1. ANTIGONE The play that you are about to read was written nearly 2500 years ago and is considered one of the greatest Greek tragedies ever written.

2. Have you heard of ways in which one’s destiny can be predicted (astrology, Tarot cards, fortune cookies, etc.)? Ancient prophets prophesied the future by studying animal entrails (in ancient Rome) and listening to oracles (in ancient Greece). Do you believe in prophesies? Would you have believed them if you had lived over 2000 years ago?

3. Can you name any political leader who has made a mistake which cost them their career (or even lives)? What motivated them to make the mistake? Can you think of any examples where pride was the major factor? (Think of Nixon proudly assuming he had the right to bug peoples’ conversations because he was the president.) The Greek word hubris means pride likely to invoke the wrath of the gods.

4. Greek drama evolved from religious festivals in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and changing seasons. The significance of the City Dionysia- was a festival honoring the god Dionysus. It was filled with drunkenness and revelry. The first actor was Thespis. Tragedy was the favorite type of Greek drama and at the heart of all tragedies lay a character’s hubris (pride).

5. Three actors would rotate to play all the speaking parts and thus the importance of the masks. They also used a chorus and the actors would have to project their voice without microphones to audiences in excess of 10,000 people.

6. The chorus was a central feature of Greek drama. It was composed of similarly costumed men on the dancing floor ("orchestra"), located beneath/in front of the stage. The chorus was in the orchestra for the duration of the performance to observe and comment on the action of the actors. Dialogue consisted of long, formal speeches in verse. The training of the chorus was the responsibility of a chorus leader (choregus). This responsibility was like a tax on the wealthy citizens.

7. The choregus provided all the equipment, costumes, props, and trainers for the roughly, dozen chorus members (choreutai). This preparation might last for six months. At the end, if the choregus was lucky, he would then have to fund a celebratory feast for winning the prize. To modern readers of Greek tragedy, the chorus may seem an interlude between the main action -- a section to gloss over, but there is valuable information in the words of the chorus’ chant.