Introduction to OEDIPUS the KING



Introduction to OEDIPUS the KING

 The story of Oedipus the King (also called Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus Rex) was told in the play by Sophocles written about 430 B.C. and performed in Athens. It won second place in the drama competition that year.

Through the play we learn that the Delphic Oracle prophesied to Laius, the king of Thebes, that he would be killed by his son and that his son would marry his own mother. Shocked by such a prophesy, the king and queen decided to kill their first-born son; they gave him to a shepherd to be put out on a mountainside to die. The infant's feet were pierced and tied together, and he was taken away. However, the shepherd took pity on the child and took him to Corinth where he was adopted by King Polybus and his childless queen.

When he was grown, by chance Oedipus heard that he was not Polybus's son, and he went to Delphi to learn if it was true. The oracle did not answer his question, but prophesied that he would kill his father and marry his mother. To protect his parents, he decided not to return to Corinth. Leaving Delphi, he came upon a man at a crossroads with four attendants who tried to force him from his path. The man prodded him with his stick and Oedipus, arrogant and quick to anger, slew him and three of the attendants. The fourth attendant escaped.

 

The incident was not further investigated because Thebes was having such problems with a Sphinx, a monster with the body of a winged lion and the breasts and face of a woman. The Sphinx stood on a rock outside the gates and devoured everyone who failed to solve her riddle: "What creature walks on four feet in the morning, on two at noon and on three in the evening?" Another version says: "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" [Apollodorus 3.5.7]

Oedipus solved the riddle and the Sphinx hurled herself to her death on the rocks below. [Can you solve the riddle? What walks on four legs in the morning, two at mid-day, and on three legs before evening? Oedipus said it was a man. As an infant, he crawls on all fours at the beginning or "dawn" of his life; when grown, he walks upright; when old, he walks with a cane.]

Oedipus was welcomed as a savior of the city and he was offered the vacant throne. He became king and married the recently widowed queen.

Years later the ill-fated city of Thebes was again stricken, now by a plague. The Delphic Oracle was asked what could stop the city's suffering. The oracle told that the plague would end when the murderer of King Laius was punished. Oedipus dedicated himself to solve the mystery of the murder and thereby rid the city of its curse.

The play reads like a murder mystery, a "Who-done-it?" which leads to its dramatic conclusion.

 Follow-Up Discussion and Research

• Where did drama first develop?

• How did Greek drama evolve?

• Which features of modern drama are similar to or the same as the ancient Greek drama?

• Which features are different?

o Drama first developed in Athens from its religious ceremonies in honor of the god Dionysus. The first "dramas" were choral and dance presentations and some were based on stories, such as the Iliad or Odyssey and other hero epics. Eventually an actor was added to respond to the chorus. This was first done by the playwright and actor, Thespis. (We still call actors "thespians" today to honor him as the first actor.) A later playwright added a second actor.

o Sophocles made even more changes. He added a third actor and reduced the chorus from 18 to 15.

o In Oedipus Rex, the chorus had 15 members, all teenage boys. They represent the elderly citizens of Athens.

o Part of the chorus would be sung and danced with the accompaniment of musical instruments like the double flute, drums, tambourine, and sometimes the kithara (something like a guitar).

o Only men would be actors, no women.

o There were only three actors with speaking parts.

o Masks were worn by the actors. When an actor went off stage, he would come back on in another role wearing a different mask. There could only be three actors at a time delivering lines, plus the chorus (which often functioned as an additional character).

o The theater was in the open-air; there were no spotlights, curtains, microphones, or special effects. The audience had to use its imagination to fill in the scenes with detail. Performances were during the day and began at sunrise.

o The focus of the performance was upon the language of the play, the poetry and song. Translations into English cannot fully capture the beauty of the original Greek poetry.

o The contests were part of the Great Dionyssia (the biggest celebration after Panathenea) and were held in March. This celebration lasted for six days. The first day was the day of the sacred parade and sacrifices. The next two days were for the dithyrambic dancing contests. During the last three days the drama contests were presented.

o The playwright was required to present four plays: three tragedies and one satyr comedy.

o Ten judges were elected and from them five were chosen by lottery to decide the winner. The winner was announced and the Honorable Archon (magistrate) put on the winner's head a crown of ivy, the holy plant of the god Dionysus.

 [pic]

The chorus, as shown on a Greek vase.

