Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King Test Already Graded A Oedipus' biological father Laius Oedipus' adoptive father Polybus Oedipus' biological mother Jocasta Oedipus' adoptive mother Merone Where was Oedipus born? Thebes Where did Oedipus live with his adoptive parents? Corinth What does Oedipus do when he finds out he is adopted? He goes to the Oracle of Delphi Why did Oedipus leave Corinth? Apollo told him that he would kill his father and marry his mother Where does Oedipus kill Laius? "where three roads meet" What is the riddle of the Sphinx that Oedipus solved? Q: What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening? A: man What is the blind prophet's name? Tiresias Who is Creon? Oedipus' uncle & brother-in-law who holds the same amount of power with no title until the end of the play when he becomes king Is this play about fate? Yes, but not only about fate because Oedipus also did things that weren't prophesized (most importantly blinding himself) What is the setting of the play? the front of Oedipus' palace in Thebes What is the meaning of Oedipus' name? swollen foot role of Messenger 1 he tells Oedipus that his "father" Polybus is dead; also the one to take him down to Corinth role of Messenger 2 he comes from inside the palace and describes Jocasta's suicide and Oedipus' blinding role of Shepherd he took Oedipus up the mountain under Laius' orders; final key to knowing the truth of Oedipus' birth and story When and where was this play written/performed? 5th century Athens Define Greek tragedy at the time of this play not necessarily sad but following a certain form and performed at certain times/places; serious b.c they dealt w. important events & ideas What god were theatrical competitions in honor of? Dionysus tragoidia word used in Greek to describe these plays; literally means "goat song" What was the prize the winning playwright would win in Athens? a goat chorus group of 12 people who speak all at once in the play and represent the voice of the community; means "dance"; break up drama to focus audience on certain issues what are the 2 types of greek tragedy? apollonian and dyonisian apollonian tragedy had rationality and wisdom dyonisian tragedy filled with wildness and the irrational 3 famous tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides subject matter of tragedy almost always directly from traditional myths 3 basic elements of Greek theater (physical) auditorium, orchestra, and skene skene the stage How big was the audience for a tragedy? 12,000-17,000 people props in Greek tragedy the only props were masks How many plays did Sophocles write? 123 plays How many of Sophocles' plays won first prize at the competitions? 20 How many of Sophocles' plays do we have today? 7 Deus Ex Machina a mechanical device that permitted an actor playing a god to resolve dramatic problems by floating out over the skene; also used to snatch dead bodies from stage What are the three unities and is Oedipus an example? time, place, and action (unity, stays in the