Download Antigone Background Outline

English 10 Honors
Antigone: Background Information
Name: _________________________________
Date: __________________________________
Historical Background: Ancient Greece (pp. 808-809)
I.
The Earliest Greeks
a. Settled more than _______________________________________ before the birth of
____________________________________ by the ______________________________.
b. Settled in the Greek mainland, south of _________________________ and jutting into the
________________________________ sea.
c. Established strongholds in the following city states:
i. ________________________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________________________
iii. ________________________________________________________________
iv. ________________________________________________________________
d. The _________________________________ lived on the southern Greek island of
____________________________, and taught the Myceans writing.
e. Myceans recorded information about “palace business” and revealed a society with groups classified as:
i. ________________________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________________________
iii. ________________________________________________________________
iv. ________________________________________________________________
v. ________________________________________________________________
vi. ________________________________________________________________
vii. ________________________________________________________________
f. Minoan civilization collapsed about __________________. Myceans took over
________________________.
g. Influence of the Myceans invaded Asia Minor, including the land of ___________________.
h. The Myceans attacked the city of ____________________, fighting the _______________ War and
providing the subject of Homer’s __________________________ and ___________________________.
i. Mycean civilization collapsed shortly after this attack, beginning the _____________________
_________________________________, and society dissolved into _______________ units.
II.
Re-emerging from Darkness
a. Greek culture re-emerged about ____________________, because of flourishing _____________
throughout the _____________________________.
b. Homer influenced the _____________ tradition, but the Greeks began writing again, adapting the
_______________________ system into the first true ______________________.
c. _______________________ and ____________________ were the two most powerful city-states by
______________________.
i. _______________________ was a monarchy and had a strong _________________ tradition.
ii. _______________________________ was the world’s first true democracy.
III.
The Rise and Fall of Athens
a. Athens and Sparta fought the _________________________ empire in the _________________ Wars.
b. Athens won key battles in ____________________________________ and
____________________________________________.
c. These battles led to the ____________________________________ of prosperity for Athens.
d. ______________________________ led Athens, and it attracted
i. _________________________________________________________________
ii. _________________________________________________________________
iii. _________________________________________________________________
iv. _________________________________________________________________
e. Pericles angered other Greek city-states, and in ___________________, Sparta and its allies attacked
_____________________________. This started the _________________________ War.
f. ________________________________ was defeated, and _______________________ and
________________________ ruled the Greek world.
g. Phillip of ___________________________, a northern monarch, ascended to power.
h. Phillip’s son was a brilliant military leader who spread Greek influence into Asia. His name was
_________________________________________________.
Ancient Greek Theater (pp. 810A – 810B)
I.
Religious Foundations
a. Greek theater was based on religious practices, which was based on a __________________ in many
Gods.
b. Examples:
i. Poseidon:___________________________________________
ii. Athena: ____________________________________________
iii. Apollo: _____________________________________________
iv. Aphrodite: __________________________________________
v. Zeus: ______________________________________________
c. The key characters in Greek ___________________________ are the gods.
d. Mythology is a set of stories _______________________________________________________.
e. The gods often behave like ______________________________________________: angry,
___________________________________, petty, ______________________________ and vengeful.
f. Gods often punish humans who are guilty of _________________________, or ________________
_______________________________.
II.
From Ritual to Art
a. Ancient Greek Theater began at ___________________________ festivals.
b. Chorus: _____________________________________________
i. Honored _____________________, the god of _____________________.
ii. Sang ____________________, or ____________________.
c. Thespis, a poet, created _________________ when he stepped away from the chorus and began
_____________________________ with the ____________________________, and _________
______________________________figures from the Greek myths.
d. _________________________ added a second actor.
e. _________________________ added a third.
f. By __________________________________ time, plays were big spectacles, and were performed in a
large, outdoor ____________________________ with ________________________ in the audience.
g. The performing area was called the _____________________________, and while there was no curtain,
the performers could hang painted _______________________________.
h. Dionysia festivals awarded prizes to the best playwrights. By __________, the festivals were
________________________________, and featured ____________________ competitors.
i. Each competitor entered a group of four plays, called a ________________________.
i. Three _________________________________________
ii. One ________________________, which was a ________________ drama.
iii. Eventually, ________________________ got their own competition.
