oedipus

Question 1

Context for Thebes?

Answer 1

Cadmus, a phoenician King, was the mythical founder of the city; the myth was that after getting advice from the oracle of delphi, he had to follow a cow and build a city wherever the animal would stop. Once it stopped, Cadmus sacrificed the animal to the gods and asked his men to get some water from a nearby spring which was guarded by a dragon. The dragon killed most of his men, before it was slain by Cadmus. Only five members survived, who helped Cadmus rebuild Thebes.

Question 2

Context for Corinth

Answer 2

Corinth was a city state in ancient greece, located between its rival stated, Sparta and Athens. In mythology it was founded by Corinthos, who was a descendent of the god of sun Helios. Other sources suggest that the city was actually founded by the goddess Ephyra, daughter of the Titan god Oceanus. Corinth was sisyphus, who was condemned in the afterlife to eternally roll a boulder uphill, while during the Trojan war, the leader of the Corinthians was Agammemnon, brother of the King of Sparta, Menelaus.

Question 3

Orchestra

Answer 3

The orchestra was a circular piece of ground at the bottom of the theatron where the chorus and actors performed; the word means “dancing space”, as the chorus also danced in early periods. Originally unraised, Greek theatre would later incorporate a raised stage for easier viewing.

Question 4

Skene

Answer 4

skene, (from Greek skēnē, “scene-building”), in ancient Greek theatre, a building behind the playing area that was originally a hut for the changing of masks and costumes but eventually became the background before which the drama was enacted.

Question 5

Mechane

Answer 5

A mechane (/ˈmɛkəniː/; Greek: μηχανή, mēkhanḗ) or machine was a crane used in Greek theatre, especially in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Made of wooden beams and pulley systems, the device was used to lift an actor into the air, usually representing flight.

Question 6

Ekkyklema

Answer 6

An ekkyklêma or eccyclema (/ˌɛksɪˈkliːmə/; Greek: εκκύκλημα; “roll-out machine”) was a wheeled platform rolled out through a skênê in ancient Greek theatre. It was used to bring interior scenes out into the sight of the audience. Some ancient sources suggest that it may have been revolved or turned. Using of ekkyklema.

Question 7

Pronomos vase

Answer 7

The Pronomos Vase is arguably the most celebrated artwork that is associated with the ancient Greek theatre. Made in Athens

Question 8

Deme-theatre at Thoricus

Answer 8

The Theatre of Thorikos situated north of Lavrio, was an ancient Greek theater in the demos of Thorikos in Attica, Greece

Question 9

Masks

Answer 9

In a historical sense, there are two names for each mask. The name Melpomene represents the tragedy mask or Muse of Tragedy and the name Thalia represents the comedy mask or Muse of Comedy. Melpo is the shorter name for Melpomene, meaning a celebration of dance and song.

Question 10

Context Dionysys

Answer 10

Dionysys, also called Bacchus, in Greco-Roman religion, a nature god of fruitfulness and vegetation, especially known as god of wine and ecstacy. The occurance o fhis name on a Linear-B tablet (13th centuru bce) shows that he was already worshipped during Mycanaean period, although it is not known where his cult originated. In all the legends of his cult, he is depicted as having foreign origins.

Question 11

Ancient Greek tragedy competitions

Answer 11

The tragedy competitions were an ideal arena for testing ideas and learning what worked with the audience or noy. During the first hundred or so years the princibles for evoking suspsnse and empathy were found and refined to the level that is still practiced today. The evolution of the genre was spearheaded by stars like Aeschylys (winnner 472, 463, 458 BCE) Euripidies ( 441, 428, 405 BCE) and Sophocles ( 468, 447, 458)

Question 12

Tragedy Context

Answer 12

Greek Tragedy is a form of theatre from ancient greece it reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th centuryBC. Greek tragedy is widely believed to be an extension of the ancient rites carreid out in honour of Dionysis and it heavily influenced the theatre of ancient rome and reneissence. Tragic plots were most often based on myths frim the oral tradition of archaic epics, in tragic theatre however these narratives were presented by actors. the most acclaomed greetradians are Aeschyles, Sophocles and Euripidies.

Question 13

Context Aeschylus

Answer 13

Born 525/524BC
Died 456/455 BC Gela Sicily

The first of the classical Athens great dramatist, who raised the emerging art of tragedy to great heights of poetry and theatrical power