Greek Theater Midterm 1

Thespis

The first actor and 'father of tragedy.'

City Dionysia

A major Athenian festival featuring dramatic competitions.

Linear B tablets

Early Mycenaean records hinting at pre-theatrical rituals.

Theatron

Audience seating area.

Orchestra

Circular performance space for the chorus.

Skene

Building behind the stage for actors and backdrops.

Ekkyklema

Wheeled platform for revealing offstage events.

Mechane

Crane used to lift actors (e.g., gods) into the air.

Deus ex machina

Divine intervention resolving the plot.

Parodos/Parodoi

Entrance passages for the chorus; also the chorus’s first song.

Prosopon

Masks worn by actors.

Skenographia

Scene painting or theatrical backdrops.

Tragoidia (Tragedy)

Serious drama exploring human suffering and fate.

Satyr-play

Humorous, bawdy plays performed after tragedies.

Dithyrambic poetry

Choral hymns honoring Dionysus, precursor to tragedy.

Kommos

Lyrical lament between chorus and characters.

Prologos

Opening scene or prologue.

Epeisodion

Scene between choral songs.

Stasimon

Choral ode between episodes.

Exodos

Final scene or chorus’s departure.

Rhesis

Long speech by a character.

Stichomythia

Rapid dialogue exchange in single lines.

Agon

Formal debate or contest within the play.

Chorus

Group of performers singing, dancing, and commenting on the action.

Koryphaios

Leader of the chorus.

Strophe

First part of a choral ode, sung while moving in one direction.

Antistrophe

Second part of a choral ode, sung while moving in the opposite direction.

Epode

Final part of a choral ode, sung while standing still.

Mythos

Plot or story, often drawn from mythology.

Ethos

Moral character or personality of a character.

Mimesis

Imitation or representation of reality.

Praxis

Action or events of the play.

Hamartia

Tragic flaw or error leading to downfall. Agamemnon stepping on the carpet

Peripeteia

Sudden reversal of fortune. Oedipus escaping his destiny but really he walked into it

Anagnorisis

Moment of recognition or discovery. Oedipus discovering the truth

Katharsis

Emotional purging through tragedy.

Dike

Justice or divine order.

Lex Talionis

'An eye for an eye,' a theme in revenge tragedies.

Peitho (important term)

Persuasion or rhetorical skill. Cly making aga walk on carpet, medea staying

Dolos

Trickery or deceit. Odysseus known for it

Oikos

Household or family, central to tragedy.

Daimon

Divine spirit or fate influencing a character; Curse

Xenia

Hospitality, often violated in myths.

Bia

Force or violence. Achillies known for it

Philoi

Friends or allies.

Echthroi

Enemies.

Stasis

state of civil war or unrest

Nike

Victory.

Etiology

Narrative explaining origins of customs or phenomena.

Areopagus

Ancient court of Athens, featured in The Eumenides.

Atreus

King of Mycenae, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus.

Tantalus

descendent of agamemnon, punished in the underworld eternally hungry and thirsty

Tyndareos

King of Sparta, father of Helen and Clytemnestra.

Helen

Wife of Menelaus, whose abduction sparked the Trojan War.

Cassandra

Trojan prophetess brought back by agamemnon and killed my clydemnestra

Erinyes (Furies)

Chthonic deities of vengeance. Found in the play Eumenides where they hunt orestes

Nisus

King of Megara, betrayed by his daughter Scylla by having his hair cut

Scylla

Daughter of Nisus, who betrays her father. Became man eating monster in odessy

Pythia

Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Sets the scene for prophetic revelations and guidance in Eumenides. Outlines peacful transfer

Themis

Goddess of divine law and order.

Chthonian

Relating to the underworld or earth deities.

Sisyphus

Cunning king punished in the underworld. Made to roll boulder up hill becausehe tried to cheat death and defy the gods.

Sophocles

Author of Oedipus Tyrannos and Antigone.

Oidipous Tyrannos (Oedipus the King)

Tragedy by Sophocles. In which oedipus seeks to rid Thebes of a plague, only to discover he has fulfilled a prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother.

Thebes

Setting of Oedipus and Antigone.

Spartoi

'Sown men' of Thebes, descendants of dragon’s teeth.

Cadmus

Founder of Thebes.

Thyestes

Brother of Atreus, central to the curse. of Agamemnon

Aegisthus

Son of Thyestes, married cly after agamemnon died, killed by orestes

Pelops

Descendent of Agamemnon who has the house curse

Iphigenia

Daughter of Agamemnon. Sacrificed by Agamemnon to appease the goddess Artemis for safe passage to Troy, leading to clytemnestra’s rage

Mycene

City which Agamemnon returns to after his voyage, place of his death.

Argos

City associated with the House of Atreus. Had a large theater

Orestes

Son of Agamemnon. Who murdered his mother in revenge for his father under the influence of apollo.

Nostos

Theme of homecoming as seen in Agamemnon and philocretes.

Meleager

Hero of the Calydonian Boar Hunt.

Earth (Gaia)

Primordial goddess that represents the earth

Phoebe

Titan associated with prophecy. Prophecy seen in Oedipus

Pylades

Friend of Orestes. Seen in the libation bearers

Symposium

Social gathering for discussion and performance. there was drinking and food

Didaskalos

Playwright or director of a play.

Choregos

Wealthy citizen funding a play’s production.

Choregia

A system in ancient Athens where wealthy citizens funded the training and maintenance of a chorus for theatrical performances.

Leitourgia

A public service or duty in ancient Athens, often involving financial contributions by wealthy citizens.

Pous

Greek for 'foot,' referring to the metrical unit used in poetry.

Oida

Greek for 'I know,' often used in plays to signify a character's recognition or realization.

Oidos

Greek for 'singer' or 'bard,' a term for performers or poets.

Skenographia

The art of scene painting or creating theatrical backdrops.

Chthonian

Relating to the underworld or earth deities.

Hypokrites

The Greek term for an actor, meaning 'answerer' (to the chorus).

Iambic Trimeter

A metrical form in Greek poetry consisting of three pairs of iambs.

Euripides

Greek playwrite who weote Medea, won only 4 times which is much less than others

Eros

god of love and passion, in Medea he is shown through medeas love

Philoi & Echthroi

love your friends hate your enemies. Central theme in many plays like Medea

Ismene

Antigone’s sister

Haemon

Son of Creon who kills himself

Eurydice

Wife of creon and mother of haemon

Aegeus

King of athens who agrees to take in medea

Electra

Orestes’s sister who helps him get back and kill his mother

Aeschylus

writer of Eumenides, libation bearers, and Agamemnon