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Greek Tragedy
Sarah Andrews
Jennifer Fry
Alex Modlin
Megan York
Thesis
Greek mythology stays constant
throughout various theatrical productions;
however, each new adaptation explores a
different theme.
Performance in Ancient Greece
- City Dionysia festival
- Lenaea, Rural Dionysia
- Cultural event
- Tetralogy
- Subject matter for tragedy came from myths
- Who could see the plays?
Men including prisoners on certain occasions
Greek Mythology in Plays
Myths were changed in relation to the city of the performance.
Some plays expressed the message of how civilians were supposed to act morally.
Certain gods were placed in plots in order to evoke punishment if a mortal had
misbehaved or was against the gods.
Gods also display different characteristics that a play might admire (Zeus/Hera).
Myths continue throughout a story (Electra), but the message changes to fit the
audience (Orestes killing Clytemnestra).
Adapting Stories
Taking myths and fables and re-telling them in different ways
Different versions of Electra (Libation Bearers - Aeschylus,
Electra- Sophocles, Electra- Euripides)
Versions of Oedipus (Oedipus Rex - Sophocles,
Oedipus - Seneca) one from Greece,
one from Rome
Adaptations are still done today
Ball State’s As You Like It
Thematic Changes
Order of Murders
The Libation Bearers
Aegisthus then Clytemnestra
Sophocles Electra
Clytemnestra then Aegisthus
Don’t break familial ties
Keep your ambition in check. Keep it in
your pants.
Thematic Changes
Orestes Reaction to the Murders
The Libation Bearers
Justice is served
Frightened at end
Sophocles Electra
Vengeful
Play does not display
reaction to the death of
Aegisthus
gods’ punishment for
breaking familial ties.
Family ties are important.
Trying to protect his sister.
TRIVIA!!!
Even though the mythology stays constant throughout Greek
plays, each adaptation explores a new _______?
THEME
Give an example of a Greek god (that we have discussed in
class) that punished a mortal because of their
misdeed/action.
TRIVIA!!!
Explain a reason why a plot is adapted in a Greek play
(even though the mythology is the same).
To fit the audience, depending on the performance of
the city, to evoke certain characteristics that should
be displayed among Greek people
Who could legally see the plays?
Men including prisoners on certain occasions
TRIVIA!!!
Who is the Greek god of music?
Apollo
Who is the Greek god of theater?
Dionysus
TRIVIA!!!
What was the name of the Greek festival that was
celebrated with performance in Ancient Greece?
City Dionysia Festival
Name a plot difference between Sophocles’ Electra and
Aeschylus’s Libation Bearers.
Orestes’ reaction to the murders and the
order of the murders.
Bibliography
Dowden, Ken. The Uses of Greek Mythology. 1992. London: Routledge, 1994. Print.
Graf, Fritz. Greek Mythology, An Introduction. Trans. Thomas Marier. Baltimore and
London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. Print.
Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. New York: Moyer Bell Limited, 1988. Print.