Antigone — key terms

Question 1

Thespian

Answer 1

an actor

Question 2

Koilon (or Theatron)

Answer 2

the auditorium of the Greek theatre

Question 3

Diazoma

Answer 3

upper and lower levels of the Koilon (auditorium)

Question 4

Periactoi

Answer 4

two prismatic pillars, one stage left, one stage right (these could be rotated to change scenes during the performance)

Question 5

Ekeclema

Answer 5

platform carrying “dead bodies” that was wheeled on (this was done because Greek theatre never showed a murder or suicide on stage)

Question 6

Proscenium

Answer 6

acting area, or stage, in front of the skene

Question 7

Tragedy

Answer 7

a genre of Greek drama that portrays the downfall of a noble protagonist due to a tragic flaw or external circumstances

Question 8

Chorus

Answer 8

a group of performers who comment on the action of the play, sing and dance, and provide moral and emotional insights

Question 9

Amphitheatre

Answer 9

a large, open-air theatre with a semi-circular seating arrangement, often built on a hillside

Question 10

Orchestra

Answer 10

the circular performance area at the centre of the ancient Greek theatre, where the chorus and actors performed

Question 11

Skene

Answer 11

the building behind the stage where actors could change costumes and represent different settings (usually the temple or palace)

Question 12

Masks

Answer 12

the exaggerated facial coverings worn by actors in Greek theatre, which helped identify characters and amplify their expressions

Question 13

Protagonist

Answer 13

the main character in a Greek play, usually a tragic hero who faces a conflict or struggle

Question 14

Antagonist

Answer 14

the character or force that opposes the protagonist in a Greek play, creating conflict and tension

Question 15

Parados/Paradoi

Answer 15

the entrances which provided access to the orchestra (for the thespian’s and chorus)

these were also aisles that actors would use to enter if they were supposed to be coming from outside (not the temple or palace). the right parados came from the city or port; the left parados led from the fields or abroad.

Question 16

Thymele

Answer 16

an altar in the centre of the orchestra used to make sacrifices to Dionysus

this in time became the spot where the leader of the chorus (coryphaeus) would stand

Question 17

Paraskenia

Answer 17

extensions or annexes on the sides of the skene

Question 18

Deuteragonist

Answer 18

the actor playing the second most important role within a scene or play

Question 19

Tritagonist

Answer 19

the actor playing the third most important role within a scene or play

Question 20

Diazoma

Answer 20

upper and lower levels of the Koilon (auditorium)

Question 21

Periaktoi (singular form periaktos)

Answer 21

two prismatic pillars, one stage left, one stage right

these could be rotated to change scenes during the performance

Question 22

Diazoma

Answer 22

upper and lower levels of the Koilon (auditorium)

Question 23

Prologue

Answer 23

the opening section of a Greek play that provides background information and sets the stage for the story

Question 24

Parode (Entrance Ode)

Answer 24

the entry chant of the chorus, often in an anapestic (short-short-long) marching rhythm (four feet per line)

typically the parode and other choral odes involve the following parts, repeated in order several times:
- Strophe
- Antistrophe
- Epode

Question 25

Strophe

Answer 25

the first part of a choral poem where the chorus moves in one direction while singing

Question 26

Antistrophe

Answer 26

the responsive section of a choral poem where the chorus moves in the opposite direction from the strophe

Question 27

Epode

Answer 27

the final section of a choral poem that concludes and summarises the themes expressed in the strophe and antistrophe

Question 28

Episode/Epeisodion

Answer 28

an interlude or section alternation with the stastimon, varying in number from three to six and containing the main action of the drama

Question 29

Stasimon

Answer 29

a choral ode in Greek drama that follows the episodes and is performed by the chorus while they remain stationary

stasima (plural) provide commentary, reflection, and often express the collective emotions, thoughts, or moral judgments of the chorus in response to the events of the play

Question 30

Stichomythia

Answer 30

the rapid line-by-line exchange between two actors

Question 31

Agon

Answer 31

literally “struggle” or “competition”, this refers to pivotal scenes of competitive dialogue in tragedy, such as between Antigone and Creon

Question 32

Enjambment

Answer 32

the carrying over of a unit of sense onto a second line of verse

Question 33

Rhesis (plural rheseis)

Answer 33

a longer speech of varying length, though usually no longer than about a hundred lines, in which a character offers an exposition of their situation, or a description of events

Question 34

Pleonasm

Answer 34

Using more words than necessary to express meaning, often for emphatic effect

Question 35

Oikos

Answer 35

“home” or “extended family”

Question 36

Polis (plural poleis

Answer 36

the city, the formative political and social unit of the ancient Greek world

Question 37

Philia

Answer 37

one of the four ancient greek words for love: philia, storge, agape and eros

in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, philia is usually translated as “friendship” or affection (the complete opposite is called a phobia)

Question 38

Dramatic irony

Answer 38

failure of a character to see or understand what is obvious to the audience

Question 39

Exode (Exodus)

Answer 39

final scene of a play after the last stasimon

Question 40

Hamartia

Answer 40

refers to a tragic flaw or error that leads to a character’s downfall

Question 41

Hubris

Answer 41

excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance

Question 42

Peripeteia

Answer 42

(Greek: “reversal”) the reversal of fortune or change in circumstance

Question 43

Catharsis

Answer 43

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions

Question 44

Anagnorisis

Answer 44

(Greek: “recognition”) the startling discovery that produces a change from ignorance to knowledge

Question 45

Dike/Dice

Answer 45

the goddess of justice and the spirit of moral order and fair judgement as a transcendent universal ideal

Dike is Greek for “justice”, in Green drama especially as a higher principle guiding human destiny

Question 46

Denouement

Answer 46

the final outcome of the main complication in a play

Question 47

Nuntius

Answer 47

a messenger or herald who delivers important news or information to others

Question 48

Bathos

Answer 48

descent from the sublime to the ridiculous

bathos is a sudden change in speech or writing from a serious or important subject to a ridiculous or very ordinary one

Question 49

Pathos

Answer 49

the use of emotional appeal or evoking sympathy and empathy in order to persuade or affect an audience

Question 50

Themis

Answer 50

Divine law

Question 51

Anagnorisis (Aristotle definition)

Answer 51

in his Poetics, as peart