Pericles
Pericles is one of the most important figures in Greek history. He was born c. 490 B.C. in Athens, and he died in 429 B.C. in Athens. His greatest accomplishments were creating the Golden Age and planning the invention of the Parthenon. Pericles made Athens the capital of Greece, and he was re-elected as its leader every year from 461 B.C. to 429 B.C.. He founded the Delian League, a group of Greek city-states whose purpose was to protect and liberate Greek cities from Persian control. Pericles was the greatest of the many leaders that ruled Greece as he was responsible for making Athens the powerful and cultural center of Greece.
Aristophanes
Aristophanes was a comedy writer from Greece. Although history isn’t clear, it is believed he was born sometime between 455 B.C. and 445 B.C in either Athens or Aegina. He wrote over 40 plays, the first one of them being written in 427 B.C.. Eleven of his drama plays are still around to this day. One of his biggest accomplishments was winning first place for one of his plays, Archaninas, at Lenaea in 425 B.C.. Unfortunately, he died around 388 B.C.. Aristophanes will be remembered as one of ancient Greece’s best comedy writers.
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Sophocles Sophocles was a tragedy writer from Greece.
He was born in 496 or 495 B.C. outside of Athens, and he died in either 406 or 405 B.C.. The tragedy dramatist wrote approximately 123 plays and won awards for over 70 of them! Sophocles’ greatest accomplishments were being honored as the best Greek tragedy writer and being selected as governor of Athens after they were defeated by Sicily in war. Sophocles skill for composing drama plays made him a remarkable historical figure in Greek
history. The Parthenon The structure known as the Parthenon is the most well known building from Greece’s history. It was the first temple designed after Athens was burned down by the Persians. In 447 B.C., the construction of the massive structure that would measure 228 feet long, 101 feet wide, and 65 feet high, began. The designers of the Parthenon were Ictinus and Callicrates. Since the structure was going to be so large, all the citizens of Athens participated and had a role in its construction. The building was constructed using 22,300 tons of marble and was also made of wood and precious materials. There was a statue of the goddess Athena in the middle of the temple. After 15 long awaited years, the Parthenon was finally completed in 432 B.C.. Drama In Ancient Greece, drama was very popular. Some say it is the greatest invention ever to Western Culture. No one truly knows where drama originated from, but one theory says it came from religious and mythical plays made by the Minoans. Drama was invented in the late sixth century B.C.. In Greece, drama performances took place in the city of Dionysia at the Theater of Dionysus. They held 3 day festivals where the people performed and competed for prizes. All of the performers were men, but some played female parts. The two main types of drama were tragedy and comedy, and the Greek people enjoyed plays written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Drama was a major part of Ancient Greece’s society.
prized. This of course was more of a problem for a rich husband than a
Sophocles was one of the most influential writers of Ancient Greece. He was thought to be born around 496 B.C.E. in Colonus, near Athens Greece, and died at around 406 B.C.E. meaning that he only lived for about 90 years. He was born into a wealthy family, his father being Sophillius, and he was an amour manufacturer in the rural community
Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1984.
Imagining a general with great wealth, integrity, and great perverseness can only begin the learning of Pericles and his ways of being a leader of Athens. His risk-taking, leadership, and his intelligence truly show what type of person he was. Although there were people that thought he was not worthy of his position, he had many supporters and people that idolized, admired, and trusted him, making him one of the most brilliant people ever to step foot in Athens.
Aristophanes, although he wrote in 420 BC, parallels much of Greek society with that of today's. He disrupts the audiences' comfort thro...
No one would deny that Pericles was the most prominent Greek statesman and spokesperson during the Golden Age. His contribution was largely felt during the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars having obtained power from his family link to the Alcmaeonid family. He commanded a lot of respect to from the Athenian citizens with Thucydides describing him as "the first citizen of Athens” . He was born at around 495 BC north of Athens in the ...
Sophocles wrote the play, Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King was written around 420 BC, has been noted as the most powerful expression of Greek tragic drama (Hyesso). Oedipus, who was a stranger to Thebes, became king of the city after the murder of the city’s king, Laius, about fifteen or sixteen years before the start of the play. He was offered the throne because he was successful in saving the city from the Sphinx, an event referred to repeatedly in the text of the play. He did so by solving a riddle in which killed the Sphinx. He married Laius’ widow, Jocasta, and had four children with her. When Oedipus was born, there was a prophecy that said Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent this, his parents pierced and bind Oedipus’s ankles and abandoned him in the mountain. They believe that Oedipus’s fate was in the God’s hands. When Oedipus grew up, he heard about this prophecy, and decided to flea town in order to avoid the possible outcome. What he did not know was that the parents who raised him, had ...
