Greek tragedies
Catharsis-inducing ancient plays
Greek tragedies are dramatic works from ancient Athens depicting the downfall of noble characters through fate, moral weakness, or divine intervention.
The major tragedians—Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides—created works like *Oedipus Rex* and *Medea* that remain foundational to Western drama.
The term extends to any catastrophic situation with an air of inevitability: Their marriage became a Greek tragedy.
- fatePredetermined course of events
- strophePoetic structural division
- heroOne admired for courage
- hamartiaFatal error causing downfall
- fatal flawRuinous character defect
king · mask · dramatic irony · hubris · Aeschylus · Euripides · theatron · chorus · amphitheater · curse · catharsis · Athens · Sophocles · mythology · doom · nemesis · oracle · blood curse
- classicsHomer, Iliad, the Iliad, Odyssey, the Odyssey
- ancient textsscrolls, scroll, Euclid's Elements, Epic of Gilgamesh, codex
- Greek classicsHomer, Iliad, Plato, Odyssey, Aristotle
- Greek LiteratureHomer, myths, fables, Iliad, Odyssey
- Greek tragedySophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Oedipus, Antigone
- theater bookstheater history, playscripts, character analysis, stage directions, one-act plays
Greek tragediesGreek comedies
Humorous ancient Athenian dramas
Old Comedy · comedies · farces · slapstick · burlesque
Greek tragediesmodern drama
Post-nineteenth-century theatrical works
contemporary theater · Broadway musicals · avant-garde theater · experimental theater · kitchen sink realism