Antigone Flashcards
Hamartia
Tragic flaw, the error frailty, or mistaken udgment through which the fortunes of a hero of a tradegy are reversed
Hubris
Excessive pride or self confidence
Tragic universe
Tragedy creates a special kind of universe composed of fated and non fated elements conflict between the hero and the universe is the heart of a tragic universe
Tragic hero
Important person not perfect
Person of high character must face destiny with courage nobility and rebellion against the implacable universe
Painfully aware of the frailty of his or her flesh and will
Ultimate fate is a combo of bad luck and bad decisions
Tragic vision
Have question about matters that are unresolvable and he will realize that through a combo of fate and errors he will inevitably suffer and die, brought to the limit of his potential and will, actively seek value in the context of evil and suffering
Reversal
The moment a heros fortune changes from good to bad
Recognition
A new awareness on the part of the hero that results in decisive change in the course of the characters
Catastrophe
The tragic failure of the death or the hero, the final presentation of the nobility of the hero, and usually followed by Glimpse of restored order
Catharsis
“Change” the purge at the end
Dramatic irony
A plot devise in which the audience or readers knowledge of events or individuals surpasses that of the characters
The chorus
The people that explain what happens, like a narrator
Dionysian festival
One a year in Greece when everybody celebrates for one by going to plays
Amphitheater
Area that held people during plays in Ancient Greece
Thespis
Wanted more from a Dionysian festival so added actor and the chorus sang about the actor then more actors were added
Aristotle and the poetics
Aristotle wrote the poetics, and the poetics explained what makes tragedies great such as tragic hero
The story of Teiresias
Most famous prophet in Greek mythology, (ZEUS cheated on HERA) Zeus and Hera disagreeing about who gets more pleasure out of sex, so Zeus takes them to a village close to Thebes where someone can answer the question (Teiresias) has been both a man and a woman (Tiresias: walks through field and stomps on two magical snakes makes him a woman, 15 years, stomps on snakes again and turns to man) woman get more pleasure, and Tiresias turns blind and prophet
Aphrodite, Paris. Helen, Achilles, Hector
Use in Iliad, show concepts like burial, heroic code and tragedy. Achilles ends in dragging hector around and violates the code of burying people properly and defies the gods by doing this.
Who is worship at the Dionysian festival?
Dionysus
Oedipus and the sphinx
Version of the oracle that tells Oedipus his prophecy
Aphrodisiac
Something that turns you on, comes from Aphrodite the goddess
Bacchanalia
A wild party involving alcohol, comes from Bachuss a god of wine
Halcyon
Days that are calm, comes from myth and means calm
Hermetic
Comes from Hermes, god of medicine. Means to be sealed so that no disease or bacteria can get in.
Martial
Anything that is called military is called this because Mars is roman god of war. Warlike.
Mercurial
Means bipolar, your up and then your down. Comes from Mercury, god of personality who was bipolar (angry, happy, and sad).
Narcissistic
Elf loves, comes from Greek myth. A boy who walks up to a pond and theses his reflection then falls in love with his own reflection and doesn’t want to leave so he dies staring at his own reflection. Then a flower grew where he died.
Oedipal
Comes from Oedipus, when a boy falls in love with his mom and he loves his mom too much
Platonic
Comes from Plato, means someone has a loving relationship but not in a romantic way.
Sisyphean
An impossible task that never ends. Comes from myth of Sisyphus, the person that had to push a huge rock up a big hill over and over again.
Venereal
A sexually transmitted disease, a Greek and roman myth with a character names Venus.
Muse
Inspiration, comes from Muses.
Chronological
Time, comes from father of time.
Spartan
Sparta is an Ancient Greek city and it means tough and simple.
Thespian
An actor, comes from Theseus who invented acting
What is Greek Heroic code ?
The code (courage, loyalty, decency) Greeks believe they would get eternal life if they followed the heroic code, if they didn’t believe in afterlife they thought would just go to the underworld. If you weren’t buried properly, you would suffer, but if you were you would be let into the underworld, but not suffer there.
Arête
A Skill / virtue that they believed everyone had and you were supposed to make better, and when they introduced eachother they would include there arête
Aristeia
A defining moment when your arête is tested
Ate
God of blindness, Greeks believe figuratively you would stop seeing morality & go blind, in your aristeia you would vulnerable and he might take advantage of you
Heroic names in Greek storytelling
Name, Son of …, arete
Who usually take care of the burial?
Relatives of the deceased, especially women
Why is a proper burial important?
So they can pass into the underworld
What are the elements of a proper burial?
The prothesis (laying out of the body)
Ekphora (funeral procession)
Interment or cremation of the body. Know the stuff in parenthesis.
What does Odesseus encounter with elpenor reveal about Greek burial?
Elpenor didn’t get to leave Limbo because Odysseus didn’t bury him, which made elpenor tell Odysseus he was going to haunt If he didn’t bury him, which leads to us believe that the Greeks believed that if they didn’t do justice to the dead they would haunted
What does Achilles encounter with the ghost of Patroclus reveal about Greek burial?
He haunts Achilles because he wants to cross the river into the underworld and out limbo
Oracle at Delphi
prophet told Oedipus he would marry his mom and kill his dad
Oedipus and the sphinx
Oedipus answered the sphinx riddle and became king of Thebes
Dionysus is worshiped in the Dionysian festival
Dionysus: Greek god of pleasure, Greeks liked him and celebrated in the Dionysian festival once a year by going to plays
Sophocles
Author of Antigone
Thebes
A village where Oedipus took over and Antigone grew up as a princess
Oedipus
Antigone’s father who was traded at birth from Corinth to Thebes, then was fated to marry his mom and kill his dad so he went on a life journey and killed his dad on the way to Thebes, became king of Thebes, found out that his prophecy came true and walked into the desert to die
Creon
King of Thebes after Oedipus, that said Polyneices couldn’t be buried and almost Antigone
Jocasta (iocasta)
Daughter of menosius, mother and wife of Oedipus. She kills herself.
Antigone
Princess of Thebes, buried her brother Polyneices and got sent to a cave by creon, hung herself
Ismene
Antigone’s sister, Creons niece, who is the only one alive in the end besides Creon. But she wants to die.
Haimon (haemone)
Antigone’s fiancé, creon’s son, the one who first broke into Antigone’s tomb and found her dead and stabbed herself
Eteocles
King of Thebes, son of Oedipus and either Jocasta of Euryganeia, defended Thebes and was killed by brother Polyneices, creon declares hero because he defends Thebes and get a warriors burial
Polyneices
The oldest son of Oedipus, their was a
a curse put on them by there dad Oedipus so they didn’t rule peacefully, fought each other, killed each other in battle for the control of Thebes
The nurse
Cares for Oedipus daughters, tradition figure in Greek drama
The chorus
Narrator and commentator, frames the play with prologue and epilogue, introduces the action of characters under the sign of fatality
Eurydice
Creon’s wife, who’s only function is to knit in her room until it’s her time to die
Sentry
Thebe’s guards. Suppose to be weak minded people who only care about themselves and do whatever to save themselves.
Know quotes from Iliad and odyssey. We use them to understand the ideas of Greek burial.
Read quotes again.
Best tragedies end in?
Catastrophe. Tragedies made people better, you get stuff out of them.
Who are Oedipus’ sons?
Eteocles and Polyneices
What are some themes in Antigone?
Burial rights, themes of gods and themes of man, who follows the gods laws VS. mans laws
