction. The responsi-

bility rested squarely upon Oedipus, because while the Oracle at Delphi informed him of his outcome, it was Oedipus alone who made the choices that caused events to unfold.

Through Oedipus Sophocles Reveals 5 Steps in How Men Learn

Hubris: Oedipus believes he can solve all problems and is in denial about his part in them.

Inquiry: he seeks answers from the blind prophet and his wife/mother.

Revelation: in time he finds out the truth. Recognition of his Fate: he discovers his past. Acceptance of Responsibility for his hubris:

gouges out his eyes and abdicates.

Similarities Between Homer and Sophocles

1. Background and environment of the heroes. (Age of Heroes—Period of Trojan War)

2. Characters are heroic, demonstrating individual “struggles with the forces of life”.

3. Characters go through a learning process.4. Characters make choices that form their Fates.5. Characters have a Tragic Flaw—Hubris—that

cause tragic choices.

Antigone

The Source of Law and Authority in the Polis

Antigone defined her dispute with Creon as a battle between divine law and Creon's law.

Creon sees his authority as a power delegated from the state (the people).

Of itself Creon's authority is apparently good and useful. But

the law of Creon becomes corrupted.This is an excellent example of what "hubris" is.

Creon reduces "good" authority to a personal conflict.

No longer a safeguard of an ideal but a macho test of pride.

Creon’s test of pride is against a woman.

Antigone : Lesson Learned

Creon and Antigone become rigid in their their positions. Haemon makes an analogy to a tree that breaks in the wind

As a result of their inflexibility: Creon suffers: losing son and wife. He is

abandoned. Antigone dies alone.

Antigone: Summation1) Antigone provides insight into what law meant

to Sophocles.

2) The divine law Antigone proclaims so loudly is actually the aristocratic remembrance of family traditions fighting against the emerging populace of the polis.

3) In a story of prerogatives which are improperly assumed, Sophocles reduced the conflict to one of personal flaws and not institutional correctness.

Review

Note the evolution of thought from Homer through Sophocles and Euripides of:

The Greek paradigm of the hero. Age of HeroesHeroic struggle

FateHubrisTragic Flaw