CLASSIC 30 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Satyr Play, Deus Ex, Chthonic
Document Summary
Provide background info on ancient greek tragedy as it was composed and staged in athens. Tragedy is very much the product of athens. These texts were intended to be performed for an audience, not read as we read them today. Ancient greek temples were usually painted bright colors. With the new scholars of the ancient world, there was a bit of a shift to focus on the literature versus the performance aspect. Surviving ancient greek play writes from the classical athens. People think that greek tragedy only covered greek myth but this is not the case. Mythology creates a safe space for contemporary dilemmas where the athens can address their moral dilemmas and take away their sensitive nature. In the 490"s bc, persians invaded greece, wanted to expand their empire. There was a guy who wrote a history tragedy about a greek city being destroyed by the persians, which had happened, and people hated it and it was banned.
