Sophocles Study Guide: the Theban Plays (2024)

DatesCompleted

.......Theprobable date for the completion of Antigone was 441 B.C. and for Oedipusthe King, 430 B.C. Oedipus at Colonus was produced posthumouslyin 401 B.C. However, as stated under "Sequence and Classification," thestory Sophocles tells begins with Oedipus the King, continues withOedipusat Colonus, and ends with Antigone.

SophocleanTragedy

.......Atragedy of Sophocles, as well as another Greek playwright, is a verse dramawritten in elevated language in which a noble protagonistfalls to ruin during a struggle caused by a flaw (hamartia)in his character, such as pride (hubris), or an error in his rulings orjudgments. A Greek tragedy has the following characteristics:

• It isbased on events that already took place. The audience is familiar withthese events.
• The protagonist(main character) is a person of noble birth and stature.
• The protagonisthas a weakness and, because of it, becomes isolated and suffers a downfall.
• Becausethe protagonist's fall is not entirely his or her own fault, the audiencemay end up pitying him or her.
• The fallenprotagonist gains self-knowledge. He has a deeper insight into himselfand understands his weakness.
• The audienceundergoes catharsis, a purging of emotions, after experiencing pity,fear, shock and other strong feelings. The people go away feeling better.
• The dramausually unfolds in one place in a short period of time, generally aboutone day.

.......AGreek tragedy focuses on a great and noble character--such as Oedipus,a king--but a Greek comedy usually does not. Also, in a comedy, the authorusually pokes fun at the characters. Finally, a comedy does not end tragically.An example of a classic Greek comedy is Lysistrata,by Aristophanes.

Roleof the Chorus

.......Thechorus generally had the following roles in the plays of Sophocles:

• To explainthe action
• To interpretthe action in relation to the law of the state and the law of the Olympiangods
• To foreshadowthe future
• To serveas an actor in the play
• To singand/or dance
• To presentthe author's views.

Pride(Hubris or Hybris) as a Character Flaw

.......Pridewas considered a grave sin because it placed too much emphasis on individualwill, thereby downplaying the will of the state and endangering the communityas a whole. Because pride makes people unwilling to accept wise counsel,they act rashly and make bad decisions. Great pride, such as that of Oedipus(Oedipus Rex) or Creon (Antigone), is referred to as hybrisor hubris.

MythologyBackground
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........Tounderstand Oedipus the King, as well as the continuation of theOedipus story in the other two Theban plays, readers and playgoers shouldfamiliarize themselves with the following mythological background, wellknown to the Greeks who attended productions of the plays on the stagesof ancient Greece.