[pic]

Dramatic masks shown in a mosaic in Pompeii, Italy.

|Tragedy |Comedy |Satyr Plays |

|The word "tragedy" refers primarily to |Greek comedy probably grew from the often |Satyr plays were short, slapstick pieces characterized by a chorus of |

|tragic drama in which a hero suffers |satirical choruses of the feast of Dionysus |satyrs (half men, half beasts) who act as a farcical backdrop to the |

|some serious misfortune which is |. Aristophanes targeted the abuses of |traditional mythological heroes of tragedy. |

|logically connected with the hero's |politicians and the destructiveness of war | |

|actions. Tragedy stresses the |in comedies of great wit. | |

|vulnerability of human beings whose | | |

|suffering is brought on by a combination| | |

|of human and divine actions. | | |

|Surviving Tragedy texts available |Surviving Comedy texts available on-line: |Surviving Satyr Play texts available on-line: |

|on-line: | | |

|Aeschylus (the "father of tragedy"): |Aristophanes: The Clouds (Perseus), The |Euripides: Cyclops (Perseus) |

|Oresteia (trilogy consisting of |Frogs (Perseus), The Birds (Perseus) | |

|Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides);| | |

|The Persians (Perseus and Internet | | |

|Classics Archive from MIT); Prometheus | | |

|Bound (Perseus) | | |

|Sophocles: Oedipus the King (AKA Oedipus| | |

|Tyrannus is also on Perseus), Antigone | | |

|(Oedipus's daughter) (Perseus), Oedipus | | |

|at Colonnus (Perseus); Electra | | |

|(Perseus). | | |

|Euripides: Medea, Trojan Women | | |

|What do tragedies show us about Athenian|What do comedies show us about Athenian way |What do satyr plays show us about Athenian way of life? |

|way of life? |of life? | |

|Aeschylus is considered "the father of |"The Clouds" which makes fun of philosophers|Only a few Satyr Play fragments and plays have survived. These satyr plays |

|the dramatic tragedy", 525?-456 B.C. He |like Socrates; and "Lysistrata" in which the|emphasize sexual comedy. The satyr is an uninhibited creature who is half |

|is the playwright of "The Persians" |Athenian women sexually boycott their |goat, half man. Satyrs show "animal nature" and were forest dwellers |

|(written in 472 B.C., available on-line)|husbands to end a war; "Women in Politics" |associated with Dionysus, god of wine, procreation, and of drama. Satyrs |

|which portrayed King Xerxes as a man |in which the women take over the government;|were the attendants of Dionysus, were great lovers of wine and of |

|destroyed by his own hubris, or pride. |"The Acharnians" which is an attack on the |assaulting nymphs. Along with the maenads (fairies of the forest), they |

|Sophocles' play Antigone is a critique |Peloponnesian War, and more. "The Birds" |form the train of the god Dionysus, dancing and singing and were naturally |

|of absolute power and unenlightened |(online from Perseus Project) is widely |associated with the Festivals of Dionysus. |

|rule. The play details the disasters |regarded as Aristophanes' greatest play. | |

|that befall a society in the midst of |Originally produced in 414 BC in Athens at a| |

|change, when long-accepted traditions |time of tumultuous social upheaval and civil| |

|conflict with interests of a new era, |strife, "Birds" tells the story of two | |

|and gives us a view of the thinking of |ordinary men in search of a better life as | |

|the people of Athens at that time. |far as possible from the problems of the | |

|Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, is told |city, the choking law courts, corrupt | |

|that she cannot bury her dishonored |politicians, and endless war. Our heroes | |

|brother. This play is about the conflict|conspire to persuade the Birds to join them | |

