Greek Tragedies

In this episode, we turn from tragedy to one of the oldest surviving works of Greek literature: the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. We follow the god’s remarkable rise from his miraculous birth on the island of Delos to his conquest of the monstrous Python at Delphi. Along the way, Apollo establishes his great oracle, claims his sacred sanctuary, and gathers the first priests who will serve him. More than a simple hymn of praise, the poem reveals how the Greeks understood divine power, prophecy, music, and the founding of sacred places. It is the story of a young god announcing himself to the world—and ensuring that mortals will hear his voice for generations to come.

Orestes, pursued by the Furies for murdering his mother, flees to Athens where he is tried at the Areopagus.

Oedipus ran away from his home in Corinth to avoid the prophecy which foretold he would kill his father and marry his mother. After answering the riddle of the Sphynx, he was made King of Thebes, and charged with hunting down the killer of the former King. As Oedipus begins to examine the facts from the past, he slowly learns the horrifying truth that we often fulfill our destiny on the road we took to avoid it…

Orestes returns from exile to avenge his father’s murder at the hands of his mother and her lover Aegisthus.

The King of Thebes denies the divinity of Dionysus and persecutes the women of the city who have begun practicing the mystic rites of the god. In Euripides’ telling, Dionysus visits the city and its King to exact his revenge in horrifying detail.

Agamemnon returns home from Troy. His wife Clytemnestra welcomes him home as a conquering hero, but secretly plans to kill him for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia before he left for the war.

After the death of Achilles at Troy, Odysseus and Ajax competed for the arms of Achilles. The army awarded the arms to Odysseus as the second best warrior. Ajax, in his humiliation, planned to kill Odysseus and the Greek captains for dishonoring him.

At Aulis the Greek fleet is stalled by a divine prophecy: Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to appease Artemis so the armada can sail to Troy. The play follows Agamemnon’s guilt and the tensions between commanders, the army, and family. Iphigenia learns her fate and chooses to accept death for the sake of Greece. Achilles vows to defend her, but at the altar the goddess intervenes, substituting a deer and sparing the girl, allowing the fleet to depart.

After stealing fire from heaven, Prometheus is chained to the side of a mountain but refuses to relent.