........Anoracle warns King Laius of Thebes that his wife, Jocasta, will bear a sonwho will one day kill him. After Jocasta gives birth to a boy, Laius actsto defeat the prophecy. First, he drives a spike through the child's feet,then takes him to Mount Cithaeron and orders a shepherd to kill him. Butthe shepherd, taking pity on the baby, spares him after binding his feetand tying him to a tree. A peasant finds the baby and gives him to a childlesscouple--Polybus (also Polybius), King of Corinth, and his wife, Periboea(also Merope). They name the boy Oedipus (meaning swelled foot)and raise him to manhood.
........Oneday, when Oedipus visits the oracle at Delphi, the chief city of a regionin central Greece known as Phocis, the oracle tells Oedipus that a timewill come when he slays his father and marries his mother. Horrified, Oedipuslater strikes out from Corinth. He does not want to live anywhere nearhis beloved parents, Polybus and Periboea, lest a trick of fate cause himto be the instrument of their demise. What he does not know, of course,is that Polybus and Periboea are not his real parents.
........InPhocis on the road to Thebes, at an intersection of three roads, Oedipusencounters his real father Laius, whom he does not recognize, and fiveattendants. Laius, who is riding in a mule-drawn wagon, is on his way toDelphi to hear a prophecy from the oracle. Laius, of course, does not recognizeOedipus either. Oedipus and Laius quarrel over a triviality--who has theright of way. The quarrel leads to violence, and Oedipus kills Laius andfour of his attendants. One attendant escapes.
........OutsideThebes, Oedipus encounters the Sphinx, a winged lion with the head of awoman. The grotesque creature has killed many Thebans because they couldnot answer her riddle: What travels on four feet in the morning, twoat midday, and three in evening? Consequently, the city lives in greatterror. No one can enter or leave the city.
........WhenOedipus approaches the Sphinx, the beast poses the riddle. Oedipus, quickof mind, spits back the right answer: man. Here is the explanation: Asan infant in the morning of life, a human being crawls on all fours; asan adult in the midday of life, he walks upright on two legs; as an oldman in the evening of life, he walks on three legs, including a cane.
........Surprisedand outraged, the Sphinx kills herself. Jubilant Thebans then offer thisnewcomer the throne of Thebes. Oedipus accepts it and marries its widowedqueen, Jocasta. Jocasta is, of course, the mother of Oedipus, althoughno one in Thebes is aware of this fact. Thus, the oracle's prophecy toLaius and Oedipus is fulfilled.
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......AlthoughSophocles died more than twenty-four centuries ago, he continues to livetoday in his plays as one of history's greatest writers. His themes–justice,pride, obstinacy, flawed humanity, and the struggle between destiny andfree will–are as timely today as they were in his own time. Aristotle laudedSophocles as the supreme dramatist, maintaining that Oedipus the Kingwas a model for all playwrights to imitate.
......Sophocleswas born a mile northwest of Athens in the deme (township) of Colonus between497 and 495 B.C. Because his father, Sophillus, shared in the profits ofa successful family weapons and armor manufactory, Sophocles was a childof advantage, enjoying the comforts of the privileged and receiving aneducation that undergirded his natural talents. He studied poetry, dance,philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, law, athletics, and military tactics.He also studied music and became accomplished at playing the cithara, astringed instrument resembling the lyre of the harp family.
......Inspite of his aristocratic background and entitlements, Sophocles was aman of the people: kindly, generous, popular. Fellow Athenians esteemedhim highly throughout his life. That he was quite handsome may have helpedbolster his popularity.
......Sophoclesearned his entry into the Athenian literary world with a play entitledTriptolemus,whichdoes not survive. He used it in 468 to defeat another outstanding dramatist,Aeschylus, in a writing competition. Competing plays were performed ina theater dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry. Sophocleswent on to win about two dozen more drama awards against Aeschylus andother extraordinary writers. It is said that he sometimes acted in plays.On one occasion, he reportedly presented a juggling act that dazzled theaudience.
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Sophocles' Innovations
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......UntilSophocles' time, dramatists wrote tragedies three at a time. The secondplay continued the action of the first, and the third play continued theaction of the second. The entire three-play series of tragedies was calleda trilogy. Sophocles broke with traditionby writing single plays that stood alone as dramatic units. Ajaxis an example of a stand-alone Sophocles play. The Oedipus series of plays(Oedipus the King, Oedipusat Colonus and Antigone) is not technicallya trilogy (although sometimes referred to as one) because the plays werewritten years apart as single units.
......Sophoclesalso emphasized people more than his predecessors, taking characters inwell-known plots from mythology and dressing them up as real human beingswith noble but complex personalities vulnerable to pride and flawed judgment.Audiences in ancient Athens did not go to a Sophocles play to be entertainedby a plot with a surprise ending. They already knew the ending. They wentto a Sophocles play to see how the characters reacted to the forces workingfor or against them--mostly against. Thus, Sophocles' plays required superbwriting and characterization to hold the interest of the audience.
......Inportraying his characters, Sophocles raised irony to high art, making thecharacters unwitting victims of fate or their own shortcomings. The ironywas both verbal (with characters speaking words laden with meaning unknownto them) and dramatic (with characters ensnaring themselves in predicamentscharged with danger that they do not recognize but that the audience wellknows will lead to disaster). The audience knew, for example, what Oedipusdid not know (until the end of Oedipus the King):that the man he killed and the woman he married were his father and mother.This type of dramatic irony occurs oftenin Sophocles' plays, allowing the audience to become engrossed with a character'sresponse to a situation rather than the eventual outcome of the situation.
......Anotherof Sophocles' innovations was an increase in the number of actors in playsfrom two to three, presenting more opportunities to contrast charactersand create foils.He also introduced painted scenery, enhanced costuming, and fixed the numberof persons in the chorus at 15. The chorus also diminished in importance;it was the actors who mattered.
......"Thekey to his work was provided by Matthew Arnold in the phrase to the effectthat Sophocles possessed an 'even-balanced soul,' " drama critic John Gassnerwrote in Masters of the Drama (New York: Random House, 1954, Page42). "He comprehended both the joy and grief of living, its beauty andugliness, its moments of peace and its basic uncertainty so concisely expressedby his line 'Human life, even in its utmost splendor and struggle, hangson the edge of an abyss.' "
......Sophocles'handling of human tragedy was influenced, in part, by the tragedies ofwar. During his lifetime he had witnessed the devastating Persian and Peloponnesianwars and even participated in a war when he served as a general with Periclesto quell rebellion on Samos, an Aegean island.
......Besidesmilitary duty, Sophocles served as a city treasurer, helping to controlthe money of the Delian Confederacy of states. He also served as memberof a governing council and as a priest in the service of Asclepius, thegod of medicine, to whom he was especially devoted. Well into old age,he remained productive in civic activities and writing. He wrote Oedipusat Colonus, for example, when he was over 90. It was that playwhich saved him from a charge of mental incompetence brought by his sons.According to ancient accounts by Cicero and Plutarch, when Sophocles appearedin court, he read from Oedipus at Colonus, which he was workingon at that time. So impressed were the members of the jury that they acquittedhim, apparently realizing that only a man fully in charge of his facultiescould write such beautiful words. Sophocles died about 405. He and hiswife, Nicostrate, had a son, Iophon, who was also a tragedian. Sophoclesand his mistress, Theoris of Sicyon, had a child named Agathon. Agathonwas the father of Sophocles the Younger, also a writer.

