12 Sophocles - Antigone, Oedipus Rex & Colonus

Question 1

Pelops

Answer 1

Pelops (PEA lops): cooked and served to the gods by father, Tantalus

Question 2

Pentheus

Answer 2

Pentheus (PEN thee us): king of Thebes who resisted the cult of Dionysus. Was torn to pieces by the Bacchantes. His mother Agave placed his head on her spike thinking she had killed a Lion. [TD-BAL]

Question 3

Phaethon

Answer 3

Phaethon (FAY eh thon): son of Helios; dared to drive his father’s sun chariot

Question 4

Pluto aka

Answer 4

Pluto aka: King Hades of the underworld

Question 5

Polybus

Answer 5

Polybus (pa luh buhs): husband of Merope, king of Corinth, Oedipus’ foster father [MCO]

Question 6

Polydorus

Answer 6

Polydorus (pa luh DOOR us): son of Cadmus; brother of Semele [CBS]

Question 7

Polynices

Answer 7

Polynices (pa luh NIGH sees): son of Oedipus and Jocasta; he and brother Eteocles (eh TEE oh klees) killed each other [OJE]

Question 8

Semele

Answer 8

Semele (SEH muh lee): mother of Dionysus by Zeus; she was incinerated when she insisted on seeing Zeus in all his glory

Question 9

Seven Against Thebes & Leader

Answer 9

Oedipus’ son Polynices (pa luh NIGH sees) assaulted Thebes, with these champions, to take control from his brother Eteocles (eh TEE oh klees) [OPTE]

Question 10

Silenus

Answer 10

Silenus (sigh LEE nus): older companion and tutor to the god Dionysus

Question 11

Sphinx

Answer 11

A monster with a lion’s body, wings and a woman’s face; Oedipus solved her riddle

Question 12

Theogony

Answer 12

Theogony (thee OG uh nee): the genealogy of the gods by Hesiod (HE see uhd)

Question 13

Theseus

Answer 13

Theseus (THEE see us): he was king of Athens

Question 14

Thrace

Answer 14

Northern Greece; uncivilized

Question 15

Who were the ‘Big Three’ Greek tragedians in chronological order?

Answer 15

Aeschylus => Sophocles => Euripides [ASE]

Question 16

Who was the Father of Greek Tragedy?

Answer 16

Aeschylus (EH skuh luhs)

Question 17

Who was the Father of Greek Comedy?

Answer 17

Aristophanes (eh ruh STOF uh neez)

Question 18

Who was the author of the Oresteia trilogy?

Answer 18

Aeschylus (EH skuh luhs) wrote the Oresteia

aw REH stee uh

Question 19

What are the three plays in the Oresteia?

Answer 19

Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides [ALE]

Question 20

Where was Agamemnon’s citadel located?

Answer 20

Mycenae (mai·SEE·nee)

Question 21

Who were Oedipus’ sons who killed each other?

Answer 21

Polynices (pa luh NIGH sees) and Eteocles (eh TEE oh klees)

Question 22

What were the names of Jocasta and Oedipus four children?

Answer 22

Antigone and Ismene; Eteocles and Polynices. [AI-EP]

Question 23

What were the names of Oedipus’ two sets of parents and their kingdoms?

Answer 23

Blood parents: Jocasta and Laius, King of Thebes.

Foster parents: Merope and Polybus, King of Corinth

Question 24

Olympia vs Olympus?

Answer 24

Olympia was Zeus’ religious site on the western Peloponnese peninsula.
Olympus is a mountain in northern Greece; home of the gods

Question 25

Magaera vs. Megareus?

Answer 25

Magaera (muh JEER uh) was one of the Furies.

Megareus (meg-gur-ee-us) was the son of Creon; killed during the siege of Thebes by the Seven [CTS]

Question 26

Maenad aka

Answer 26

Maenad (ME-nad): bacchante (buh-CAN’T)

Question 27

Olympia vs. Delphi?

Answer 27

Delphi is the temple of Apollo on Mt. Parnassus on the mainland.
Olympia is Zeus’ religious site on the western Peloponnese peninsula, home of the Olympic games.

Question 28

Which of Oedipus’ sons killed each other for control of city of Thebes?

Answer 28

Eteocles (eh TEE oh klees) and Polyneices (pa luh NIGH sees)

Question 29

Polybus vs. Polydorus vs. Polynices

Answer 29

Polybus (paul uh buhs) was king of Corinth and Oedipus’ foster father.
Polydorus (pa luh DOOR us) was son of Cadmus and brother of Semele. [CBS]
Polynices (pa luh NIGH sees) was son of Oedipus and Jocasta

Question 30

Iacchus

Answer 30

Iacchus (eye-ack-us): a minor deity and the leader in the Eleusinian Mysteries. He yelled “iakhe” to start the procession.