Tragedy Facts for Kids

In theatre, a tragedy is a play that ends badly for the hero or heroine or others. A tragedy is usually about a person who has many good qualities, but has one poor quality (called a "tragic flaw") that causes trouble for him, and may cause him, or his family or friends, to be in trouble.

Often in a tragedy, there is one thing that the hero does not want to happen and tries to prevent, but no matter what he does, it makes this thing more and more sure to happen. Tragedies originated in Ancient Greek theatre, where they were performed at religious festivals. The three most famous Greek tragedy writers were Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Other famous writers include Shakespeare and Jean Racine.

Sometimes the word tragedy is also used to mean something with a bad outcome in real life.

Ancient Greece: Arts and Culture

Sculpture	Artemision Zeus • Charioteer of Delphi • Colossus of Rhodes • Elgin Marbles • Hellenistic art • Hermes and the Infant Dionysos • Phidias • Praxiteles • Riace Warriors • Statue of Zeus at Olympia • Venus de Milo • Winged Victory of Samothrace •

Painting and pottery	Carpenter Painter • Epiktetos • Kleophrades Painter • Kottabos (Kleophrades Painter) • Singing Reveler (Epiktetos) •

Sports and Games	Boxing • Gymnasium • Heraia • Kleomedes of Astypalia • Kottabos • Milo of Croton • Olympic Games • Palaestra • Pankration • Theogenes • Wrestling •

Architecture	Acropolis of Athens • Corinthian order • Doric order • Palaestra at Olympia • Parthenon • Temple of Artemis • Temple of Hera at Olympia • Temple of Zeus at Olympia •

Theater	Aeschylus • Aristophanes • Comedy • Euripides • Greek chorus • Satyr play • Sophocles • Theatre of ancient Greece • Tragedy •

Literature	Aesop • Apollonius of Rhodes • Argonautica • Epic poem • Hesiod • Homer • Iliad • Ode • Odyssey • Pindar • Sappho • Theogony

Places	Athens • Corinth • Delphi • Macedonia • Mount Parnassus • Olympia • Sparta • Thebes

People	Alcibiades • Aristotle • Galen • Herodotus • Hippocrates • Pausanias (geographer) • Pericles • Plato • Plutarch • Socrates • Xenophon

Miscellanea	City-state • Democracy • Greek homosexuality • Greek mythology • Labors of Herakles • Oracle of Delphi • Satyr •

Images for kids

Mask of Dionysus. Greek, Myrina, 2nd century BCE.
French actor Talma as Nero in Racine's Britannicus.
Edwin Austin Abbey (1852–1911) King Lear, Cordelia's Farewell

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Tragedy Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

Tragedy facts for kids

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