Label where the chorus, actors, backdrop and audience would be on this diagram!
III.
Dramatic Structure
a. Verse Drama: __________________________________________________________
b. Format – list the parts of the Greek drama in their typical order (paean, exodus, prologue, first scene,
parodos, ode):
i. ___________________________
Definitions of these terms are
ii. ___________________________
attached to the back of this
iii. ___________________________
packet, so you don’t have to
iv. ___________________________
write them down. You’re
v. ___________________________
welcome!
vi. ___________________________
c. Parts of an ode:
i. _____________________________________________________________
ii. _____________________________________________________________
iii. _____________________________________________________________
d. The ______________________________ exchanges thoughts with the rest of the chorus as well as the
_______________________.
Notes from “History of Drama 1: From Ritual to Theatre” (Youtube video):
Use the space below for notes on information you didn’t get from the reading – we’ll watch this video in class.
Oedipus
(Highlight/ Underline Intriguing Passages)
The unfortunate king of the city of Thebes who inadvertently killed his father and married his mother.
Oedipus is one of the most well known names in Greek mythology; we hear his name today associated with a
mental disorder which denotes the unhealthy attraction of a son to his mother and is called the Oedipus
Complex.
The story of Oedipus begins with Oedipus’ father, Laius; when Laius was a young man he fled his home in the
city of Thebes and took refuge with king Pelops; for unknown reasons, Laius kidnapped Pelops’ son; to be
welcomed as a guest and then to violate that trust was one of the most serious crimes an ancient Greek could
commit; as punishment for this crime, Apollon foretold that Laius would have a son that would kill him.
Laius was as arrogant as an adult as he was impulsive as a young man, so when he and his wife, Iokaste
(Jocasta), had a son, they made one of their servants take the infant to Mount Kithaeron (Cithaeron), pierce and
bind his ankles, and leave him for the beasts and elements to devour; they clearly wanted to defy the prophecy
of Apollon.
The servant they chose to murder the boy could not carry out the murderous act and gave the child to a shepherd
from a neighboring province; the child was finally presented to the king of the city of Korinth (Corinth) where
he was named Oedipus and raised as part of the royal household; the name Oedipus means “swollen foot” and
was derived from the injury to the boy’s ankles.
The king and queen of Korinth, Polybos and Merope raised Oedipus as their son but when he became an adult
he was told by the oracle at Delphi that he would be the murderer of his father; Oedipus loved Polybos, who he
assumed to be his natural father, and fled Korinth so that the prophecy could not be fulfilled.
While traveling, Oedipus encountered a nobleman and his guards; a confrontation ensued and Oedipus killed
the nobleman, who was his true father, king Laius, and all but one of the guards; Oedipus apparently did not
place any divine significance to the encounter and resumed his journey.
When he was near Thebes, Oedipus was stopped by the monster known as the Sphinx who demanded the
answer to a riddle before he could pass; the Sphinx guarded the road into Thebes and was a curse to all travelers
because if they could not answer her riddles, she killed them; no one had ever survived an encounter with the
Sphinx until Oedipus arrived.
The riddle which Oedipus correctly answered was briefly referred to by Hesiod in Works of Days (line 533) and
was presumably: What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the
evening; the answer is Man, i.e. he crawls on all-fours as an infant, walks on his two legs in his prime and walks
with a cane in old age; when Oedipus correctly answered her riddle the Sphinx killed herself thus lifting the
curse from Thebes.
Oedipus was welcomed at Thebes as a hero and, since king Laius was dead, he was asked to become the new
king and marry Laius’ widow, Iokaste; they lived for many years in peaceful prosperity and had four children,
two boys and two girls.