Above:Public domain image of Sophocles from Widimedia Commons

Glossaryof Greek Drama

Agon: a debate betweencharacters in a play. For example, in TheClouds, a comedy staged in 423 B.C. by Aristophanes, two teachersat a thinking shop operated by Socrates debate the validity of traditionalvalues and logical reasoning (which Aristophanes supports) vs the new ideasand deceptive reasoning of philosophers known as sophists.
AnagnorisisStartling discovery; moment of epiphany; time of revelation when a characterdiscovers his true identity. Anagnorisis occurs in Oedipux Rex whenOedipus realizes who he is.
AntagonistChief opponent of the protagonist in a Greekplay.
AtticaPeninsula in southeastern Greece that included Athens. According to legend,the King of Athens, Theseus, unified 12 states in Attica into a singlestate dominated by Athenian leadership and the Athenian dialect of theGreek language. The adjective Attic has long been associatedwith the culture, language and art of Athens. The great period of Greekdrama, between the Sixth and Fourth Centuries, B.C., is known as the AtticPeriod. Drama itself was invented by an Attic actor, Thespis,who introduced speaking parts to accompany choral odes.
CatastropheDenouement (resolution) of a tragedy in the drama of ancient Greece.
CatharsisIn literature and art, a purification of emotions. The Greek philosopherAristotle (384-322 B.C.) used the term to describe the effect on the audienceof a tragedy acted out on a theater stage. This effect consists in cleansingthe audience of disturbing emotions, such as fear and pity, thereby releasingtension. This purgation occurs as a result of either of the following reactions:(1) Audience members resolve to avoid conflicts of the main character–forexample, Oedipus in Oedipus Rex and Creon in Antigone–thatarouse fear or pity or (2) audience members transfer their own pity andfear to the main character, thereby emptying themselves of these disquietingemotions. In either case, the audience members leave the theater as betterpersons intellectually, morally, or socially. They have either been cleansedof fear of pity or have vowed to avoid situations that arouse fear andpity. In modern usage, catharsis may refer to any experience, real or imagined,that purges a person of negative emotions.
ChorusBystanders in a Greek play who present odes on the action.A parode (or parados) is a song sung by the chorus when itenters. A stasimon is a song sung during the play, between episodesof action. The chorus generally had the following roles in the plays ofSophocles and other Greek playwrights: (1) to explain the action, (2)to interpret the action in relation to the law of the state and the lawof the Olympian gods, (3) to foreshadow the future, (4) to serve as anactor in the play, (5) to sing and/or dance, and (6) to give theauthor's views. In some ways, the chorus is like the narrator of amodern film or like the background music accompanying the action of thefilm. In addition, it is like text on the film screen that provides backgroundinformation or identifies the time and place of the action. On occasion,the chorus may address the audience, as in the revised version of TheClouds, by Aristophanes.
ChalmysShort, sleeveless outer garment, or cloak, worn by some actors in a playof ancient Greece.
Cothurni(singular,cothurnus):Boots worn by actors in ancient Greece to increase their height and, thus,visibility to theater audiences. Singular: cothurnus.
DenouementOutcome or conclusion of a literary work; the final part of a plot. Thedenouement occurs after the climax.
DialogueConversation between characters in a play.
Drama:Literary work with dialogue written in verse and spoken by actors playingcharacters experiencing conflict and tension. In Greek drama, a play oftenderives its plot from stories from history or mythology. The English worddramacomes from the Greek word "dran," meaning "to do."
Dramaticirony Failure of a character to see or understand what is obvious tothe audience. Oedipus, for example, was unaware early on of what the audienceknew: that he was married to his own mother, Jocasta.
DionysiaSee Dionysus.
DionysusPatron god of Greek drama; god of wine and vegetation. Dionysus, calledBacchus by the Romans, was the son of Zeus and one of the most importantof the Greek gods. Dionysus died each winter and was reborn each spring,a cycle his Greek devotees identified with the death and rebirth of nature.He thus symbolized renewal and rejuvenation, and each spring the Greekscelebrated his resurrection with ceremonies that eventually included dramacontests. The most prestigious of these festivals was the Greater Dionysia,held in Athens for five days and participated in by playwrights suchas Sophocles, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, and Euripides. Festivals held invillages and small towns were called the Rural Dionysia.
DithyrambChoral hymn that praised Dionysus, god of wineand revelry, and sometimes told a story. In his great work Poetics,Aristotle wrote that dithyrambs inspired the development of Greek tragicplays, such as those of Sophocles. The first "play" supposedly took placein the 6th Century B.C. when Thespis, a member of a chorus, took the partof a character in a dithyramb. The action shifted back and forth betweenhim and the chorus. See also thespian.