Sophocles’ background influenced him to write Antigone. One important influence on the drama was the author’s life in the “golden era” of Athens during fifth century BCE. In that time, Athens was experiencing much change in all facets, and drama was a major factor in Athenian culture. In his essay “Sophocles,” Ed Downey reports that Sophocles was born at the beginning of the “golden era” in Athens and lived a long life influenced by “the artistic and cultural achievements in the ancient Greek world”. Sophocles was a wealthy and highly educated, “happy man.” As a young man, Sophocles began his playwright career, eventually becoming one of the greatest writers in history although only seven of his works are still intact (1). Similarly, the setting
The greek playwright, Sophocles, was born around 496 B.C., and died in 406 B.C. During his life, he wrote many plays, one of which was Oedipus Rex. Sophocles was the first dramatist to add the third actor to the play. Actors were able to perfrom many different parts, but the play was limited to only three actors and the chorus. (Literature, page 1065)
The tragic drama Oedipus the King is regarded as one of Sophocles (495 and 405 B.C.) greatest and surviving plays. Written between 420 and 430 B.C., the Greek tragedy tells a story about an immortal’s attempt to defy the ill fate that his gods bestowed upon him. He became a fugitive, only to later uncover the roots of his birth, and find himself in the ruins foretold. From murder to vengeance, a stranger to the land he rules, proves to be native, and turns out to be the son and husband of the woman who borne him, and the father and brother of his very own children. Sophocles incites that the Olympian gods do exist, and that we cannot fight their decrees. We follow the fate they have devised for us, and all efforts to change their plans will prove useless, for we cannot escape our destiny.
Information about lifes of Sophocles and Euripides are very limited and hard to verify. However, many sources match about following information about their biographies. Sophocles was born at 497 or 496 BCE in Colonus Hippius, now a part of Athens. His father was a wealthy merchant and weapon producer and an important figure in their society. So, Sophocles had the opportunity of taking the traditional aristocratic education and studying art in his early age which was a pr...
Sophocles, a Greek author and philosopher, created a magnificent work of literature, Oedipus Rex. Oedipus Rex describes the legendary tales that King Oedipus of Thebes took in order to confirm that his biological parents were King Polybus of Corinth and his wife Merope. This tragedy of fate explores the depths of modern psychoanalysis as Oedipus unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother in an attempt to avoid the very prophecy he ultimately fulfills. The play was created by Sophocles, an intellectual philosopher that was born in 495 B.C. about a mile northwest of Athens. Sophocles has become one of the most prominent playwrights of the golden age. He was a son of a wealthy merchant, therefore, he enjoyed all the benefits of a thriving Greek empire. As an accomplished actor, Sophocles performed in many of his own plays, such as Oedipus Rex. The famous Sophocles is known as one of the greatest innovators of the theatre. The Theatre of Dionysus is where the greatest playwrights performed their infamous tales, it was a major open-air theatre build in Athens, the theatre was dedicated to the god of wine and fertility, it hosted the City Dionysia festival. The Theatre of Dionysus is where Oedipus Rex is first acknowledged to the world. Oedipus Rex embodies the nature of life and society in ancient Greece.
The Birds and The Frogs, written by Aristophanes, show a strong dichotomy between the pragmatic and romantic. This dichotomy is prominent in both stories because it voices a perspective on the evolution of Greek culture. Although written for entertainment, many of the punchlines refer to the real life triumphs and crises of Greece. For example; both plays were written during the 4th Century BCE, during which, Athens was on the brink of war with Sparta. The crisis in Athens is used as a plot point in both plays, with many characters desperately trying to find a way to resolve this conflict or run away from it. This relates back to the dichotomy. In The Birds, the characters of Pisthetairos and Euelpides start off with the intention of running away from the possible destruction of Athens. They represent the pragmatist who decide face this possible reality. In The Frogs, the satirized version of real life Greek poet, Aeschylus, is obsessed with idealizing Greece, and believes that Athens can save itself from despair. He is represents the romantic who refuses to face this possible reality.Although both perceptions are subjective, both plays depict those who have this idealistic and impractical attitude, are the ones who actually succeed in their objectives. These characters triumph because of their obsession with preserving these romantic concepts instead of accepting a more realistic perception. This leads the character to be resolute.
He won first prize for tragic drama at the drama festivals held in the City of Dionysia. Sophocles wrote one hundred and twenty seven plays, winning first place in twenty four festivals and for every play he did not place first he came in second. Only seven plays have survived intact: Ajax, Antigone, Trachiniae, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. Along with his successful plays he is credited with including painted background scenery, moving from twelve choirmen to fifteen and changing speaking parts from two to three. It is rumored that Sophocles has performed in his own plays, but due to voice issues he could no longer
When it comes to the history of drama Sophocles’ Oedipus is the king of all tragic heroes. From killing his own father and marring his own mother Oedipus’s tragic downfall leaves the reader emotionally scarred for life. Yet he still holds on to his morality and prevails past it all. Famous Greek philosopher Aristotle defines what a tragic hero is and Oedipus fits it perfectly. Oedipus is a true embodiment of Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero through his ability to preserve his virtue and wisdom, despite his flaws and predicament.