Greek Mythology Terms Pt. 2

Terms from after the midterm + important ones from first half of the semester

Imagism

Detailed descriptions of what something looks like

Atē

Madness sent by a God.

Prologue

The speech at the beginning of the show

Stichomythia

Alternating line by line dialogue. Usually used when characters are arguing

Hypokrites

An actor

Chorus

10-15 actors that are on stage for the entirety of the play

City Dionysia

Held in the city where every tragedy was performed as a competition

Didaskalos

The playwright/director.

Liturgy

“donation” of money to Athens when “asked” by the Government for a play.

Choregos

Chorus leader. The person paying the liturgy is given the title. If the play wins the Dionysia they are given the honor/credit.

Theatron

Seating arrangement for the audience. In a semicircle. Actors sing and dance around the altar of Dionysus at the base of the hill

Orchestra

The dancing space around the altar to Dionysus. The “stage” of the tragedy.

Skené

Means “tent”. The building across from the theatron for actors to change costumes. Was decorated to be the backdrop.

Miasma

Ritual pollution (invisible stain) from homicide. Causes social and religious exclusion.

Erinys

Means fury. A divine entity (Goddess) sent by a dead person to sniff out the miasma of the killer

Maenads

Means crazy ladies. Mythical worshipers of Dionysus

Thyros

Associated with Dionysus worship. Long fenyl stalk wrapped in ivy.

Sparagmos

Animal sacrifice where the Maenads rip an animal apart. Done in myth, never IRL.

Satyr

Mythical males with snub noses, balding, horse tail and pointed ears. NOT ½ goat. Meant to be a funny humorous character in mythology (always erect at the Maenads)

Furies

Daughters of the night, timē given in birth to be vengeance. After trial, Athena give new timē. Become fertility Goddesses (prevent disease, famine, help with childbirth, prevent civil war)

Semnai Theai

Means reverend Goddesses. How the furies were worshiped in Athens.

Allegory

A narrative where the characters and events represent persons, things, or ideas that are external to the narrative. ALL characters/the entire thing is symbolic.

Euhemerism

Theory that historical fact is exaggerated overtime into current myths.

Anangkē

Necessity/unavoidable

Apotheosis

Transformation of a human into a God. Human turned into a God not born one.

Deus Ex Machina

Latin term for “God remove machine”. Was used in theatre to lift an actor by a crane and “fly” over the audience playing as a God.

Autochthonous

Descendants from the ground. Athenians insist they are FROM Athens (no immigration ever - they spawned there)

Cambridge school

School of thought. NOT the university. Influenced by Harrison’s theory that myths are a way to explain religious rituals that rationalize the myth.

Collective subconcious

Everyone is born with certain information/thoughts. Universal archetypes - characters you expect to see (caring female, chaotic male, etc). Myth characters fulfill these archetypes.

Monomyth

Every culture has the same myth story pattern. Hero’s journey pathway (crisis, call to adventure, help/aid, challenges, temptations, revelation, transformation, atonement, return and fix/change). Story pattern fulfills needs (metaphysical, cosmological, social order, psychological) that all societies need.