1. Greek Mythology Unit Ms. Shields English II
Oedipus Rex
Greek Mythology Unit
Ms. Shields
English II

2. Introduction Objectives:
Build background information and cultural context of the play
Allow students to be able to recognize references to other Greek gods/myths throughout the play
Introduce themes that will appear later in the story.

3. Oedipus What do you know about Oedipus?
Where and in what context have you heard this name before?

4. Greek Gods Kahoot.it
What do you already know about the Greek gods and heroes?

5. Notes
At the end of this unit, you will take a test on both the story and these notes.
Please make sure you take careful notes and you keep track of them.
THE INFORMATION FROM THESE NOTES WILL SHOW UP AGAIN!

6. Oedipus Background notes
Greek drama flourished between 600 and 200 BC in Ancient Greece.
The political and military power in Ancient Greece was the subject of Greek theater.
Originally, Greek theater began as a country festival, held in honor of the god Dionysus.

7. Greek Drama Dionysus was the god of wine, madness, and ecstasy.
By the 5th Century BC, theater had become formalized and was a major part of Athenian culture and civic pride.

8. Greek Drama
The most important part of the annual Dionysia, the annual festival, was a competition between three playwrights.
Each writer submitted three tragedies and one satyr play (satyr=comedy)
Whoever won the competition won money and fame.
Sophocles won more first prizes than any other playwright.

9. Greek Drama
Plays originally were prayers and stories told through song and dance.
Therefore, the chorus was first, and the individual actors came later.
The original word for 'actor' was hypokrites, meaning 'answerer,' for the actor answered the chorus.

10. Greek Drama
Playwrights never put more than three actors on stage at once—therefore only three actors were needed, though they could play different roles.
No women appeared on stage; female roles were played by men.
Violence was never shown on stage. Instead, when someone was about to die, the playwright would take that person to the back to “kill” them and bring them back “dead” and others would discuss the event.

11. Greek Drama
Chorus consisted of around 15 people who would stand in the back wearing black.
They would reflect on the events in the play and would often act as a single character, chanting the odes.
The Sophoclean chorus was divided into two sub-choruses and a leader.
The leader of the chorus interacted with the characters in the play.The leader was called the Choragos

12. The Chorus
The chorus represented public opinion.
This means the chorus would say what the people of the town believed.
Reading the odes, and the Choragos’s lines, is really important to understanding how the common people reacted to the actions of the kings and queens.

13. Odes: Strophe and Antistrophe
The chorus sang/chanted odes between each scene of the play, and sometimes within them.
The odes would be broken up between the Strophe and the Antistrophe.
The strophe is essentially the first half of a debate or argument presented by the chorus. They would move from right to left across the stage.
The antistrophe is the second half of the debate, or further exploration of the theme that was set up by the strophe.

14. Greek Tragedy
Greek Tragedy is a form of drama that shows the suffering of a heroic individual who if often overcome by the very problems he is struggling to fix.
In Greek Tragedy, the hero has a tragic flaw, called HAMARTIA, which leads to his downfall.
As we read this play, try to identify what Oedipus’s tragic flaw could be!

15. Greek Theater
The orchestra was the performance space, a simple circular space where the chorus sang and danced. The orchestra was situated at the bottom of the hill and the theatron was built into the hill.
The theater was built to hold over 14,000 spectators. The acoustics (how sound travels) were phenomenal. Remember: there were no microphones!

16. Greek Masks Masks were used for a multitude of reasons:
To help the audience recognize the characters
To help the audience recognize the emotions the characters were feeling
To help amplify the sound of their voices.

17. Oedipus Anticipation Guide
Now that we have taken notes on the time period, let’s talk about the issues that will be discussed in this book.
For each statement, write “agree” or “disagree”. Then, write a brief explanation for why you agree or disagree.

18. Claim Paragraph
Now that we have discussed the anticipation guide statements, I want you to choose one of those statements and write a structured paragraph.
State your topic
Use an example to prove it
Explain your example
Restate your topic (in different words)

19. Oedipus Myth
Around 430 BC (when Oedipus the King was written), people would have known the story of Oedipus.
The play was able to flesh out the story in a way that people hadn’t experienced before.

20. The Oedipus Myth Read the Oedipus myth
Create a general plot-line of events to keep track of the myth, including the major events of the story

21. Reflection question Reflect on the following question.
Do you believe that our lives are ruled by fate? Or are we in control of our own fate?
If Oedipus is a cultural story for the Ancient Greeks, how do you think THEY would answer this question?

22. OEDIPUS REX - Background
During the early years of the Peloponnesian War, when Oedipus Rex was produced, Athens suffered from political instability and devastating plague.

23. Prophecies
Fate and prophecies play a major role in the play Oedipus Rex.
Do YOU believe in fate? Consider this clip from the Matrix
Can you think of any other stories in which prophecies played a major role?

24. In Class Writing Answer the following question in paragraph form:
If you could be told your future, would you want to hear it? Why or why not?
Use specific examples (albeit hypothetical ones) to back up your points.