When the children became young adults, a plague enveloped the land around Thebes; Oedipus sent his brotherin-law, Kreon (Creon) as an envoy to the oracle at Delphi hoping to find a remedy for the blight that threatened
the countryside; when Kreon returned, he told Oedipus that the oracle had told him that until the people of
Thebes exposed and exiled the murderer of king Laius, the plague would continue.
Oedipus desperately begged the citizens of Thebes to come forward with any information which might expose
the murderer of Laius; the blind prophet, Teiresias, reluctantly told Oedipus that he, Oedipus, was cursed by the
Immortals and that he was the cause of all their sorrows; Oedipus flew into a rage against Kreon and Teiresias
but before he could vent his anger a messenger arrived from Korinth to inform him that his assumed father,
Polybos, was dead; Oedipus was momentarily relieved because the prophecy of Apollon had not been fulfilled,
he had not murdered his father.
The only bodyguard to survive the attack on Laius, now an old man, was brought forward and when he related
the circumstances of Laius’ death, Oedipus realized that the nobleman he had killed on the road those many
years ago must have been Laius; the messenger from Korinth also happened to be the same man who had taken
the infant from Laius’ servant on Mount Kithaeron and given it to Polybos.
Iokaste confessed that she and Laius had plotted to murder their son but that she had no idea that the child had
survived; with the entire story now exposed, Oedipus and Iokaste fully realized the utter hopelessness of their
position; they had been manipulated by the machinations of the Immortals and there was no escape from the
prophecies of Apollon; Iokaste retreated into the palace and hanged herself; Oedipus blinded himself and left
Thebes as an exile; Oedipus’ oldest son, Eteokles (Eteocles) took the throne of Thebes and exiled his younger
brother, Polynikes (Polynices).
Polynikes went to Argos and plotted revenge against his brother; one of Oedipus’ daughters, Antigone,
accompanied him into exile but his other daughter, Ismene, stayed in Thebes; after years of wandering, Oedipus
and Antigone came to the town of Kolonus (Colonus) near Athens; they took refuge in a sanctuary of the
Eumenides (the Furies) and were confronted by a group of elders from nearby Athens; Oedipus refused to leave
the forbidden sanctuary and begged for an audience with the king of Athens, Theseus; everyone in Greece had
heard of the infamy of Oedipus but Theseus took pity on him and promised to protect him from all harm.
At this time, Ismene found her father and sister in the sanctuary and warned them that Kreon was plotting
against Oedipus and that her brothers were insane with ambition; Oedipus was unmoved by the news of his
troubled kingdom because of a premonition of his impending death; he sent Ismene to the nearby spring to fetch
water so that he might cleanse himself and show proper respect for the goddesses of the sanctuary where he was
determined to stay until his appointed hour with death.
While Theseus was busy at the altar of Poseidon (lord of the Sea), Kreon appeared in the sanctuary and
kidnapped Antigone; he said that Ismene was already his prisoner and that if Oedipus did not accompany him
back to the border of Thebes, the girls would not be allowed to see him again; Oedipus could not return to
Thebes because of his banishment but Kreon insisted that Oedipus would be a symbol of his (Kreon’s) right to
the throne; Oedipus denounced Kreon and cursed him for his outrageous behavior.
The cries of outrage from the Athenian elders did not stop Kreon but Theseus heard the commotion and sent
soldiers to retrieve Ismene and Antigone; Kreon was unrepentant for his rashness but did not resist the authority
of Theseus; at this time Polynikes entered the sanctuary and begged his father to give his blessing for his
impending attack on Thebes; Oedipus did not give his blessing but instead cursed Polynikes and his brother,
Eteokles, to an ignoble death.
Polynikes and Eteokles, unlike their sisters, had turned their backs on Oedipus while he had been in exile and so
Oedipus had no sympathy for the ungrateful and self-serving behavior of his sons; the sound of thunder in the
sanctuary of the Erinys was proof positive to the Athenian elders and Theseus that Oedipus was blessed by the
Immortals and that he was to be treated with respect; they concluded that no man could be blamed for fulfilling
the will and prophecies of Zeus or Apollon.
