Greek Tragedy Flashcards
What years did Aeschylus live from?
525-456 BC
Who was the earliest tragedian who’s work survives
Aeschylus
How did Aeschylus die?
An eagle dropped a turtle on his head thinking it was a shiny rock.
How many plays did Aeschylus write?
About 90
How many of Aeschylus’s plays survive?
7
What are Aeschylus’s surviving poems?
Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Agamemnon, Choephoroe, Eumenides, Suppliants, Prometheus Bound
What is Aeschylus most known for?
Adding the 2nd actor to the play
How many times did Aeschylus win the dramatic competition?
At least 13 times
What is important about Persians?
It is Aeschylus’s only surviving play with a historical theme
What is Persians about?
The Battle of Salamis
What does “Eumenides” mean?
Kindly ones aka furies
What is special about Eumenides?
Nothing
How many plays did Sophocles write?
Over 100
How many of Sophocles plays are extant?
7
What are Sophocles extant plays?
Ajax, Trachinian Women, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra, Philocretes
What did Sophocles add to the play?
The third actor and scenery; chorus 12–>15; characters were idealised
When did Euripides die?
Right before Sophocles
Where did Euripides write his poems?
In a cave
How many of Euripides plays survive?
19
What are Euripides extant plays?
Alcestis, Bacchae, Electra, Hecuba, Hippolytus, Ion, Iphigenia at Aulis, Medea, Orestes, Rhesus, Suppliant Women, Trojan Women
