Antigonea Greek tragedy by Sophocles

•Dionysus- Greek God of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature. Patron god of the Greek stage

•Sophocles (496-406 B.C.E.)- had the opportunity to study the arts at a very early age. By the time he was sixteen, he was already known by the community for his knowledge and talents. In total, he wrote more than 120 plays- he was the most awarded author in Greece.

•Weird factoid: Sophocles is said to have died while reading Antigone aloud.

People to know:

Parts of the Greek Theater

http://karascope.com/_samplefiles/history_y56_samples.pdf

•Greek tragedies were performed in late March/early April at an annualcontest and festival in honor of Dionysus.

•Often, the three plays featured linked stories, but later writers like Euripides may have presented three unrelated plays. The Greek theatre was in the open air, on the side of a hill, and performances lasted most of the day.

Performances

• 3 unities:

unity of time- the action in the play should take place over no more than 24 hours

unity of place- a play should cover a single physical place

unity of action- a play should have one main action that it follows

•Hamartia- tragic hero’s flaw or mistake

•Hubris- excessive pride

•Suffering- a destructive or painful act

•Reversal- occurs when a situation seems to develop in one direction, then suddenly "reverses" to another

•Recognition- a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate

•Catharsis- purgation, cleansing