100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Lecture 7 Notes for CLA204 CA$6.49
Add to cart

Class notes

Lecture 7 Notes for CLA204

 7 views  0 purchase

A complete notes from 2024 CLA204H1F Online Asynchronous course from University of Toronto St. George. Notes of every lecture including what's on the slides and important points which professor covers.

Preview 2 out of 14  pages

  • October 23, 2024
  • 14
  • 2024/2025
  • Class notes
  • Naomi neufeld
  • All classes
All documents for this subject (5)
avatar-seller
niinasakon
The Theban Cycle – Lecture 7

• Mythological stories that surround the early history of Greek polis of Thebes in the
territory of Boeotia
• Chronologically earlier than the myths of the Trojan war – concerning earlier
generations of heroes
o Heroes of Trojan war show knowledge of these Theban Cycle
• The Theban Cycle was said to consist of four epic poems written in dactylic
hexameter, now lost
1. The Oedipodea -> story of the events around Oedipus and his family curse.
2. The Thebaid (sometimes attributed to Homer) -> story of the war between
Oedipus' two sons Eteocles and Polynices over the kingship of Thebes.
a. Includes the story of The Seven Against Thebes, wherein Polynices
leads a band of seven heroes from Argos to attack Thebes.
b. AKA first war against Thebes
3. The Epigoni -> next generation of Argive heroes who attacked Thebes to
avenge their fathers.
a. AKA the second war against Thebes
4. The Alcmeonis -> tale of Alcmaeon (one of the epigoni) murdered his
mother, Eriphyle, because she accepted a bribery of a necklace (the cursed
necklace of Harmonia) from Polyneices, to convince her husband,
Amphiaraus, to go to war in the first Theban war

• There were also two later epic poems about the Theban cycle written:

o Thebais by Antimachus of Colophon c. 4th century BC

o Thebaid by the Roman poet Statius in c. 80AD



Map of Mainland Greece:

• Center of the region -> Boeotia’s capital was Thebes
• Close proximity to Attica/Athen (the capital) & Delphi
o Often come into conflict



Brief History of Thebes

• Major Geek poleis on mainland
• Bronze Age (Mycenaean) settlements at Thebes

, o Greek speaking
• Close proximity to Attica, Thebes was often in conflict with Athens
• During 2nd Persian invasion of Greece in 480BC, Thebes sided with Persians.
o Medizing: (slur/name for Persians): scored by other Greek poleis for
generations
• In Peloponnesian War, Thebans sided with Spartan, After defeat of Athens, Thebes
gained prominence and began to expand military in 4th Century BC.
• Leaders of resisting growing power of Macedon under the rule of Phillip II in middle
of 4th century BC.
• Phillip II & Alexander the Great defeated the Greek forces at Chaeronea in 338BC
o Greece were under control of Macedonian
o Punishment for their resistance -> Thebes was razed to the ground and
people enslaved by Macedonians in 335 BC.



Sophocles – Playwriter

• Play: Written by Atheneans and listened by Athens
• Born around the start of 5th century BC in Athens
• Died around the age of 90 in 406/5 BC
o Lived through both Persian Wars & Peloponnesian War
o Experienced Athenian Empire grow and reach its zenith
• 2 of 3 great tragedians, won his 1st competition at city Dionysia in 468BC, defeating
nd


Aeschylus: the reigning master of Athenina drama
• Won 18 Dionysia victories and 6 Lenaia (a lesser festival of drama) victories over his
career
• Wrote over 120 plays, but only 7 survive in full
• The Theban Plays: three of Sophocles’ surviving plays features mythological events
around reign of Oedipus at Thebes BUT not trilogy
o Written in diLerent times within Sophocles’ career
o Antigone: thought to belong to an earlier stage in career
o Oedipus Rex: thought to be written in middle
o Oedipus at Colonus: last play he wrote before he dies before performed.

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller niinasakon. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for CA$6.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

50843 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
CA$6.49
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added