Greek Plays

ANTIGONE - by Sophocles
Antigone is the daughter of the King Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta - in this tragedy, she witnesses her brothers fight for the throne that results in one of their deaths. The play is an allegory to warn against pride.

OEDIPUS REX - by Sophocles
Oedipus is a Prince, destined to sleep with his mother and murder his father - naturally he does everything in his power to avoid this but ends up fulfilling the prophecies inadvertently. At the end of the play, Oedipus attempts to remove his own eyes from the guilt of this.

The psychoanalytic theory of an Oedipus Complex describes a child's sexual or aggressive feelings towards the opposite-sex parent, and rivalry against the same-sex parent. Oedipus Rex shows a sophistication of theatre as it discusses more the behaviour of humans rather than explaining natural phenomena. 

MEDEA - by Euripedes

Medea is the story of the wife of Jason, the leader of the mythical argonauts, a group of heroes tasked with retrieving the Golden Fleece from King Aetees. When Jason returns to the city with Medea, who he meets on his journey, she finds out about his other wife, whom he has married for political reasons. The play amounts to her murdering their children as the only way to impact Jason.

PROMETHEUS BOUND - by Aeschylus

Prometheus is the Titan that gives fire to humanity by taking it from the Mount Olympus, home of the Gods.

LYSISTRATA - by Aristophanes

Lysistrata is a citizen of a Greek city-state, and tired of the constant fighting happening during the Peloponnesian Wars, convinces the wives of the city to withhold sex from their husbands to convince them to stop the war. The play shows what happens and how it culminates in the war ending through clever planning.

Many of these plays seem to be interconnected and related to one another, particularly those written by the same playwrights. They also include the stories of Greek history and mythology hugely to make plots that are engaging and morally educating. These first written plays of human history show the condensing of centuries of oral tradition and stories. They all also have some similar themes, characters and plot due to the nature and genre of plays. Many are quite graphic and inappropriate, with violent and sexual scenes that make up the play.