|between personal obligation (to bury her|in the creation of a new city . | |

|brother) and respect for authority | | |

|(which refused her permission to bury | | |

|her brother). See a Guide to Antigone | | |

|(Classics Page) for a brief introduction| | |

|to the play. See brief summaries of | | |

|Sophocles' plays | | |

|In Medea by Euripides, views of women | | |

|are presented (by a man, of course). | | |

|"Women would be better off as cattle, | | |

|than as we are - a subspecies of the | | |

|human race. First - at great expense - | | |

|we buy ourselves a husband - what is a | | |

|dowry unless a down-payment on marriage?| | |

|- but then he owns us, especially our | | |

|bodies! Thus two wrongs make a worse | | |

|wrong. And secondly, the big question - | | |

|will the man we get be all right, or a | | |

|total write-off? We can't get rid of | | |

|him, it's not respectable; we can't | | |

|fight him off, it's not possible. | | |

|Someone like me, not trained up in your | | |

|culture, a stranger to your customs and | | |

|traditions, needs magic powers to keep a| | |

|husband sweet in bed. And if our husband| | |

|is not violent, and endures the burden | | |

|of marriage to us patiently - we are the| | |

|envy of our friends! If anything else - | | |

|death would be a better fate. If a man | | |

|is bored by the company at home, he can | | |

|go out and find a welcome elsewhere. A | | |

|woman has only one source of comfort. | | |

|Men say we live a life of ease at home | | |

|all day, while they go off to war. They | | |

|do not understand. Personally I'd rather| | |

|face the battleline three times than go | | |

|through childbirth once." (Medea, lines | | |

|225 - 250) Read a brief summary of Medea| | |

|by Euripides. | | |

|This page links with The Greeks Multimedia Project, BP 24 (1) "Origin of Greek Theater" and (2) The Different|

|Types of Greek Drama and Their Importance". |

|  |

|It is appropriate to use when considering the National History Standards 2B: Demonstrate understanding of the|

|major cultural achievements of Greek civilization by: |

|Identifying major works of Greek drama and mythology and assessing how they reflected social values and |

|attitudes. [Formulate historical questions] [Grades 7-12] |

|Grades 7-12 Examples of student achievement of Standard 2B might include: |

|Read selections from Greek dramatists such as Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus and discuss what evidence |

|they offer of ancient moral values and civic culture. |

|Read selections from Greek literature to determine how the arts reflected cultural traditions and values. |

|Grades 9-12 Examples of student achievement of Standard 2B might include: |

|Present dramatic readings from selections of Greek tragedies and comedies, such as Sophocles' Antigone and |

|Aristophanes' The Clouds. What are the lessons transmitted through Greek tragedy and comedy? How does drama |

|reflect values? |

|  |

|Additional Student and Teacher Resources |

|The Greeks Multimedia Project, Background Page 24: (1) Origin of Greek Theater and (2) The Different Types of|

|Greek Drama and Their Importance. |

|Ancient Greek Theater (Portland Statue University's Greek Civilization for Kids) has information of the |

|origins of theater, the festivals, the playwrights, and more. This site was prepared by college sophomores |

|for use by middle school students in research projects. |

|Production of Fifth Century Greek Tragedy (Illinois Science and Mathematics Academy, Grades 10 - 12, student |

|projects) A well-done site describing the use of masks, the stage, the use of the chorus and actors, and |

|more. |

|Staging a Greek Play tells the steps a playwright had to go through to compete in the tragedy competition of |

|ancient Athens. (Developed by Walter Englert, Reed College) |

|Greek Drama and Culture (Temple University, Dr. Robin Mitchell-Boyask ) has information for her Classics |

|class. Also see her Study Guide for Sophocles' Oedipus the King which has guiding questions for each section |

|of the original text (linked to the Perseus site). |

|Ancient Greek Theater (an award-winning site). Here you can find a description of a theater, summaries of |

|Sophocles' plays, information on masks, and much more. |

|Aristotle (who is thought of as a philosopher and scientist) also gave some thought to drama and theater in |

|his "Poetics", written in 325 B.C. (A brief site by James Davis.) |

|Didaskalia: Introduction to Greek Stagecraft (University of Warwick, England) has much information and |

|graphics of theaters, masks, the chorus, and more. |

|Sophocles' Oedipus Rex by Maureen Howard. The unit plan for teachers may be useful in the drama, literature, |

|or history class. (Recommended by her for Sophomore Advanced and College Bound English classes; unit |

|evidently covers several weeks.) See her Suggestions for Developing Students' Understanding of the Play and |

|extensive background information. |

|Learn more about Oedipus and the Sphinx (at Greek Mythology Link). |

|Biographical information on Sophocles is available at "Oedipus - Sophocles the Man" |

|Dance in Greek Tragedy and Music in Greek Tragedy are presented in two essays by Winnie Harrington. |

|Learn more about the religious celebrations which included drama at The Great Dionysia 1 and The Great |

|Dionysia 2 and The Origin of Comedy and Comedy in Performance (City University of New York). |

|For vase paintings showing dramas, see Images of the Ancient Stage (University of Saskatchewan) |

|Students may enjoy playing the Oedipus Game from the Classics Pages. |

|See a study guide of Oedipus Tyrannus (by Robin Mitchell-Boyask of Temple University) and a worksheet showing|

|the structure (how the three actors rotate parts on stage). |

 

 

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