Need more than one play
Medea: Nurse opens play with Lament. Tutor tells of intended exile.
Scapegoat: innocent animal chosen by priest town assumes all sins and exhiled.
Oedipus: takes on pain of polis. Scapegoat of city. In danger of famine, need a scapegoat to take on
punishment of exile to save the city. He takes on burden.
Antigone and Creon: Antigone kills herself she hangs herself and Creon loses son, Haman stabs himself.
Creon looses wife, Eurydices. Antigone burys brother and rights order. Antigone scapegoat for tradition
piety. Creon is scapegoat for the city.
Pentheus might be scapegoat.
Phusis/Nomos
Orestia:
Agamemnon/ Clytemnestra
Agamemnon: Nomos. Kills daughter and doesn’t care. Chooses state over family.
Clytemnestra: Kills husband because of Taboo against family. Ignores council/chorus very important in
greek culture.
Furies/Apollo
Furies: eye for an eye justice. Rather than Athenian. Nature.
Athena: Nomos. Justice. New God. Balance. Changes the furies into something new. Reconciles them.
Ends the cycle of vengeance. Mercy nd forgiveness. Law system rather than violence. And continuing the
cycle.
Medea: phusis. Feminine. All about nature. Dangerous passion. PURE EMOTION. Kills brother and
family and son.
Jason: Power if he marries princess he will be king and son will be princess. Says Medea must love him
because of cupid. Only loved her while she was useful.
The Baccae:
Penthius/The Stranger and the Baccae
Study pages 11 and 12 of course pack!
Who was one Socrates accusers? Meletus
Who is Clytemnestra’s mother? Leda
Whose house did Tantalus belong to? Atreus.