Oedipus promised Theseus that if he was allowed to die in peace that Theseus and his heirs would remain the
unchallenged rulers of Athens for all time; Theseus and Oedipus went into the nearby forest and, with no other
witnesses, Oedipus was taken into the Underworld.
http://messagenetcommresearch.com/myths/ppt/Oedipus_1.html
Elements of Greek Tragedy:
 Depicts the downfall of a hero or heroine
 The downfall usually derives from a combination of:
o Hubris: excessive pride or self-confidence
o Fate: something that happens that is inevitable or unavoidable
o Will of the Gods: the hero or heroine has no control over certain aspects of his or her life – it is
all up to the Gods.
 The hero or heroine encounters limits:
o Some human frailty (hubris, flaws in reason, society)
o The gods (whose messages are revealed by oracles or prophets)
o Nature
 The Tragic Hero has the following traits:
o A downfall
o A Tragic Flaw – Hamartia
o A major mistake
o A noble bloodline – that is, is of higher standing in the society
o Undergoes a major change (not necessarily death)
o Anagnorisis – “knowing again, knowing back, knowing throughout”
 Has some sort of revelation about human fate, destiny or the will of the Gods.
 Achieved through the action of the play
 “A change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate” - Aristotle

The viewer must have a catharsis: the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp.
through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.
Staging Terms from the Greek Drama:
 Ode: A choral song – follows each scene as a way to break up the scenes, and to provide the chorus’
response to the previous scene.
 Parodos: First ode in a Greek Tragedy – chanted by the chorus as it enters the area in the front of the
stage.
 Strophe: Part of the ode that the chorus chants as it moves from right to left in front of the stage.
 Antistrophe: Part of the ode chanted as the chorus moves back across the stage from the left to the
right.
 Chorus: A group of characters that chant at various points in the action in order to comment on it, or
to show the thoughts of society.
 Choragos: Leader of the chorus.
 Paean: Hymn in praise of a god.
 Exodus: The final, or exit, scene.
Antigone: Prologue, Parodos, Scene 1, Ode 1 (pp. 814-825)
As you read, please make notes on your observations of the selection assigned. You must fill the space provided – feel
free to go onto the back! You need to include the following in your notes:
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Summaries (list of plot points)
New characters introduced (include descriptions of them)
Passages you find interesting (include scene and line numbers – eg. Prologue, Lines 22-24!)
Questions you have – things you don’t quite understand, discussion type questions
Observations and reactions
Pick a thematic subject to track: Consult your “Common Subjects in Literature” handout
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Antigone: Scene 2, Ode 2 (pp. 825 - 832)
As you read, please make notes on your observations of the selection assigned. You must fill the space provided – feel
free to go onto the back! You need to include the following in your notes:
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Summaries (list of plot points)
New characters introduced (include descriptions of them)
Passages you find interesting (include scene and line numbers – eg. Prologue, Lines 22-24!)
Questions you have – things you don’t quite understand, discussion type questions
Observations and reactions
Pick a thematic subject to track: Consult your “Common Subjects in Literature” handout
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Antigone: Scene 3, Ode 3, Scene 4, Ode 4 (pp. 839-848)
As you read, please make notes on your observations of the selection assigned. You must fill the space provided – feel
free to go onto the back! You need to include the following in your notes:
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Summaries (list of plot points)
New characters introduced (include descriptions of them)
Passages you find interesting (include scene and line numbers – eg. Prologue, Lines 22-24!)
Questions you have – things you don’t quite understand, discussion type questions
Observations and reactions
Pick a thematic subject to track: Consult your “Common Subjects in Literature” handout
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Antigone: Scene 5, Paean, Exodos (pp. 849 - 858)
As you read, please make notes on your observations of the selection assigned. You must fill the space provided – feel
free to go onto the back! You need to include the following in your notes:
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Summaries (list of plot points)
New characters introduced (include descriptions of them)
Passages you find interesting (include scene and line numbers – eg. Prologue, Lines 22-24!)
Questions you have – things you don’t quite understand, discussion type questions
Observations and reactions
Pick a thematic subject to track: Consult your “Common Subjects in Literature” handout
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