Sophocles

1. Sophocles The Greek Theater

2. Basis • Greek Theater was rooted in Religion • Festivals were to honor the god Dionysus • So the theater was like a temple • Sophocles wrote over 100 plays • Won the festival competition 24 times in his life • Never came in below 2nd • Three Theban plays • Oedipus the King • Oedipus at Colonus • Antigone

3. Tragedy • Tragic Hero • Hubris • arrogant pride or over-confidence • Hamartia • the tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. • Catharsis • cleanse us of those emotions. • Peripeteia • a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero's tragic flaw

4. Method of Production • Spring Festival for Three Days • Five plays per day, each day a different playwright, the winner awarded a wreath • Music was very important but historians don’t know much about the music that was played • The plays allowed for Earthquakes, avalanches, and gods descending from the sky. • Colorful costumes and masks were worn by performers to make them more exciting

5. Order of the Drama • Open with a Prologue • A scene that introduces the conflict of the play • Parados is second • The entrance of the chorus • Choral Ode • Odes supply exposition, comment on the action, and contribute to thematic development. • Odes can also contribute to the passage of time • Choragos is the leader and often a character • Scenes alternating with Odes • Exodus • The final scene

6. Action • Compact Drama • Often all the action occurs in one day • Single Setting • Offstage Action • Action and violence is often offstage • Messenger is sent to tell of the violence • “deus ex machina” ("god out of a machine")

7. Appearance of the Theater • 15,000 to 20,000 spectators • Actors wore depictive masks and high boots to be scene better

8. Greek Belief on Burial • An unburied body meant the soul would be eternally tormented. The soul would be in unrest and could not enter Hades.