Ancient Greek Tradegy & Rule of St. Benedict Terms

Chorus

A group of performers who comment collectively on the dramatic action. The chorus generally consisted of between 12 and 15 players, who danced, sang or spoke their lines in unison, and sometimes wore masks. 

Ode

An elaborately structured poem praising or glorifying an event or individual, or thoughtfully describing nature. A classic ode is composed of three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. A choral ode is an ode sung or recited by the chorus in an Ancient Greek tragedy. 

Strophe

A stanza in which the chorus moves in one direction (east to west). It is the first part of the ode in ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode.

Antistrophe

The stanza following the strophe, in which the chorus moves in the opposite direction, west to east. The antistrophe is in the same meter as the strophe, but often presents an idea or argument contrary to the strophe.

Epode

The epode differs in meter from the strophe and antistrophe, and is chanted by the chorus while standing still. It consists of pairs of lines, each pair containing a longer line followed by a shorter line. The epode is sometimes omitted.

Prologos

A monologue or dialogue presenting the tragedy's topic

Parodos

The entry of the chorus; using unison chant and dance, they explain what has happened leading up to this point 

Episode

The main section of the play, where most of the plot occurs, in the episode, actors speak dialogue about the plot, and the chorus often interacts with the actors

Stasimon 

A choral section of a Greek tragedy in which teh chorus comments upon the episode to the audience

Exodos

The final choral chant where the moral of the tragedy is discussed

Logeion

The stage for a Greek drama, which was possibly raised 

Methane

A crane-like device used to lift actors, allowing performers to appear in the air or to enter aerially from behind the skene

Orchestra

Literally, the “dancing place,” a round area at the foot of the slope on which spectators sat and which was the cdenter of the dramatic performance

Skene

Literally the “tent,” a structure behind the orchestra with a large, central door, windows and roof, often used as an acting area

Parodos

The paths by which the chorus and some actors (such as those representing messengers or people returning from abroad) made their entrances and exits. The audience also used them to enter and exit the theater before and after the performance.

Hyposkenion

A room beneath the stage that may have had doors to enter the orchestra

Ekkyklema

Literally, “wheel out,” a large wheeled that could be rolled through the central door in the skene to display scenes that had taken place inside, beyond the view of the spectators

Anagnorisis

Recognition or discovery of one’s previously unknown situation or circumstances, such as when Oedipus realizes his true identity long after he has fulfilled his predicted fate

Catastrophe

An overturning or undoing of the protagonist in a tragedy, including the terrible suffering inflicted on the protagonist. It is the final fall or unraveling of the protagonist’s life, characteristic of tragedy. 

Peripeteia

A reversal of circumstances or change in the direction of a character’s actions, intentions and direction in Ancient Greek tragedy. In Antigone, a peripeteia occurs when Creon realizes he has been wrong and rushes out to free Antigone from the tomb

Nemesis

The distribution of what is due, retribution, sometimes personified as a goddess

Hubris

Excessive pride, wantonness, arrogance, boastfulness, insolence, or outrageousness. In ancient Greek theater, hubris is often responsible for the downfall or defeat of a character. It leads to the catastrophe and nemesis

Deinos

A Greek term that can mean wonderous, terrifying, or strange. Other near synonyms might be “awesome” or “astonishing”. Heroic characters in Sophocles’ tragedies are often described as deinos. In the famous first stasimon in Antigone, which begins “Wonders are many, and none is more wondrous than man,” human beings are described as deinos.

