Drama - Context

When was Oedipus Tyrannus first performed?

429-426 BC

When was Bacchae first performed?

405 BC - after Euripides’ death

What festivals were plays performed in a competition?

The Greater Dionysia and the Lenaia

What was Dionysus associated with?

Wine, plays, fertility, madness (ecstasy)

What does peripeteia mean?

A sudden reversal of fortune

What does anagnorisis mean?

The startling discovery that produces a change from ignorance to knowledge

What is pathos?

That which is done to someone, suffered by a person or thing

What is hubris?

Excessive pride

What is hamartia?

Error through ignorance

What is katharsis?

Cleansing, purification

What is sparagmos?

The ritual of tearing a body apart (featured in Dionysian rituals)

What is omophagy?

The eating of the pieces of the torn body

What is sophistry?

How to discuss the arguments of gods from both sides, viewed negatively

What was Komos?

Ritual drunk procession with leather phalluses

What is Demogouge?

Someone who convinces people based on emotion rather than facts

What is a Dithyramb?

A choral dance to worship Dionysus - drama developed out of it

What is the Agon?

A formal debate in tragedy and comedy - a struggle, competition

What is stichomythia?

A dialogue between 2 characters where they say a verse in alternate lines