oedipus context Flashcards

1
Q

war

A

Peloponnesian war 431-404

  • Athens V Sparta: state of politcal turmoil
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2
Q

Politcal leader

A
  • Pericles
  • Prominent and influential Greek statemsan, highly loved
  • such a profound influence on society that historians have named him as the ‘first citizen of Athens’
  • died to the plague in 429BC
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3
Q

Plague of Athens

A
  • epidemic that devestated it in the second year of the Peloponisian war, just when victory seemed within reach
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4
Q

care for sick and dead

A
  • the plague was highly contagious
  • this meant people were not willing to care for the sick
  • the dead were heaped on top of eachother, left to rot or shoved in mass graves
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5
Q

Religious strife

A
  • the plague also caused uncertainty and strife

- temples were sights of misery as refugees from Athenian countruside had forced to find refuge there

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6
Q

Medea

A
  • Euripides
  • Opens in state of conflict
  • Downfall of influential figure - Jason, hero in Greek Soc due to golden fleece
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7
Q

How is Oedipus’ ending like Medea

A
  • messenger recounts grusome detail
  • Medea murders her children and flees the scene in a dragon-pulled chariot
  • jason doesn’t die, but potentially suffers a fate much worse
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8
Q

importance of household

A
  • birth of a son to inherit the household was significant

- aka giving up a son = crazy. Highlights belief in prophecy

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9
Q

Death and burial

A
  • a highly developed set of rituals
  • lack of proper burial meant no access to underworld
  • ancestors of the dead would honour in annual festivals with grave decorations
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