About the Author
The author of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.
Sophocles
Civilization that make tragedy into art
The Greeks
City where tragedies were produced as part of a religious festival.
Athens
The other two plays in the series with Antigone.
What type of play is Oedipus Rex?
a tragedy
The number of Sophocles's plays that exit today out of a total of more than 100.
7
What is the ending of Greek tragedies?
Downfall, usually by destruction or death
The part of a Greek Tragedy that is usually chanted or sung
Choral Ode
The King and Queen of Thebes
Laius and Jocasta (Oedipus's parents)
What is the catharsis of this play?
When Oedipus discovers he killed his own father and married his mother
The nickname for the time period in ancient Greece when Sophocles wrote his plays.
The Golden Age
What emotions are usually exemplified in Greek Tragedies?
Pity and fear, wonder and awe
What did actors in Greek Tragedy wear?
Masks with build-in megaphones and platform shoes.
What is the prophesy that was given to Jocasta and Laius (Queen and King of Thebes)?
Their son will kill his father and marry his own mother.
What is Oedipus's hamartia?
His excessive pride (hubris)
How old was Sophocles when he won his first drama competition?
28
What brings a Greek hero to disaster in Greek tragedy?
hamartia
What is the Chorus?
A group of actors that move and sing together, acting as one.
Who is Jocasta?
Both mother and wife to Oedipus
What happens to Oedipus at the end of the play Oedipus Rex?
Oedipus gouges out his eyes and leaves Thebes.
How many actors traditionally were cast in Sophocles' plays?
3
What is catharsis?
A horrible truth that leads to release; purification
What does the Greek word hypokrites mean?
actor
What does Creon decree about that begins the action of Antigone?
What happens to Jocasta in the play Oedipus Rex?
She ends her own life.