EmmeliaType of dance accompanying some odes.
EpisodeScene or section of a play with dialogue. An episodemay be compared with acts or scenes in a Shakespeare play. Episodes comebetween the odes sung by the chorus.Thedialogue in an episode usually involves one or two characters and the chorus.
Exodos,or Exode Final scene of a play after the last stasimon.
GreaterDionysia See Dionysus.
HamartiaCharacter flaw or judgment error of the protagonistof a Greek tragedy. Hamartia is derived theGreek word hamartanein, meaning to err or to make a mistake.The first writer to use the term was Aristotle, in The Poetics.
.Hybrisor Hubris Great pride. Hybris often is the character flaw (hamartia)of a protagonist in Greek drama. Pride was considereda grave sin because it placed too much emphasis on individual will, therebydownplaying the will of the state and endangering the community as a whole.Because pride makes people unwilling to accept wise counsel, they act rashlyand make bad decisions.
MachineArmlike device in an ancient Greek theater that could lower a "god" ontothe stage from the "heavens." The Greek word for machine, mechane, latergave rise to a pejorative Latin term, deus ex machina (god from a machine),to describe a contrived event in a literary work or film. A contrived eventis a plot weakness in which a writer makes up an incident--such as a detectivestumbling upon an important clue or a hero arriving in the nick of timeto save a damsel in distress--to further the action. The audience considerssuch events improbable, realizing that the writer has failed to developthe plot and the characters in such a way that their actions spring fromtheir motivations. The term (pronounced DAY ihs ex MAHK in uh orDEihs ex MAHK in uh) is usually used adverbially, as in The policemanarrived deus ex machina to overhear the murderer admit his guiltto his hostage. However, it can also refer to a character who becomesthe "god from the machine."
MaskFace covering with exaggerated features and a mouth device to project thevoice. Greek actors wore masks to reveal emotion or personality; to depictthe trade, social class or age of a character; and to provide visual andaudio aids for audience members in the rear of the theater.
OdePoem sung in a play or a festival.
OldComedy: a genre of plays in Greece of the Fifth Century, B.C. Old comedydisplayed great imagination and used cutthroat satire, caricature, andsometimes vulgar dialogue to ridicule people, ideas, trends, and institutions.The Clouds, by Aristophanes,is an example of old comedy.
OnkosHeaddress worn by some Greek actors to increase their height and, thus,visibility to theater audiences.
OrchestraSee Theater, Greek.
Parabasis: an odein which the chorus addresses the audience to express opinions of the author,including his views on politics, social trends, and other topics. In TheClouds, a comedy by Aristophanes, the chorus scolds the audiencefor its lukewarm reception of an earlier production of the play.
ParaskeniaSee Theater, Greek.
Parodos,or Parode See chorus.
PeriaktiPrism having surfaces painted with pictures. When it revolved, it couldchange the scenery on a stage.
PeripeteiaIn a tragedy, sudden reversal of fortune from good to bad.
PoeticsImportant work by Aristotle written about 335 B.C. It analyzes Greek theaterand outlines its origin and development. One of its theses is that literatureand other forms of art imitate the activity of humans. Tragedy is the higherform of the playwright's craft, Aristotle says, because it imitates theaction of noble persons and depicts lofty events. Comedy, on the otherhand, focuses on ordinary humans and events.
Prologos: Prologuethat begins the play with dialogue indicating the focus or theme of theplay.
ProsceniumSee Theater, Greek.
ProtagonistMain character in an ancient Greek play who usually interacts with thechorus. In a tragedy, the protagonist is traditionally a person of exaltedstatus--such as a king, a queen, a political leader, or a military hero--whohas a character flaw (inordinate pride, for example). This character flawcauses the protagonist to make an error of judgment. Additionally, thetypical protagonist experiences a moment of truth in which he or she recognizesand acknowledges his or her mistakes, failures, or sins.
SkeneSee Theater, Greek.
StasimonSee chorus.
SatireIn Greek literature, a play or a passage in a play that pokes fun at publicfigures, institutions, ideas or the gods. An example of a satire is TheClouds, a comedy by Aristophanes.
Satyrplay Play that pokes fun at a serious subject involving gods and myths;a parody of stories about gods or myths. Fragments of Sophocles'satyr play Ichneutae (Trackers) survive along with his sevencomplete tragedies.
TetralogyFour plays (three tragedies and one satyrplay) staged by a playwright during the drama competition each springin honor of Dionysus.
Theater,Greek Open-air structure in which plays were performed. The stage facedthe afternoon sunlight to illuminate a performance while allowing the audienceto view the action without squinting. A Greek theater consisted of thefollowing:

