Intro to Greek Drama and Sophocles

Drama

Began as religious ritual

Chorus

means “dance”, a group of men who danced and sang a hymn to Dionysus, in the dramas that developed from these rituals it represents a particular group of people: Ajax’s men, or in Antigone or Oedipus Rex, the king’s counselors, eventually solo actors were added in dialogue with it and each other

Male

Actors were all __________

Actors

Wore large, high boots and masks that indicated their age and gender

Choral Odes and Dialogue

Much of the play consists of ______________ between the Chorus and main character

Violent Action

Occurs offstage and is reported

Folktales or Myths

Plots retell well-known _______________

14,000-17,000 spectators

Greek amphitheaters could hold ______________

Orchestra

“Dancing place” where chorus performed

Skene

“Tent”, an oblong building used for entrances and exits and to represent setting, In Antigone, Creon’s palace

Four, Dionysus, civic pride, contest

One of ________ annual celebrations that began as fertility rituals corresponding to the agricultural seasons. Honored the god ____________. Developed into celebrations of _________. Included a drama ___________.

496-406 BCE

Sophocles lived from _______

Persian War (492-478 BCE) and Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE)

Athens endured two major wars in his lifetime:

120, 7

He wrote around ____ plays, only ____ of which survive

Priest, Statesman, Elected General

He also served in many public roles:

Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus

His most famous plays are the “Theban” plays:

440 BCE

He wrote Ajax around __________