Greek Theater Midterm 1

Thespis (534 BCE): The first actor and "father of tragedy."

Pisistratus: Athenian tyrant who promoted the City Dionysia.

City Dionysia: A major Athenian festival featuring dramatic competitions.

Solon: Athenian lawmaker whose reforms influenced theater’s development.

Ephialtes (462/1 BCE): Politician whose reforms impacted Athenian democracy and culture.

Cimon: Athenian general and statesman who supported cultural growth.

Linear B tablets (1600-1400 BCE): 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.

Aulos: Double-reed instrument accompanying the chorus.

Skenographia: Scene painting or theatrical backdrops.

Epidauros: A well-preserved ancient Greek theater.

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.

Peripeteia: Sudden reversal of fortune.

Anagnorisis: Moment of recognition or discovery.

Katharsis: Emotional purging through tragedy.

Dike: Justice or divine order.

Lex Talionis: "An eye for an eye," a theme in revenge tragedies.

Peitho: Persuasion or rhetorical skill.

Dolos: Trickery or deceit.

Oikos: Household or family, central to tragedy.

Daimon: Divine spirit or fate influencing a character.

Xenia: Hospitality, often violated in myths.

Bia: Force or violence.

Philoi: Friends or allies.

Echthroi: Enemies.

Stasis: Civil strife or factional conflict.

Nike: Victory.

Etiology: Narrative explaining origins of customs or phenomena.

Areopagus: Ancient court of Athens, featured in The Eumenides.

Semele: Mother of Dionysus.

Atreus: King of Mycenae, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus.

Tantalus: Father of Pelops, punished in the underworld.

Tyndareos: King of Sparta, father of Helen and Clytemnestra.

Helen: Wife of Menelaus, whose abduction sparked the Trojan War.

Cassandra: Trojan prophetess cursed never to be believed.

Erinyes (Furies): Chthonic deities of vengeance.

Meleager: Hero of the Calydonian Boar Hunt.

Nisus: King of Megara, betrayed by his daughter Scylla.

Scylla: Daughter of Nisus, who betrays her father.

Lemnian Women: Women of Lemnos who kill their husbands.

Pythia: Oracle of Apollo at Delphi.

Themis: Goddess of divine law and order.

Chthonian: Relating to the underworld or earth deities.

Laertes: Father of Odysseus.

Sisyphus: Cunning king punished in the underworld.

Aeschylus (525-456 BCE): Author of The Oresteia and Prometheus Bound.

Sophocles (496-406 BCE): Author of Oedipus Tyrannos and Antigone.

Oidipous Tyrannos (Oedipus the King): Tragedy by Sophocles.

Thebes: Setting of Oedipus and Antigone.

Spartoi: "Sown men" of Thebes, descendants of dragon’s teeth.

Cadmus: Founder of Thebes.

Marathon: Battle referenced in Aeschylus’s The Persians.

Thyestes: Brother of Atreus, central to the curse.

Aegisthus: Son of Thyestes, murderer of Agamemnon.

Pelops: Ancestor of the House of Atreus.

Hippodamia: Wife of Pelops.

Oinomaos: Father of Hippodamia.

Iphigenia: Daughter of Agamemnon.

Mycene: City of Agamemnon.

Argos: City associated with the House of Atreus.

Orestes: Son of Agamemnon.

Nostos: Theme of homecoming.

Althaea: Mother of Meleager.

Meleager: Hero of the Calydonian Boar Hunt.

Earth (Gaia): Primordial goddess.

Phoebe: Titan associated with prophecy.

Chthonian: Relating to the underworld.

Pylades: Friend of Orestes.

Anticlea: Mother of Odysseus.

Poias: Father of Philoctetes.

Symposium: Social gathering for discussion and performance.

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, serving as both a civic duty and a means of gaining prestige.

Leitourgia: A public service or duty in ancient Athens, often involving financial contributions by wealthy citizens to support civic or cultural activities, such as funding festivals, choruses, or warships.

Pous: Greek for "foot," referring to the metrical unit used in poetry, such as in iambic trimeter.

Oida: Greek for "I know," often used in plays to signify a character's recognition or realization (related to anagnorisis).

Oidos: Greek for "singer" or "bard," a term sometimes used to describe performers or poets.

Skenographia: The art of scene painting or creating theatrical backdrops for the skene (stage building) in Greek theater.

Chthonian: Relating to the underworld or earth deities, often associated with rituals, gods, or spirits connected to the earth or the dead.

Hypokrites: The Greek term for an actor, literally meaning "answerer" (to the chorus), who played roles in tragedies and comedies.

Iambic Trimeter: A metrical form in Greek poetry consisting of three pairs of iambs (unstressed-stressed syllables), commonly used in dialogue in Greek tragedy.