The Legacy of Sophocles: Oedipus Rex and Ancient Greek Theater

1. Ancient Greece Sophocles and Oedipus Rex

2. Greece in the 4th Century B.C • Greece was the superpower of the known world • The Greeks worshiped many gods: Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, etc. • Greek citizens were required to attend festivals to worship and honor the gods.

3. Festival of Dionysis • Dionysis was the god of wine, agriculture, and theater • During this religious festival there was a theater competition – each competing playwright submitted 3 tragedies and 1 comedy • Winners won a goat • The most successful and recognized playwright was Sophocles

4. Sophocles • Wrestler, musician, general, politician • Very handsome and successful • Celebrated playwright • 120 (ish) plays • 20 (ish) first prizes • Only 7 plays remain – the most famous: Oedipus Rex

5. Theater of the Greeks • Every show was done during the day • Audiences could be as many as 14,000 • Minimal, if any set • Only the “chorus” • Thespis – first “actor” • All the actors were men – wore masks • Never showed any violence on stage.

6. More Theater of the Greeks • The Chorus • A group of about 15 men • Speak in one voice as one “character” • Represent the people – in this case the people of Thebes • Offer prayers to the gods • Summarizes the action

7. OedipusRex Notes… • Background • Oedipus leaves his home city of Corinth to go wandering • Comes to a cross road and kills a man who wouldn’t get out of his way • Comes to city of Thebes who has recently lost their king. • Thebes is under siege of the Sphinx and her riddle • Oedipus answers riddle, Sphinx dies, Oedipus is made king and marries the previous queen

8. Sphinx’s Riddle…how smart are you? • What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening? • Answers? (you die if you get it wrong…) • A man – child, healthy adult, old man with a cane

9. Oedipus Rex Notes… • Remember: • This is a story that was not invented by Sophocles • The original audiences would have known the story and how it ended

10. Apollo… • Greek god of music, medicine, light, truth, and poetry • Also the sun god (sorta) • Had an oracle at Delphi – which was the most famous oracle of Ancient Greece • An oracle is a priestess who delivers the prophesies of the god

11. Oedipus Rex Notes… • Themes • Willingness to ignore the truth • Limits of free will • Human pride • Symbolism • Sight and Light = Truth • Blindness and Dark = Ignorance/lies • Motifs (when an author uses a literary element over and over – in this case symbols and irony – that emphasize the themes) • Sight vs. Blindness / Light vs. Dark • Dramatic irony

12. Literary Terms for you… • Irony – when the opposite of what is expected happens • Situational Irony – when a character or reader expects one thing to happen but something else entirely happens • Verbal Irony – when someone says one thing but means another • Dramatic Irony – the contrast between what a character knows and what the reader or audience knows