CLAS 1000 1st Edition Lecture 28Outline of Last Lecture IV. The Rise and Fall of Athens: Classical Period (500-400BC)- D. Peloponnesian Warso Part 3- E. Attic Theatero TragedyCurrent LectureE. Tragedy | Sophocleso 497/6 to 406/5 BC – a very long lifeo Born outside of the city of Athens in Kolonos (about a 45 minute walk)o Never left Athens, unlike most other famous people- Political lifeo Led a chorus of boys who sung about the victory at Salamis around the age of 17o Was a Delian League treasurer for one year Delian League aimed to keep Persia out of the Mediterranean o Twice elected Strategos- Helped bring cult of Asklepios to Athens- Part of the cultural and political eliteo A central figure- Wrote ~120 plays, 7 survived intacto Aristotle published a list that shows approximately how many plays he wrote Aristotle was Sophocles’ student- Extremely successful:o “rookie of the year”: beat Aeschylus in his first ever competition in 468BCo Never came in third place- Wrote three plays involving the house of Oidipous- a connected trilogyo The plays were never performed together 1. Antigone 442/441BCThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. 2. Oidipous Tyrannos/Rex 430-420BC 3. Oidipou at Kolonos 401 BC (put on by his son after his death)Antigone: Antigone vs. Kreon- Antigone- daughter of Oidipous, a royal princess- Kreon- part of the royal family, king- A clash of similar personalities (all of which exemplify the heroic temper)o Confidento Justifiedo Either/or – either you support me or you are an enemyo Stubborno Proudo Paranoid (more obvious trait of Kleon)- Sophocles often gives his characters the heroic temper- Issues:o Individual vs. Polis (a central theme) The idea of burial: controversy over burial for Polyneices (from the royal family, but also a trader) o Family vs. Citizen – where do the loyalties lie? According to Antigone, loyalties should lie within the family According to Kreon, loyalties should lie within the poliso Divine law vs. Human law Unwritten (customs) from the gods vs. Written (laws) from humans Which one has precedence? Antigone: “Ode to Man” (332-375)- Wanders are many…”o Deinos = “terrible, awesome, clever,” there is no real translation for the word The word dinosaur comes from Deinoso “There are many terrible/awesome/cleaver things, and nothing more terrible/awesome/clever than a human being.”- Human mindo As humans they had conquered sea travel – agriculture – hunting – domestication – shelter – medicine (doesn’t cure death, but cures disease) Great technological achievements o Ambiguous ethics If a person follows both human and divine law, then things will be good If a person disregards one or the other, then bad things will happen (hubris)o Compare to Hesiod’s ethics (good and bad polis)o Compare to Protagoras vs. Pindar, Thucydides vs. HerodotusAntigone | Kreon-- The poet did not create the title of the plays themselves, we think it was given to the plays by the person in charge of the festival. The title of a poem could be changed. Somethink that it would have made more sense to title this poem “Kreon” because he is moreprominent in the end.- Kreon undergoes changeo In the beginning he is king, but acts like a tyranto By the end he becomes more democratic and begins asking the chorus for answers- Hubris: puts human law (his laws) over divine lawo Até- blind infatuation by his own power and insecurities; eventually plays the price for this.- Becomes Antigone by the endo Becomes womanlike when he laments the death of his son and wifeo Gender roles: says if Antigone wins then she will be the man and he will be the woman- A tragic figureo He understands what he does is wrong, but by the time he realizes this it is too lateo Pathonmanthanei – “one learns by suffering”Antigone | Antigone- Daughter of Oidipous- No real change in charactero Remains steadfast- Hubris: divine law into human lawo Says the Polyneices needs to be buries; puts aside human law (the written legal laws) and focuses on divine law (customs, proper burial for afterlife)  A good compromise would have been to bury him outside of the city walls, but she didn’t see this compromiseo Willing to die to be with her ‘beloved’ brother Incest? An act of hubris- A tragic figureo Right action, wrong approachOidipous Tyrannos/Rex-- Entomology:o Oid – swolleno Pous- footo The guy with a swollen foot, his physical disability from childhood- A play on Greek word ‘oida’ – “I have seen and therefore I now know”o A dynamic relationship between intellectual sight and physical sighto Homeric values: if you see it, then it happened; if you didn’t see it, it didn’t happen- A drama about knowledge: divine vs. human knowledgeo Process in the dramao Dramatic conventions  Stichomythia – a quick back and forth dialogue Rhesus – a long descriptiono Knowledge of the audience: the audience knew the story of Oidipous before seeing the play so they knew what was going to happen, but the actors didn’t Experience process (human) Know from gods point of view (divine) The tragic irony: audience knows more than the characters- This is seen in Homer when Hektor has his farewell scene with his wife and kid, we know kid is going to die, but characters do