Transcript Document
2/11/15
Do Now:
- Take the handouts from the front of the
room and put your name on it.
Homework:
- Get an Antigone book
Content Objective: Students will begin reading and comprehending “Oedipus” and the
Oedipus Cycle.
Language Objective: Students will read and annotate the text in order to track their
understanding of the text. Students will use the reading comprehension questions to help
guide their reading.
Pre-Reading Strategy:
BEFORE you read, deconstruct & annotate the
Multiple Choice Questions
1) Which statement best clarifies the sentence in lines 5-6?
a. “With their reign Apollo’s oracle at Delphi began to play a
leading part in the family’s fortunes. (Lines 2-4)
b. “To attempt to act in such a way that the prophecy would be
made void was as futile as to set oneself against the decrees
of fate.” (Lines 6-9)
c. “He dispatched Jocasta’s brother Creon to Delphi to implore
the god’s help.” (Lines 64-66)
d. “She told her husband how the priestess at Delphi had
prophesied that Laius should die at the hand of his
son…having the child killed.” (Lines 94-97)
2) The author’s use of imagery in lines 24-27 serves to
a.
b.
c.
d.
Describe the beauty of the sphinx
Explain what a sphinx looks like
Express why people feared the sphinx
Delineate the structure of the wings of the sphinx
3) Which of the following lines from the passage is the BEST example of
the infallibility of the prophesies of the God Apollo?
the inability to be wrong
a.
“Apollo had declared that the plague would be
stayed upon one condition...” (Lines 67-69)
b.
“Jocasta too treated the assertion with scorn.
‘Neither prophets nor oracles have any sure knowledge,’
she said.” (Lines 93-94)
c.
“He too, like Laius, thought to make it impossible for
the oracle to come true; he resolved never to see Polybus
again.” (Lines 39-41)
d.
“The old man wailed, ‘Oh, do not hurt me. I did give
him the child, but do not ask more, master, for the love of
God.’” (Lines 152-153)
4) Which literary technique is used in lines 158-159?
*Please correct line numbers on your paper
a.
b.
c.
d.
parallelism
anaphora
rhetorical question
allusion
Agenda:
Oracle:
Oracle: Back in ancient times, an
oracle was someone who offered
advice or a prophecy thought to have
come directly from a divine source. In
modern usage, any good source of
information can be called an oracle.
Agenda:
The Oracle
at Delphi:
Dating back to 1400 BC, the Oracle of Delphi was the most important shrine
in all Greece, and in theory all Greeks respected its independence. Built
around a sacred spring, Delphi was considered to be the center of the world.
People came from all over Greece and beyond to have their questions about
the future answered by the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. And her answers,
usually cryptic, could determine the course of everything from when a farmer
planted his seedlings, to when an empire declared war.
Arguments over the correct interpretation of an oracle were common, but the
oracle was always happy to give another prophecy if more gold was provided.
The lack of a strict religious dogma associated with the worship of Greek gods
also encouraged scholars to congregate at Delphi, and it became a focal point
for intellectual enquiry, as well as an occasional meeting place where rivals
could negotiate.
Agenda:
Looking
Ahead:
Today: Start Oedipus
Tomorrow: Finish Oedipus
Agenda:
Edith Hamilton’s
Mythology:
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes is
a book written by Edith Hamilton, published in
1942. It retells stories of Greek, Roman, and Norse
mythology drawn from a variety sources. The
introduction includes commentary on the major
classical poets used as sources, and on how
changing cultures have led to changing
characterizations of the deities and their myths. It
is frequently used in high schools and colleges as
an introductory text to ancient mythology and
belief.