.....Skene:Building behind the stage. First used as a dressing area for actors (andsometimes an
.....entranceor exit area for actors), the skene eventually became a background showingappropriate scenery.
.....Paraskenia:Extensions or annexes on the sides of the skene.
.....Proscenium:Acting area, or stage, in front of the skene.
.....Orchestra:Ground-level area where the chorus performed. Itwas in front of the proscenium.
.....Parados:Passage on the left or right through which the chorusentered the orchestra.
.....Thymele:Altar in the center of the orchestra used to make sacrifices to Dionysus.
.....Theatron:Tiered seating area built into a hillside in the shape of a horseshoe.
.....Machine:Armlike device on the skene that could lower a "god" onto the stage fromthe heavens.
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TheatronTiered seating area built into a hillside in the shape of a horseshoe.
ThespianNoun meaning actor or actress; adjective referring to anyperson or thing pertaining to Greek drama or drama in general. The wordis derived from Thespis, the name of a Greek of the 6th CenturyB.C. who was said to have been the first actor on the Greek stage. Seealso dithyramb.
ThymeleSee Theater, Greek.
TragedyVerse drama written in elevated language in which a noble protagonistfalls to ruin during a struggle caused by a flaw (hamartia)in his character or an error in his rulings or judgments. Following arethe characteristics of a Sophocles tragedy: (1) It is based on events thatalready took place and with which the audience is familiar. (2) The protagonistis a person of noble stature. (3) The protagonist has a weakness and, becauseof it, becomes isolated and suffers a downfall. (4) Because the protagonist'sfall is not entirely his or her own fault, the audience may end up pityinghim or her. (5) The fallen protagonist gains self-knowledge. He has a deeperinsight into himself and understands his weakness. (6) The audience undergoescatharsis,a purging of emotions, after experiencing pity, fear, shock and other strongfeelings. The people go away feeling better. (7) The drama usually unfoldsin one place in a short period of time, usually about a day.
TrilogyGroup of three plays on a related subject or theme.
ZeusKing of the Olympian gods.

