Sophocles- This man was born in Colonus, which was a village outside Athens. We was well educated because of being born into a wealthy armor maker's family. He was handsome, very athletic, and had great skill in music. He lived from 496 BCE- 406 BCE. This is the man that wrote the tragedy
Oedipus Rex.
Oedipus Rex- An Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles. The main story line is that Oedipus Rex (main character) has a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. This does happen by the end and is a tragedy because of it.
Oedipus the Man- A very nice man, although fictional, he had quite the look on life. As a child he was given to strangers because his prophecy was that he would marry his mother and kill his father. His parents were the king and queen, so they didn't want that to happen because incest is frowned upon.
Aristotle- a Greek philosopher born n Stagirus in 384 BCE. He lived under guardian care because hi dad died when he was a child. When he was 18 he joined Plato's Academy and remained there until he was 37. Aristotle is titled the first genuine scientist because of his massive collection of writings on physics, metaphysics, theater, politics, government, biology, and zoology. He was also a huge fan of Sophocles and his works.
Aristotle tragedy- Aristotle really loved
Oedipus Rex and considered it the perfect tragedy. He analyzed it thoroughly and decided it is the "imitation of an action" by a tragedy "showing" rather than "telling" through action instead of narrative that makes a play a tragedy.
Dramatic Irony- This effect is achieved by leading an audience to understand what is happening (normally a bad thing), while the characters in the play are unaware of what is happening. In the picture above you can see the prisoner is going to dig straight into a restroom sewage system. The prisoner doesn't have any idea this will happen, but we do. In
Oedipus Rex this happens when Oedipus kills his father, marries his mother, then goes looking for the killer of his father so he can avenge his new wife.
Tiresias- this is the man who game Oedipus his prophecy to kill his dad and marry his mom. He was a blind prophet of Thebes, most famous for hitting two snakes with a stick and getting turned into a women for 7 years. Once Oedipus marries his mother, he goes back to Tiresias and tells him to tell him the name of the murderer, but Tiresias says there is no point since the truth will eventually show its self.
Fate- a power believed to control what happens in the future. It is also the things someone cannot get away from no matter how hard they try; they can't ever get away from their fate. This the the prophecy that Oedipus gets. No matter how many times he gets thrown away or runs away, he eventually will kill his dad and marry his mom.
Oedipus Rex Myth- The myth is that Oedipus saved his city once he killed his father and then figuring out the riddle the sphinx has put out so he will stop terrorizing the city. Because he figured out the riddle he got the throne of Thebes and the recently widowed queen, who is also his mother, thus competing his prophecy. Oedipus represents the flawed nature of humanity and an individuals role in the course of destiny in a harsh universe.
Aristotle Hubris- extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his own downfall. Definition of Hubris by Aristotle: "Hubris consists in doing and saying hings that cause the victim shame... simply for the pleasure of it. Retaliation is not hubris, but revenge... Young men and the rich are hubristic because they think they are better then other people" (Aristotle's Rhetoric).
Greek Theater- these were where all plays and many performances took place. A lot of the time people would party and eat for a few days straight, then go see a play or tragedy in one of these. In almost all plays they would have hundreds of masks that would show personality instead of appearance most of the time.
