lesson 7- The three tragic playwrights

Question 1

who were the three tragic playwrights?

Answer 1

1. Aeschylus
2. Sophocles
3. Euripides

Question 2

what dates was Aeschylus alive from?

Answer 2

525-456 BC

Question 3

what were the developments of Aeschylus and what were the impact of these developments?

Answer 3

1. He possibly increased the number of actors to two (according to Aristotle in his work ‘poetics)- this impacted Greek theatre as introducing a second actor was crucial to the development of drama as it opened up the possibility of dialogue between two individual characters rather than having a single actor on stage perform multiple different characters
2. he wrote tragedies about real life events in Greece such as the battle of Salamis- this would have educated an Ancient Greek audience and allowed them to remember key historical events in their history

Question 4

What was the approximate number of plays that Aeschylus wrote?

Answer 4

as many as 90 plays (to which 80 we know the titles of), however only seven surviving pieces

Question 5

what are Aeschylus’ most famous works?

Answer 5

1. The persians (472 BCE)
2. The Oresteia (458 BCE)

Question 6

what was Aeschylus’ distinct style of writing plays?

Answer 6

1. powerful use of the chorus
2. The themes in his tragedies were often agony and suffering

Question 7

How many times did Aeschylus win the city dionysia festival?

Answer 7

15 times in total

Question 8

what were significant achievements and key dates within Aeschylus’ life?

Answer 8

• He fought in the battle of Marathon and Salamis on the side of the Athenians
• won at the theatre dionysia for the first time in 484 BCE and continued to win another 14 times

Question 9

what years did Sophocles live between?

Answer 9

495-406 BCE

Question 10

what were the developments of sophocles?

Answer 10

1. According to Aristotle, Sophocles increased the number of actors from 2 to 3 (however this could have been Aeschylus’ doing as he is said to have increased the number of actors from 1 to 2)
2. popularised the ‘division of tragedy’ where the focus was more on suffering and deaths tended to happen in the middle of the play rather than at the end
3. increased the number of chorus members from 12 to 15
4. made the set of the performance more atmospheric through enhancing the look of the skene

Question 11

how many plays did Sophocles write?

Answer 11

He wrote as many as 120 plays but only 7 survive

Question 12

what are the most famous works of sophocles?

Answer 12

Ajax, Antigone, women of Trachis

Question 13

what was sophocles style of writing?

Answer 13

verbally sophisticated but very difficult to translate

Question 14

how many times did sopholces win the city of dionysia?

Answer 14

18 times in total and his first time winning at the dionysia was dated to 468 BC

Question 15

what are some significant achievements in Sophocles life?

Answer 15

1. he was a pre-eminent political figure in Athens, serving as a general alongside pericles in 441 BC
2. said to have played an important role in welcoming the new religious cult of Asclepius into Athens

Question 16

what years was Euripides alive between?

Answer 16

480-406 BC

Question 17

how many plays did Euripides write and how many survive?

Answer 17

It is believed he wrote between 90-100 plays, however only 19 of them survive with some having small fragments left

Question 18

what are Euripides most notable works?

Answer 18

Medea, Hippolytus , electra, Trojan women, and bacchae.

Question 19

what differs with Euripides in comparison to the other 3 great tragedians?

Answer 19

Euripides has the most surviving works left- he has 19 left in total in comparison to Sophocles and Aeschylus who only have 7 left each. However, despite the fact he has the most surviving plays, we know the least amount of information about him

Question 20

what was Euripides distinct style?

Answer 20

Liked to shock audiences, more self-conscious, gods appear on stage more often than other playwrights. He also enjoyed innovating with myths- for example, previous versions of the medea myth did not end in her killing her children

Question 21

how many times did Euripides win the city dionysia?

Answer 21

He won four times in total- once after his death in 406 BC. Euripides seems to have been more popular after his death rather than during his lifetime

Question 22

when did Euripides begin performing in the city dionysia?

Answer 22

from 455 BC up until his death in 406 BC

Question 23

Why do we have more surviving plays of Euripides than the other 2 playwrights?

Answer 23

The two other playwrights, Sophocles and Aeschylus lived before Euripides lifetime. As well as the number preserved by ancient scholars, nine survived purely by chance

Question 24

why should we be weary when Aristotle says that Aeschylus introduced a second actor to the stage?

Answer 24

1. This might be another example of the tendency among ancient critics to find an ‘inventor’ for every important change- this is similar to sources such as Aristotle claiming that Thespis was the inventor of Greek tragedy.
2. Introducing actors could not have been done at the whim of a playwright but must have required a vote from the public, since it would have involved a greater financial contribution from the state