1. Introduction to Greek Tragedy and Summary of Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus

2. Traits of a Greek Tragedy Tragedy- A work of dramatic literature that shows the downfall of a person, usually of high birth or noble status. In short, tragedies are plays in which our main character, usually a prince or king, has bad things occur to them. Greek Tragedies do not have a “happy ending” and often include a lot of death.

3. Rules of Greek Tragedies The entire play must take place in one, or very few, locations. Any violence or violent acts cannot take place on stage; they must occur off stage and then be spoken about on stage. Tragedies include a “tragic hero”, the main character who will have bad things happen to them. The “tragic hero” has a “tragic flaw”, meaning a negative character trait such as greed or anger, that will cause their downfall.

4. Sophocles The author of all three plays. Lived from 496 B.C.-406 B.C. Famous playwright Competed in a famous ancient play writing competition 120 times. Won first place 24 times, and won second place every other time. Liked to write about the human experience, fate, and if our actions can control our fate.

5. Oedipus the King King Laius and Queen Jocasta have a child An oracle tells them that their child is destined to marry his own mother and kill his own father Afraid for their own lives, and the life of their child, they pierce the infants feet together and give him to a shepherd who is supposed to leave the baby to die on a nearby mountain The shepherd, feeling bad for the infant, gives him to a messenger to take to a far away village, so that he doesn’t have to kill it

6. OTK Continued… The messenger brings him to another kingdom where the child is given to the king and queen, and is treated as their own child and prince They name the child Oedipus, due to his swollen feet from being pierced (Oedipus means swollen foot) Oedipus grows up thinking that the king and queen who adopted him are his real parents An oracle tells him that he is destined to kill his own father and marry his own mother

7. OTK Continued… Oedipus decides to run away from home in order to escape this evil fate Meanwhile, back in Oedipus’ hometown, an evil sphinx is plaguing the city (it demands someone attempt to solve its riddle each day, each day the person trying to solve the riddle fails, and she eats them) The King, King Laius (Oedipus’ birth father) goes out in search of a person who can solve the riddle and free them of the plague Oedipus, trying to run away from the town he was raised in, ends up running right into Laius The two fight, and Oedipus kills King Laius and his men Oedipus keeps the murder to himself and continues to travel until he reaches the town he was born in When Oedipus arrives, he solves the Sphinx's riddle and is made King

8. OTK Continued… As the new king, Oedipus is given Jocasta (the current queen and his birth mother) as a wife Years later, a plague hits what is now Oedipus’ kingdom again (this time the plague comes through the cattle dying, the crops not growing, and the women being unable to have children) Oedipus speaks with an oracle to find out what is causing the plague The oracle tells Oedipus that the plague is attacking the city, because the killer of their old king, King Laius, is now living in the city Oedipus says that he will find the murderer of their old king, who he does not know is himself, and says that that person, or people, will be banished from the city forever While trying to discover who the killer is, he speaks to many people

9. OTK Continued… He speaks to the shepherd, the same one who gave Oedipus to the messenger as a child, who tells Jocasta that he never killed her newborn son, but instead gave him to a messenger (the shepherd also saw Oedipus kill King Laius, but didn’t tell anyone until now) Oedipus then speaks to the messenger, who tells him that he took Oedipus from the shepherd and gave it to the other king and queen Jocasta figures out the truth (which is that her son married her and killed his own father, just as he was fated to do) and kills herself, because she can’t live with that truth

10. OTK Continued… When Oedipus sees that his mother/wife has killed herself, he realizes that the rumors must be true and that he really did marry his own mother and kill his own father He can’t bare to see the looks that people will give him or to look at his children that he has had with his own mother, so his stabs himself in the eyes and blinds himself Jocasta’s brother, Creon, is then made king and banishes Oedipus from the city, just like Oedipus said they should do to Laius’ murderer The End

11. Oedipus at Colonus Oedipus wanders, blind and exiled, through the mountains for years, led by one of his daughters, Antigone The two wander around until they reach the city Colonus Back in Thebes, the town where Oedipus was originally born and was king for a short time, Oedipus’ sons fight over who should be king Oedipus’ two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, took over as king, replacing their uncle Creon, once they were old enough The two were supposed to trade off being king every 6 months, but once Eteocles is king, Creon teams up with him and they decide to not give the power of the throne back to Polynices This starts a war between Creon, Eteocles, and their followers and Polynices and his followers

12. OAC Continued… Now back to Oedipus: He is getting old and is near death It is prophesized that whatever town Oedipus dies in will win its next war Now, everyone wants Oedipus to die in their town so that they can win their next war, including Oedipus’ two sons who are currently at war Oedipus’ sons come to bring Oedipus to their towns so that he will die there and they will win their war and be crowned king Oedipus, ashamed of his sons, tells them if they fight each other, they will both die in battle, and he refuses to go with either of them

13. OAC Continued… Creon and Eteocles attempt to kidnap Antigone and bring her back with them, so that Oedipus will come looking for her and then die in their city, which would mean that they would win the war Theseus, the king of Athens, stop them from stealing Antigone, and because of this, Oedipus decides to die in the kingdom of Theseus Oedipus’ sons, knowing that they will both die, and their men go to war and Antigone promises to give them each a proper burial if they die As Oedipus predicted, Eteocles and Polynices both die during the battle The End

14. Antigone This is the third and final play of the trilogy! What will happen next? We’ll just have to read it and find out!