Download Antigone Background Information

Name: __________________________
Class Period: _____
Antigone Background Information
Please fill in the blanks throughout this handout. You will have a quiz on this information.
Basic Overview

Antigone is about a woman who disobeys the laws of her ruler Creon in favor of the _______________
_______________ that she feels more properly govern society.
Events in History

In Antigone, Sophocles focuses on the possible conflicts between one’s _______________ and one’s
_______________.
Pericles, Creon, & Athenian Democracy

Pericles was the great Athenian _______________ who dominated the social and political scene at the
time the play was written.

Pericles’s career was at its _______________
_______________ when Antigone was first performed
in 442 B. C.

Creon’s character may have been a _______________ to Pericles and the Athenians about the dangers of
dictatorship.

_______________ was a relatively new social development in Sophocles’ Athens.

After a long period of _______________, it began in the late 6th century B. C.

A system was created in which the city was run by ten _______________, each from one of the ten
tribes.

Pericles was one of these generals, and he was very popular, even considered “the _______________
_______________ of Athens.”
Unwritten Laws

The subject of how much power such “unwritten” laws had when they came into conflict with
_______________ laws was a matter of debate during the 5th century B. C.

In Antigone, Sophocles insists that unwritten laws are more important than any _______________ legal
code created by men.

This may be a _______________ to what was happening in Athens at this time, protesting that their
priorities were wrong.
Burial Rites

Funerals in Greece were largely the responsibility of _______________ during Sophocles’ time.

They washed and dressed the body, adorned it with _______________, and then _______________ it
up.

By some accounts, _______________ and people who robbed temples were not entitled to be buried
within Athenian territory, but the historical record is far from consistent on this.
The Athenian Theater

Sophocles’ plays were written to be performed in public at the great _______________ of
_______________.

This theater was located in the heart of Athens with other important city buildings on the slope of the
rocky hill of the _______________.

The Theater of Dionysus looked like a _______________ football stadium.

These masks had exaggerated _______________ that amplified the actors’ voices.

All the actors were _______________, and the choruses were well-trained _______________.

Plays were usually staged during the _______________ of _______________, the god of growth and
wine, which took place at planting time in _______________.

Thespis added that _______________ of the chorus members would step away from the others to play
the part of that hero or god.

Aeschylus added a _______________ individual actor to the performance, thereby creating the
possibility of conflict.

Sophocles added a _______________ actor, introduced painted sets, and increased the size of the
chorus to _______________ actors.

During the drama competitions, the first three plays were _______________, which dealt with religious
or mythical questions.

The fourth play was a “_______________” play that poked fun at the serious subjects and characters of
the three earlier plays.
The Chorus

The Greek word choros means “_______________.”

The chorus, a group of singers and actors who either _______________ on what was occurring in the
main part of the drama or actually _______________ as a character in the play, was an important part of
5th century B. C. drama.

The chorus served as a link between the _______________ and the _______________, often
portraying a group of citizens not unlike the audience themselves.
Sophocles (496 – 406 B. C.)

He took an active role in Athens’ _______________ life.

He was elected a _______________ in the Athenian military because of the popularity of his work.

Sophocles won first place a total of ________ times and second place seven times in ________
competitions (the best record of any Greek playwright).

He wrote ________ plays but only ________ of them have survived to the present.

His plays always contain a _______________ lesson—usually a caution against _______________ and
religious _______________.
Aristotle’s View of Tragedy

Aristotle’s definition of tragedy: to arouse _______________ and _______________ in the audience so
that we may be purged, or cleansed, of these unsettling emotions

Catharsis: emotional _______________; a strangely pleasurable sense of emotional release we
experience after watching a great tragedy; for some reason, we usually feel _______________, not
depressed, after a tragedy

Tragic hero/heroine:
1.
A character who is neither completely _______________ nor completely
_______________ but rather somewhere in the middle. He/she does have good
_______________.
2. Someone “who is highly renowned and prosperous,” which in Aristotle’s day meant a member of
a _______________ family or someone who holds a high or elevated place in society.
3. The character must possess a _______________ (tragic flaw) in his/her personality that is
taken to an extreme and impairs his/her _______________.
4. This tragic flaw leads to the hero’s/ heroine’s own _______________ (a major catastrophe).
5. By the end of the play, the tragic hero _______________ his/her own error, accepts its
tragic consequences, and is _______________.

