Thucydides Discussion I

I would like you to read all of Thucydides' history (and all the dialogues of Plato, all thirty two extant Greek tragedies, all the plays of Aristophanes, and all of Plutarch). For Thursday, November 14,  however, I will be satisfied if you skim all of Book I and read more carefully the following selections from Book II: Pericles' Funeral Oration (II:34-46), The Plague in Athens (II: 46-57), and Pericles' Justification of His Policies (II:57-65).

Comment here on what you think of Thucydides as a historian. Note one specific strength or weakness, and give an example or two of what you liked/didn't like about Thucydides.

Euripides II--Andromache

Please read Euripides' Andromache for Tuesday's class (October 27).

Choose one of the five narrative essentials (plot, character, theme, setting, tone) and compare this play to one of the other tragedies we've read in terms of that "essential."  Does Euripides do something particularly impressive with that feature of his story, something that makes you especially like this play?  Is there anything in Euripides treatment of this essential that makes you not like this play as much as some of the others?

Euripides Discussion I--Alcestis

Suppose you have just seen the first Athenian production of Euripides' Alcestis and that you are trying to decide whether or not Euripides should be the playwright who wins this year's prize. What do you see in this play that would make you lean toward Euripides as the prize winner?  Anything in the play that would incline you not to vote for Euripides?

Philoctetes (read for Tuesday, October 22)

Many think that Oedipus Rex is Sophocles' finest play--perhaps the finest tragedy ever written. Others think the lesser-known Philoctetes an even greater play. Did you like Philoctetes better than Oedipus Rex? Not as much? Why? What do you think Sophocles does particularly well in Philoctetes--or, perhaps, not so well?

Oedipus Rex

For Thursday's class (October 17), please read Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (either online or in Levi Lind's Ten Greek Plays in Contemporary Translation).

Choose one (1) of the "narrative essentials" (plot, theme, character, setting, and tone) and note one way in which Sophocles' Oedipus Rex reflects a particularly skillful handling of that "essential." 

Please cite the passage you have in mind both by line number and a general description of that passage.

Alternatively, suggest here some ways Oedipus Rex either does or does not support the claim that Sophocles is one of the greatest of all playwrights.

Agamemnon (due before class, October 15)

Please read Aeschylus' Agamemnon (pp. 37-76 of Levi Lind's Ten Greek Plays in Contemporary Translation).  If this is the first time you have read this play, I would recommend skipping over the long choral passages. Great writing, but not essential to what we'll be talking about Thursday.

Directors sometimes encourage their actors to choose one special line and to center their whole performance on building to and building off that line. Assume you are asked to play one of the characters in Agamemnon or to be a member of the chorus. What line would you choose for your "special" line? How would you build up to or build off that line? Why would you choose that particular line?

Prometheus Bound (Reading for Thursday, October 10)

Please read Prometheus Bound (pp. 6-32 in Levi Lind's Ten Greek Plays in Contemporary Translation or online here or here).

Suppose you were writing a commercial promoting a production of Prometheus Bound as a "must see" kind of show. Choose some "sound bites" from the play itself to use in your commercial. Be prepared to work with other students in class to create a full version of your commercial.