Aeschylus Oresteia and Prometheus Bound Hubris and the...

The dramatic presentations of ancient Greece developed out of religious rites performed to honor gods or to mark the coming of spring. Playwrights such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides composed plays to be performed and judged at competitions held during the yearly Dionysian festivals. Those plays were chosen by a selection board and evaluated by a panel of judges. To compete in the contest, Greek playwrights had to submit three tragedies, which could be either based on a common theme or unrelated, and one comedy. However, relatively few of these ancient Greek plays survive today. Known as the father of tragedy, Aeschylus introduced a second actor on stage, allowing for action and interaction to take place and establishing a†¦show more content†¦(Scully Herington, 1510-1525). In those lines, Prometheus mocks Hermes and says that he will tell nothing, after Hermes enters and orders Prometheus to reveal the identity of Zeuss son. Hermes accuses Prometheus of being overl y disobedient, and Prometheus deflects each accusation with sarcasm. This shows that Prometheus displays no fear of his destiny, indicating that he is too stubborn for his own good. Every Greek tragedy has a chorus; each one is made up of a different body of people. In The Libation Bearers, the chorus is made up of slave women from the palace. They represent the common interests and ideals of society and frequently comment on the action in lyrics. The chorus of this plays differs from those of Aeschyluss plays in that it influences the course of events by telling characters what to do. The chorus voices the following lines: The spirit of Right/Cries out aloud and extracts atonement/Due: blodd stroke for the stroke of blood/Shall be paid. Who acts, shall endure. So speaks/The voice of the age-old wisdom. (Grene Lattimore, 310-314) This suggests that the chorus shows itself to be willing to intervene in the action in order to bring about the