Tragic flaw: a fundamental character _______________, such as excessive pride, ambition, or jealousy
Terms from the Structure of a Drama

Exposition: basic _______________; what’s going on; Characters, setting, conflict

Inciting or Exciting Force: an event or character that moves action _______________ (usually a key
decision)

Rising Action: a series of events that lead to the _______________ _______________

Turning Point: things start to work against the protagonist because of a shift in _______________

Falling Action: events after the turning point that lead to a _______________; the results of the turning
point

Moment of Final Suspense: the moment when it looks like _______________ may be avoided

Catastrophe: the effects of the tragedy are full; the _______________ or _______________
_______________ of the tragic hero
Literary Terms for Antigone

Chorus: groups of dancers and singers who _______________ on the action of the play

Choragus: the _______________ of the Chorus

Hubris: _______________ or overweening _______________ that causes the hero’s transgression
against the gods; usually, the tragic flaw

Prologue: introductory _______________ delivered to the audience by one of the actors or actresses
before a play begins

Parodos: the first ode, or _______________
_______________, in a Greek tragedy, chanted by the
Chorus as it enters the Orchestra

Scene: one of the _______________ of structural units into which a play or acts of a play are divided

Strophe: the part of the ode that the Chorus chants as it moves from _______________ to
_______________ across the stage

Antistrophe: the part of the ode that the Chorus chants as it moves from _______________ to
_______________ across the stage

Ode: each scene is followed by an ode. These odes serve both to _______________ one scene from the
next, since there were no _______________, and to provide the Chorus’s _______________ to the
preceding scene

Paean: a choral _______________ in praise of a god—in Antigone, the Chorus is praising Dionysus

Exodos: the final, or _______________, scene
Antigone’s Family Tree
Labdacus
Laios
Menoikeus
m
Oedipus
Jocasta
m
Creon _m Eurydice
Jocasta
Megareus
Eteocles
Polyneices
Ismene
Haimon
Antigone
Plot Background: Oedipus Story
I.
A Tragic Myth: The House of Thebes
A. King Laius and Queen Jocasta learn their son, ___________, will one day
__________________ and ___________________.
B. To fix the problem, Jocasta and Laius give their baby to a _____________, giving him orders to
let the baby die with his ankles pinned together. (The name Oedipus means _____________ or
_____________.)
C. Feeling compassion, the shepherd gives the baby to a _____________________, who gives the
baby to the childless king and queen of Corinth.
D. Oedipus grows up and learns of the prophecy.
E. He runs away from ______________ (“home”) in horror, and heads toward ______________.
F. One the way, he encounters an old man who tries to _________________ with his chariot.
G. The two fight, and ____________ kills ___________.
II.
Meeting the Monster Sphinx
A. Oedipus sees the Sphinx, which has the __________ of an eagle, the ___________ of a
lion, and the _________ of a woman.
B. Whoever answers the riddle of the Sphinx will save the city (Thebes) from
______________.
C. The riddle of the Sphinx is: What creature goes on _______________ in the morning,
______________ in the afternoon, and ________________ in the evening?” (Answer:
________)
D. Oedipus gets the riddle correct, and saves Thebes!
III.
A Hero’s Welcome in Thebes
A. Oedipus arrives in Thebes, the city where ___________________ (unknown to him at this
time).
B. Oedipus marries the queen, ___________, who had recently been widowed.
C.
D.
E.
IV.
Oedipus and Jocasta have _______________: Polynices and Eteocles, and Antigone and
Ismene.
All goes well until a ___________ strikes Thebes.
Oedipus sends Jocasta’s brother, __________, to the oracle at Delphi to find out the cause.
A Horrible Discovery
A. The oracle says the plague won’t end until the ___________________ has been punished.
B. Oedipus vows to ___________________.
C. After questioning several people, Oedipus finds out that ________ was the one who killed
Laius, and __________ and __________ are his original parents.
D. When Jocasta finds out, she _______________.
E. Oedipus ______________ his eyes.
F. Creon _________ Oedipus.
G. ________________ and _______________ go with Oedipus as he is exiled; they stay with
him until ___________.
Antigone’s Story
I.
Antigone returns to _______________.
A. Her brothers agree to rule ___________ years.
B. ___________ refuses to give up power.
C. ____________ flees to Argos and raises up an army and returns to Thebes ready to
attack.
D. Polynices and Eteocles _____ each other.
II.
Creon becomes ___________ of Thebes.
A. He gives _________ a proper burial.
B. He calls __________ a traitor and his body is _____________.
III.
Why is that a big deal to the Greeks?
IV.
What is the conflict?
V.
What are the six major themes of the play?