On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, as part of the dissemination activities of the European Erasmus+ KA121 Program, Philologist Ms. Aikaterini Tsachtsarli delivered a model lesson with peer observation by teachers from Evangeliki Model High School of Smyrna, with the participation of class B1. The teaching scenario focused on exploring the concept of citizenship in Sophocles’ Antigone and in its modern adaptations by Brecht and Anouilh.
Students gathered and evaluated interdisciplinary knowledge and information in order to be able, at a later stage, to engage in the production of critical discourse and commentary in the context of interpreting the ancient text. The lesson employed a text-centered interpretive method, in line with the curriculum guidelines for the teaching of Ancient Greek from the original text, encouraging active student participation.
Initially, the class plenary identified and commented on the fundamental aspects of citizenship in Sophocles’ Antigone, examining its moral and legal dimensions in relation to the individual’s relationship with state authority. Supplementary audiovisual material was used, including an excerpt from rehearsals of a 2018 production of Sophocles’ Antigone in Ilioupoli, as well as a note by Blanas linking citizenship and justice with orthodoxy of thought. Students revisited their prior knowledge about Creon’s decree through a presentation of scenes from a 2002 performance of Antigone at the Delphi Theater. This was followed by a dialectical discussion of the concept of justice from the perspective of Thebes’ ruler in contrast to Antigone’s vision of justice. Working in groups, students analyzed the argument and counterargument structure and examined whether the heroine could be considered an active citizen. They also explored Creon’s political views by examining lines that reveal his political reasoning.
Next, an excerpt from the Athens and Epidaurus Festival 2016 was shown, featuring scenes from Anouilh’s Antigone. The groups investigated the differences in how each heroine relates to state authority and their respective ideological foundations. Reference was also made to Brecht’s adaptation and his interpretation of the political message of the play. Students comparatively explored how, in each different socio-historical context, the concept of citizenship and the citizen took on distinct meanings and characteristics. This was followed by reflection and role-play activities in which student groups were assigned positions to defend either Creon’s or Antigone’s stance in relation to modern moral, social, and political dilemmas, thereby highlighting the timeless relevance of the tragic poet’s thought.
This teaching scenario aligned with the current Curriculum, aiming to develop students’ critical thinking by activating cognitive skills such as comparison, evaluation, abstraction, investigation, and concept hierarchy, as well as rational questioning. Students developed metacognitive skills and, through role-playing and rhetorical debate, engaged in experiential learning. The lesson also adhered to the goals of the European program, as it promoted students’ critical, social, and civic literacy. Consequently, this instructional proposal acted as a stimulus for shaping students’ political identity and democratic education, as concepts such as “freedom,” “law,” “city,” “citizen,” “justice,” “virtue,” “nobility” and others were approached as values and criteria for evaluating and referencing human action—both in antiquity and today.