Monasticism

a religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to a spiritual life- one who lives this kind of life is a monk (male) or nun (female) 

Cenobitic Monasticism 

a form of monasticism devoted to life in a spiritual community- the community is often part of a religious order, whose lives are regulated by a set of precepts or a rule, governing life in the order 

Eremitic Monasticism

A form of monasticism devoted to a solitary life in seclusion, the life of a hermit, in Christianity, eremitic monasticism is the earliest form of monastic life, originating predominantly in Egypt 

Anchorite

A type of religious hermit in which the hermit lives confined to an anchorage: a small cell or hut, often attached to a church 

Benedict of Nursia

A Christian saint born in central Italy in the late 5th century CE, he founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, before moving to Monte Cassino in southern Italy. Benedict authored a set of rules for his monks to follow- the Rule of St. Benedict- which strongly impacted the Christian monastic communities of his own time and subsequently , he is often regarded as the founder of Western Christian monasticism 

The Order of Saint Benedict

known as the Benedictines, a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of St. Benedict, the Benedictines do not operate under a single hierarchy with a superior general or motherhouse, but are instead a collection of autonomous monasteries. They are sometimes known as the Black Monks, in reference to the color of the black choir robe worn over their habits 

Liturgy

originally, any obligations or duties, subsequently, the public and official service of the church 

Oratory

a place for prayer

Psalmody

the act, practicem, or art of singing psalms in worship

Psalm

a sacred song or poem used in worship

Psalter

The Book of Psalms, the first book of the third section of the Hebrew Bible 

The Magnificat

also known as the Song of Mary, one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns, the text comes directly from the Gospel of Like 1:46-55

Antiphon

one or more Psalm verses or a sentence from the Bible that are sung or recited before and after each psalm and the Magnificant during Matins and Vespers 

Excommunication 

exclusion from the communion- a form of punishment, depriving a person of participation in the Christian community 

Cellarer

a person in the monastery or community who is respnsible for supplying food and drink

Easter

the feast of the resurrection of Jesus

Pentecost

a feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’s apostles, fifty days after the resurrection, on the ancient Jewish festival called the “feast of weeks”

Lent

the forty days preceding Easter traditionally a time of fasting

Canonical Hours

In the Catholic Church, the divisions of the day in terms of periods of fixed prayer at regular intervals, the prayers are called offices and consist of psalms, hymns, readings, and other prayers and antiphons

Divine Offices/Liturgy of the Hours/Work of God

The official prayers recited during the Canonical Hours. In the medieval church, they consisted of:

• Lauds or Dawn Prayer (at dawn, about 5 a.m., but earlier in summer, later in winter)

• Prime or Early Morning Prayer (First Hour = approximately 6 a.m.)

• Terce or Mid-Morning Prayer (Third Hour = approximately 9 a.m.)

• Sext or Midday Prayer (Sixth Hour = approximately 12 noon)

• None or Mid-Afternoon Prayer (Ninth Hour = approximately 3 p.m.)

• Vespers or Evening Prayer ("at the lighting of the lamps", about 6 p.m.)

• Compline or Night Prayer (before retiring, about 7 p.m.)

Mendicant Order

Any of several Christian religious orders that adopt a lifestyle of voluntary poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas to preach and minister, especially to the poor. Mendicant orders, when originally established, rejected the earlier, communal model of monastic life. They avoided owning property, did not work at a trade, and practiced a poor and itinerant lifestyle. Mendicants depended for their survival on the goodwill of the people to whom they preached. Two of the more well-known mendicant orders are the Dominicans (The Blackfriars) and the Franciscans (The Greyfriars).

The Cistercians

A Catholic religious order of that branched off from the Benedictines, but who also follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. They are also known as Bernardines, after Bernard of Clairvaux their most prominent early member and spiritual leader. They are sometimes known as the White Monks, in reference to the color of the white choir robe worn by Cistercians over their habits

The Trappists

Officially, the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, a Catholic religious order of cloistered monastics that branched off from the Cistercians. They follow the Rule of Saint Benedict and have communities of both monks and nuns. They are named after La Trappe Abbey, the monastery from which the movement and religious order originated. Unlike Benedictines and Cistercians, the generally follow a vegetarian lifestyle, abstaining entirely from eating “four-footed animals”, though occasionally eating fish