222 Classics Notes for 1/16/09
Sign-up sheets for paper due dates were made available before and after class again today. This will happen for the third and last time when we return on Wednesday, 1/21. To finish business from last time, these are the circumstances of the production of our tragedies: Plays performed at the City Dionysia in March/April- plays of 3 individuals are performed Each day, there are 3 tragedies back-to-back followed by Satyr Play. Satyrs, who would be the chorus, are meant to be comedic (man/goat or man/horse) wear padding on buttocks and a large leather phallus. Judges from 10 tribes determine who is 1-2-3. Tragedians don't "write plays", they "teach a chorus." Notion is that you are doing this to make the citizens better. Plays have little to nothing to do with Dionysos. Myths of Thebes and Trojan war principal sources of stories.
Greek History-continued This further bit of Greek history will take the Time Line down to the production of Oedipus the King. After Persian Wars end, Athens has opportunity to stand as supreme. Easy to do because only competition (Sparta) has no interest in taking that role. 478-League is formed at Delos- Delian League. Athens is the hub- the others have treaty agreements through which they send money or ships to Athens to fight against the Persians. Athens is suddenly a very rich city. * Economic reforms of Ephialtes (461): Everyone in Athens who does league business- even a jury of 201- gets paid for public service. League collections provide money used to build the Parthenon, and to fund the paying of Athenians citizens to take part in the governmental roles required by the radical democracy. Pericles is elected general (strategos, plural strategoi) for most of the years between 460 and 429. The ten strategoi, one from each tribe, provide continuity of leadership. Pericles is the de facto leader of Athens during the "Golden age of Greece," so it is also called the Periclean Age. * 454 treasury of the league was moved to the Parthenon from Delos. Hereafter, we refer to the Delian League as "The Athenian Empire" * Persians cease to be seen as a threat- why are we sending money to Athens? Because Athenians conquered anyone who wanted to leave the empire. Example: Samos revolted 441/440. Athenians besieged the city- killed the men and sold the women and children into slavery. Athens ruled absolutely ruthlessly. There is a stark contrast of democracy at home, ruthless tyranny abroad. * The other great Greek military power in this period is Sparta. Inevitably, the two poleis clashed. Peloponnesian War (431) lasts until 404, when Athens falls, and Greece is left materially and spiritually exhausted.
* Golden Age from victory at Salamis in 480 to the end of the Peloponnesian war lasts less than 80 years. This was a very short moment. * In the War, Pericles has a great challenge. Sparta has the greatest land soldiers, Athens the greatest fleet. Pericles can't fight the Spartans on land. He brings all the people of Attica within the defensive wall of Athens since Spartans are not the kind to undertake a long siege. Meanwhile, he uses the Athenian fleet to attack the Peloponnesus. People inside the walls of Athens must watch as the Spartans burn their homes. There are enormous tensions. * 429 - In part because of the crowded conditions within the walls, a plague hits AthensCholera? The plague kills indiscriminately. Pericles is among its victims. * Oedipus the King was produced at this time. How do we know? Oedipus opens with a Plague. Sophocles * From the Deme (formally constituted neighborhood) of Colonus. He was wealthy and impeccably educated. A great dancer. He was universally well liked. Sophocles was elected treasurer of Athenian Empire. Elected strategos and was a general at the siege of Samos in 441/440. * A tale that is not historical but tells much about the Athenian attitude towards Sophocles is that in his old age his sons were jealous of their father's success and tried to have him declared mentally incompetent. But Sophocles read aloud one of his choral odes and jury carried Sophocles from the court on their shoulders and fined his sons for bringing the action. * Sophocles was worshiped after death as a hero- Dexion * Sophocles wrote at least 120 plays. Took 1st 18 times. Rest of the time he took 2nd . Only 7 plays remain. Conventions of Greek Tragedy Backdrop on Greek stage was originally merely a tent (Greek "skene"). Then a back wall with a door or two usually imagined being palace. a