The actors - all men - wore theatricalized versions of everyday dress, but, most important, they wore larger-than-life masks, which aided visibility and indicated the nature of the character to the audience. ... The characters are stock - identifiable, simplified social types, such as a miserly father or a nagging mother-in-law. ... The seven extant plays are Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), Electra, Ajax, Trachiniae (Maidens of Trachis), Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus (produced posthumously in 401 BC). ... Oedipus Tyrannus and Electra date from 430 to 415 ...

• Word Count: 2321
• Approx Pages: 9

Well-known characters in some of the greatest Greek tragedians' plays illustrate this idea. In Aeschylus's Agamemnon, the title character is a returning king who behaves arrogantly and thoughtlessly. ... Sophocles's character Oedipus ends up killing his father, losing his kingdom and his wife and mother, and becoming a blind, wandering outcast for the rest of his life. ... Any good Greek should know the dangers of hubris, but Oedipus is a bit of a braggart: "And justly you will see in me an ally, a champion of my country and the God" (Oedipus Rex, 135-136). ... Oedipus's fa...

• Word Count: 1999
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School