11/14/2012
Learning Objectives: Students will gain cultural context such as “justice in Ancient Greece” and ancient Greek theory of tragedy to deepen their understanding of the tragedy Antigone.

Aim:  How is the sense of justice portrayed in the selected excerpts and paintings? How will the cultural contexts help us understand an ancient tragedy?

Materials-
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/drama/cultural.asp?e=3

Agenda-

Based on our reading of the tragedy, Oedipus the King, what’s your understanding of “justice in ancient Greece”? How is it shown through the tragedy of Oedipus?

Teaching Point-
Read the following passage and jot down any idea you may have noticed  concerning  “justice” on a post-it and put on the posterboard to share.

The concept of justice was often pondered by the playwrights, poets, and philosophers of ancient Greece. Certainly the shift of political power away from the elite and into the hands of the citizenry helped fuel this interest in ancient Athens. Prior to the sixth century B.C.E., political power was solely in the hands of the aristocracy. However, early in the sixth century the great Athenian statesman Solon enacted political and economic reforms that reduced the power of the nobles, improved the condition of peasants, and granted citizens the right to appeal judicial decisions. This new government evolved into the Athenian democracy of the fifth century B.C.E., the century in which Sophocles wrote Antigone.
Explorations of the very nature of justice, the difference between righteous and reckless actions, and the participation of the gods in rewarding good and punishing evil are found in many of ancient Greece's extant writings, some of which were based on myths that had been passed down orally for centuries. The story of Antigone was one of these, possibly rooted in the destruction of Thebes around the thirteenth century B.C.E. but certainly altered and elaborated in the many centuries that followed. Most of Sophocles's audience would have known the basic plot as Antigone started. However, they would have had to follow the performance to see how Sophocles shaped and framed the specifics to tell his own distinct version of this story.  (from http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/drama/cultural.asp?e=3)

Meaning Making-
The class will be divided into 6 small groups and each group will study one assigned document. Discuss how what justice was and it was served in each document. Jot down your observation and conclusion plus questions on the post-it and park them on the poster board.

Transfer-
How may the ancient Greek’s sense of justice affect the portrayal of a tragic hero such as Antigone?
HW Read Prologue and parados. Select one issue in the scenes and write one page response to it( in any way you wish you wish to respond).