Everything happens outside and in one place. There are devices for showing tableaux inside the scene building, but action doesn't happen there. Classical unities - in one place, at one time (a day), about one thing Messengers report what happens offstage and in other places. In Greek Tragedy there is a limit to what is allowed to be shown on stage. Perhaps in response to Greek life being so harsh, all violence normally takes place offstage. Oedipus the King House of Labdacus Ruling house of Thebes. Labdacus' son is Laius. As a Guest of Pelops, Laius abducted Chrysippus (son of Pelops) and molested him Guest/host relationship is considered sacred. Pelops curses Laius. In traditional societies, a curse is not empty words, but a physical act with real consequences in the world. Laius learns from Apollo at Delphi that his son would kill him and rule in his place. He and his queen (Jocasta) decide not to have children, but it still happens
Infanticide is accepted in this culture. One can't spill a persons lifeblood without causing pollution, and inviting the hatred of the gods, so the child is just left on a hillside to die. Jocasta gave away her baby boy to a shepherd after running a pin through his ankles. The shepherd was to leave the child in the wild to die. The Shepherd gave the child to a fellow shepherd, who gave it to a king and queen to raise in distant Corinth. Swollen ankles Oedipus As a grown man in Corinth, Oedipus heard someone say he was a bastard- went to oracle at Delphi to check this out. Oracle did not answer him, but told him that he was fated to kill his father and marry mother. He decided never to return to Corinth. On the way from Delphi, he met rude travelers who pushed him-he killed them all but one. Went to Thebes, where King Laius had not returned from Delphi in search for aid in response to the Sphinx. Sphinx- woman's head, body of a lion, and wings of a bird. Her interview with Oedipus is the picture on the banner of our Blackboard site. The Sphinx killed people if they could not answer its riddle: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at dusk?" Oedipus answered (it was a man)- Sphinx hit her head and died because she was so upset, and Oedipus was the savior of Thebes. Since Laius had disappeared, Oedipus was made ruler of Thebes. To seal the arrangement, he married Jocasta, who had been Laius' queen. They had children together (of whom more later.) After some years, a plague struck Thebes. Here the play opens.
First, a walk-through. If you are not used to reading this sort of literature, please feel free to get Clif Notes or Monarch Notes, and be sure to ask me if anything is unclear. ***Characterization counts Prologue * Oedipus- comes out because priest and children come as suppliants. Suppliant is a religious role- "Suppliants come from Zeus" - you are expected to raise up the suppliant and grant his/her request. * Note Oedipus' response to the priest (p.13). Because Oedipus is the leader he feels the pain of all, and because he is quick and decisive, he has already acted. Creon has been sent to Apollo to discover reason for plague * Pollution was the problem (p.15). This is a religious concept- if you spill a persons lifeblood it offends the gods- there must be expiation. * Oedipus is totally clueless about the truth- ends up cursing himself (p20). We have noted that in largely non-literate cultures, spoken words have real consequences in the physical world. At this point, everyone in the audience knows that Oedipus will come to feel his own curse. The only suspense is the suspense of seeing how he will find out. This is not a play about action, but about recognition. * At Creon's urging, Oedipus has sent for Teiresias- the old blind prophet who always speaks the truth.
* How Teiresias came to be a prophet (a story not in Sophocles): It is said, while walking on Mt. Cithaeron, Teiresias saw two snakes copulating and hit them with his staff. He was transformed and lived as a woman for 7 years until this happened again and he was transformed back. Zeus and Hera were arguing over who has the greater satisfaction during sex- Teiresias was uniquely qualifed to say. He said that the woman gets 7x more pleasure. Hera struck him blind. Zeus recompensed him with the gift of prophecy. We will finish our brief walkthrough, and examine the use of the myth and the themes of the play, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, enjoy the observance of Dr. Kings birthday. Have a safe and happy long weekend.