Greek Theatre

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Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta

Antigone’s brothers, Eteokles and Polyneces, took opposite sides in a war

Eteokles and Polyneces killed each other in battle

Antigone’s uncle, Kreon, became king of Thebes

Slide 15

Copy Only The Boxed Portion!

Slide 16

Euripides’ Medea

Medea is a princess from Colchis

Medea marries Jason, who is in Colchis on a quest for the Golden Fleece

Medea betrays her father and murders her brother for her love of Jason

Medea has magical powers

Jason takes Medea back to his homeland, Corinth, where they have children

Jason takes another wife, the king of Corinth’s daughter

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Jason’s Voyage on the Argo

Jason and Medea meet

Corinth: Where Jason and Medea settle down

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Overview of Greek Theatre

The land

The myths

The stage

Slide 19

Myths played a key role in Greek drama

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The Myths – Why they were written

Explained the unexplainable

Justified religious practices

Gave credibility to leaders

Gave hope

Polytheistic (more than one god)

Centered around the twelve Olympians (primary Greek gods)

Slide 21

Explained the Unexplainable

When Echo tried to get Narcissus to love her, she was denied.

Saddened, she shriveled to nothing, her existence melting into a rock.

Only her voice remained.

Hence, the echo!

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To justify religious practices

Dionysian cults in ancient Greece were founded to worship Dionysus, god of grapes, vegetation, and wine.

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To give credibility to leaders

The Romans used myths to create family trees for their leaders, enforcing the made-up idea that the emperors were related to the gods and were, then, demigods.

Slide 24

To give hope

The ancient citizens of Greece would sacrifice and pray to an ORACLE.

An oracle was a priest or priestess who would send a message to the gods from mortals who brought their requests.

Where DID hope come from?

After unleashing suffering, famine, disease, and many other evils, the last thing Pandora let out was HOPE.