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Antigone A Power Play Author: Sophocles Born in 496 BC at Colonus, near Athens Greece. Revered for his genius during his own lifetime Lived to the ripe old age of ninety Great golden age of the city-state of Athens Career: In 468 BC, his debut dramatic production took first prize at the festival of Dionysis. By 450 BC, Sophocles had written some two dozen plays. He was the most prolific of the three great Greek tragedians, writing 120 plays over the span of his career. Only seven complete plays survive. He received the prize at the Dionysia a total of twenty-four times,more than Aeschylus or Euripides. Innovator: Sophocles improved stage scenery, reduced the importance of the chorus, and, most significantly, added a third speaking actor to the traditional two. Tragic Heroes Sophocles' characters are tragically flawed, but their heroic stature is beyond question. The larger-than-life attributes that make them great are the same traits that cause their destruction. Later Life Sophocles continued to write and serve in government well into his eighties. Oedipus at Colonus and Philoctetes are two of his last plays, and they are among the most praised works of classical art. He died in 406 BC. Antigone the Play The drama festival, or the Dionysia, became a spectacular event which lasted four to five days The city took the celebrations seriously: Prisoners were released on bail and most public business was suspended. Roughly ten thousand free male citizens, along with their slaves and dependents, watched plays in an enormous outdoor theater that could seat seventeen thousand spectators. On each of three days, the Athenians were treated to three tragedies and a satyr play (a light comedy on a mythic theme) written by one of three pre-selected tragedians, as well as one comedy by a comedic playwright. The trilogies did not have to be an extended drama dealing with the same story, although often they were. At the end of the festival, the tragedians were awarded first, second, and third prize by the judges of Dionysis. The Chorus Greek drama was not meant to be "naturalistic." It was a highly stylized art form: actors wore masks the performances incorporated song and dance. The Chorus delivers much of the exposition and expounds poetically on themes, but it is still meant to represent a group of characters. In the case of Antigone, the Chorus is constituted by the Theban elders, old and powerful citizens of the city who watch and comment on the action. It interacts with the actors, and in Antigone the Chorus intercedes at a crucial point near the end of the play. Time Consistent with the norms of Greek drama, Antigone is not divided into acts or scenes. Action flows uninterrupted from beginning to end. Time elapses in non-naturalistic fashion: at certain points, from reports of what has happened offstage, it is clear that a great amount of time is meant to have passed even though only a few minutes have passed for the audience. In general, as noted by Aristotle, most Greek tragedies have action confined to a twenty-four hour period. Tragedy Tragedy is usually concerned with a person of great stature, a king or nobleman, who falls because of hubris, or pride. The action in Antigone is to "preserve rightness and order in Thebes.“ Antigone and Creon are both championing what is “right”, but they define “right” through different sets of values.