Definitionand Background

Zeus(Jupiter and Jove) King and protector of the gods and humankind. Asruler of the sky, he made rain and thunder and wielded lightning bolts.Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.
Hera(Juno) Queen of the gods and protector of marriage. She was the wifeof Zeus and, as the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, also his sister.
Athenaor Pallas Athena (Minerva)Goddess of wisdom and war. She was born fully grown in a suit of armor,issuing from the forehead of Zeus. The Greeks highly revered her and builtmany temples in her honor.
Ares(Mars) God of war and the son of Zeus and Hera.
Poseidon(Neptune) God of the sea and brother of Zeus.
Hades(Pluto) God of the underworld and brother of Zeus.
Hephaestus(Vulcan) God of fire and metalwork who built the palaces in which theOlympian gods lived. He also forged their armor and made their jewelry.He was the son of Zeus and Hera.
Apollo,Phoebus Apollo, or Phoebus (Same as Greek Names) God of prophecy, music,poetry, and medicine. His alternate name, Phoebus, means brightness, andhe was thus also considered the god of the sun. He was the son of Zeusand Leto, the daughter of Titans. The Greeks highly revered him and builtmany temples in his honor. One such temple at Delphi was the site of afamous oracle, the Pythia, who pronounced prophecies as the mouthpieceof Apollo.
Artemis(Diana) Goddess of the hunt. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto(see Apollo) and the twin sister of Apollo.
Aphrodite(Venus) Goddess of love and beauty. According to Homer, she was thedaughter of Zeus and Dione, the daughter of a Titan; according to the Greekpoet Hesiod, she was born from the foam of the sea.
Hermes(Mercury) Messenger god who wore a winged hat and winged sandals. Hewas also the god of science, luck, commerce, and cunning. He was the sonof Zeus and Maia, the daughter of a Titan.
Hestia(Vesta) Goddess of the home and hearth and sister of Zeus.

.......TheOlympian gods lived in palaces constructed by Hephaestus on the summitof Mount Olympus, the highest peak (9,570 feet) in a mountain range betweenMacedonia and Thessaly near the Aegean Sea. Mount Olympus is sometimescalled Upper Olympus because it lies just north of a lesser peak (5,210feet) known as Lower Olympus.
.......Minorgoddesses called the Seasons maintained watch at the entranceway of MountOlympus, a gate of clouds which opened and closed whenever a god left orreturned to Olympus.
.......Intheir lofty domain, the gods breathed only pure air, or ether. They tooktheir meals in the palace of Zeus, eating ambrosia to sustain eternal lifeand drinking a delicious beverage called nectar, served by Hebe. Near thethrone of Zeus sat lesser goddesses known as Muses, who were nine in number.They regaled the gathering with songs of the gods and of earthly heroesand history. These daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory,learned under the tutelage of Apollo.
.......Otherlesser gods on Olympus included the following: (1) Eros (Cupid), god oflove and son of Aphrodite who shot arrows that impregnated humans withlove. (2) Iris, messenger goddess of Zeus and Hera who created rainbowswhen she flew across the sky. (3) Themis, a companion of Zeus who was thegoddess of justice. She holds scales on which she weighs the claims ina suit of law. (4) The Charites, or Graces, goddesses of joy and beauty.(5) Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance and punishment. (6) Aidos, the goddessof conscience.

