Good Day, na3ooma-ga
Having found some wonderful websites about Greek tragedy circa 5th
Century, I know you'll enhance you're education in this area and have
fun doing it. Following is a listing of my research findings, but it
is not exhausted as there is a treasury of information on the internet
about this topic.
My initial research at www.google.com was "Greek tragedy +politic" and
"Greek tragedy +philosophy" and simply "Greek tragedy". There is so
much material available in a search like this that I am only sampling
some of the sites.
Easy to read and digest, these websites will give you enough
information to create a million word document on the Greek Tragedy.
I imagine you will have difficulty in keeping your essay limited to
1000 words.
A great approach would be to read the material in any of the sites,
then start writing down your impressions. Proceed to the next site
and do the same.
At some point, you will have accumulated enough thoughts and ideas on
the Greek tragedies to easily prepare a concise, accurate essay.
1.Some samples from this first website make it clear that the subject
is covered clearly and concisely. A lovely introduction to your study
of Greek Tragedy.
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"The first "tragedies" were myths which were danced and sung by a
"chorus" at festivals in honour of Dionysius (God of Wine)"
The chorus dressed in goat skins because the goat was sacred to
Dionysius and goats were "prizes" which were awarded for the best
plays. Therefore, the word tragedy is believed to be derived from the
Greek word "tragoidia" which means "goat-song".
The chorus both commented on the events and participated in them, so
that it was both involved in the action and detached from it.
It was in 534 B.C. that perhaps the most important stage ... who
invented an actor who conversed with the leader of the chorus.....a
drama which could show and develop a human situation in all its
aspects.
Their purpose was to ask questions about the nature of man, his
position in the universe, his relation to the powers that govern his
life
There were three great masters of Greek tragedy in the Fifth Century
B.C. whose work has survived in part: Aeschylus, Sophocles and
Euripides
Greek tragedy, then, is an expression of man realizing that his human
standards have become questionable
....tragedy is a kind of protest; it is a cry of terror or complaint
or rage or anguish to and against whoever or whatever is responsible
for "this harsh rack.
....tragedies do not usually end upon a blackly pessimistic note
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~hblake/tragedy1.html
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2. Introduction to the tragedies
It is worth noting that the mature plays of Sophocles and Euripides
were written against a background of constant war.
......origin of tragedy to Thespis, a sixth century poet
........Greek tragedy was performed only at the wine festivals
..........Aeschylus acted in his own plays, and describes Sophocles'
proficiency in music and dancing.
The oldest surviving complete texts are mostly Byzantine (from the 9th
century AD). ... three plays of each tragedian: the 'Byzantine triad'
(Aeschylus: Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus; Sophocles:
Ajax, Electra, Oedipus the King; Euripides: Hecuba, Orestes,
Phoenician Women). The oldest texts are papyri found at Oxyrhynchus in
upper Egypt.... fragments of the Euripidean tragedy Hypsipyle, the
Sophoclean satyr play Ichneutai (Trackers), and Menander's comedy
Discolus were discovered there (as well as work by Aristotle,
Callimachus, Homer, and Pindar).
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3. The Influence of Greek Tragedy
.......Plato's objection to tragedy as not depicting the truth was
countered by Aristotle's argument that facts are only particulars, and
poetry could show general truths...
....Coleridge implies a similar power, through 'that willing
suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic
faith'
http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/Faculty/trag-theory.html
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4. Introduction to Greek Tragedy
Genre - Tragedy
....tragedy refers primarily to tragic drama: a literary composition
written to be performed by actors in which a central character called
a tragic protagonist or hero suffers some serious misfortune which is
not accidental and therefore meaningless
....Private reading of tragedy deprives us of the visual and aural
effects
Euripides's ... unpopularity among the Athenians because of certain
radical themes in his plays....
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/netshots/tragedy.htm
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5. ".....to present various literary, visual, and aural evidence of
the performance of tragedy...
Introduction
Origin of Tragedy
Map of Greece
Location of Greek and Roman Theaters
City Dionysia (1)
City Dionysia (2)
Theater of Dionysus
Theater of Dionysus (theatrical terms)
Prohedria ('front-seating)
Assignment of Seats
Site of Theater of Dionysus
Theater at Epidauros (1)
Theater at Epidauros (2)
Skene (late 4th century)
Skenographia (scene-painting in 5th century)
Skenographia (scene-painting in late 4th century)
Orestes at Delphi
Oedipus and the Messenger
Theatrical Devices: Mechane
Theatrical Devices: Ekkyklema
Actors
Chorus
Music
http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/dunkle/tragedy/
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6. A delightful site that gives you an idea of the locations for these
early tragedies through a series of pictures.
http://www.showgate.com/medea/thorburn.html
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Brad-ga |