Literatureand the Gods

.......Sinceancient times, western literature has lived at the foot of Mount Olympus,the nearly two-mile high colossus that was believed to be home to importantGreek gods. Writers of every age and every genre have invoked the magicof Olympus to make fire and thunder with words–or to perfume them withthe breath of Venus.
.......TheGreek writers Hesiod (born in the 7th or 8th Century B.C.) and Homer (bornin the 8th or 9th Century B.C.) immortalized the Olympian gods–Hesiod inthe Theogony and in Works and Days, Homer in The Iliadand The Odyssey. The Theogony presents a creation myth anda genealogy of the gods, along with accounts of their exploits. The Worksand Days advises farmers how to prosper, through honest toil and righteousliving, without incurring the disfavor of the gods. Homer’s Iliadtells the story of the final year of the Trojan War, between Greece andTroy, focusing on the greatest Greek warrior, Achilles, and on the machinationsof Olympian gods who take sides and attempt to influence the outcome ofthe war. The Odyssey narrates the adventures of Odysseus (knownas Ulysses to the Romans), a hero of the war who designed the famous Trojanhorse to breach the walls of Troy, on his long sea voyage home after thewar. While sailing home, the Olympian gods alternately help or hinder hisprogress. The Iliad and The Odyssey, both epic poems, areamong the greatest works in world literature.
.......Everygreat writer since Hesiod and Homer–including Sophocles, Vergil, Ovid,Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton–has climbed Olympus to retrievemetaphorical divinities or one of their qualities to illumine, clarify,or beautify his or her language.
.......Thougheverlasting and supernal, the gods of Olympus exhibited humanlike behavior.They could be loving and generous, wise and forbearing. They could alsobe petty and base, fickle and vile. And, they could be quick to anger.In "Book I" of The Iliad, the Olympian god Apollo descends the greatmountain in a rage after the Greek general Agamemnon captures a beautifulmaiden and refuses to give her up to her father, Chryses, a priest of Apollo.

.......[Apollo]came down furious from the summits of Olympus, with his bow and his quiverupon his shoulder, and the arrows rattled on his back with the rage thattrembled within him. He sat himself down away from the ships with a faceas dark as night, and his silver bow rang death as he shot his arrow inthe midst of them. First he smote their mules and their hounds, but presentlyhe aimed his shafts at the people themselves, and all day long the pyresof the dead were burning. (English translation by Samuel Butler)

.......Onthis the gods gathered to the house of Vulcan. Earth-encircling Neptunecame, and Mercury the bringer of luck, and King Apollo. . . . Then thegivers of all good things stood in the doorway, and the blessed gods roaredwith inextinguishable laughter, as they saw how cunning Vulcan had been.. . . (English translation by Samuel Butler)

Allegoryand the Tragic Chorus in Sophocles
AncientGreek Theater: A Short Introduction
AncientSun, Modern Light: Greek Drama on the Modern Stage
Antigone,Women of Trachis, Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus
Antigone:Readings
Barron'sBook Notes: Sophocles' Oedipus Trilogy
Blindnessin a Culture of Light: Oedipus at Colonus
Bloom'sNotes: Sophocles' Oedipus Plays
Bulfinch'sMythology
CompletePlays of Sophocles
Cureat Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes
Dictionaryof Classical Mythology
Electra,Antigone, Philoctetes
Eyewitness:Ancient Greece
GreekGods
GreekMyths, by Robert Graves
GreekTheatre Performance: An Introduction
Heroes,Gods and Monsters of Greek Myths
IllustratedWall Chart of Greek Myths
Imagesof the Greek Theatre
Languageof Sophocles
Marriagein Sophoclean Tragedy
ModernCritical Views: Oedipus
MusicalDesign in Sophoclean Theater
Mythology:Tales of Gods and Heroes, by Edith Hamilton
OedipusCycle
OedipusCycle: Cliffs Notes
Oedipusat Colonus
Oedipus:Evidence and Self-Conviction
Oedipus:The Meaning of a Masculine Life
Publicand Performance in the Greek Theatre
Sealof Orestes: Self-Reference & Authority in Electra
Theatrein Ancient Greek Society
Tragedy:A Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy
Tragedy:Greek Tragedy in Action
Tragedyin Athens: Performance Space and Theatrical Meaning