Greek Theatre Flashcards
Sophrosyne
Sophrosyne is usually translated as temperance, moderation, prudence, self-control, or self-restraint. The idea of this harmonious balance is the basis of two famous Greek sayings: “nothing in excess” and “know thyself” — it’s the exact opposite of arrogant self-assertion or hubris.
Anagnorisis
(Greek: “recognition”), in a literary work, the startling discovery that produces a change from ignorance to knowledge. It is discussed by Aristotle in the Poetics as an essential part of the plot of a tragedy
Peripeteia
The reversal of the situation in the plot of a tragedy is the peripeteia. According to Aristotle, the change of fortune for the hero should be an event that occurs contrary to the audience’s expectations and that is therefore surprising, but that nonetheless appears as a necessary outcome of the preceding actions.
Catharsis
Aristotle describes catharsis as the purging of the emotions of pity and fear that are aroused in the viewer of a tragedy. The concept is linked to the positive social function of tragedy
Deus ex machina
Refers to the intervention of a divinity in the action of a drama to resolve a conflict and, often, to bring the action to a conclusion.
Pathos
Describes the powerful emotions of pity and fear aroused in the audience of a tragedy.
Dithyrambic poetry
Performed at festivals honoring the god Dionysus, dithyrambic poetry incorporated choral song and dance
Telos
Telos is the “goal” or endpoint of the plot of a tragedy or epic
Denouement
In the trajectory of a tragic plot, the denouement follows the complication, beginning with an including the moment of peripeteia and/or anagnorisis–the turning point of the plot–and extending to the conclusion of the play.
Who is the oldest of the Greek playwrights ?
Aeschylus is the oldest of the three best-known ancient Greek tragic playwrights; Euripides and Sophocles are the two others. He is the author of the trilogy called the Oresteia (first performed in 458 BCE), which includes Agamemnon.
Who is Aristophanes
The best-known ancient Greek comic dramatist, Aristophanes wrote at least 40 plays, 11 of which still exist. One of the most popular of his plays for present-day audiences is Lysistrata (411), in which the women of Greece stage a sex strike to end a war.
Who did Aristotle argue was a master of tragic plots in which the fortunes of the central characters move from good to bad due to the characters’ particular circumstances ?
Euripides is the best-known ancient Greek tragic playwright after Aeschylus and Sophocles He is the author of Medea, Hippolytus, The Bacchae, The Trojan Women, and fifteen other extant plays.
Sophocles
Author of Oedipus the King and six other extant tragedies, Sophocles was a highly successful playwright, winning the dramatic competition of the Greater Dionysia in Athens eighteen times. Considered by Aristotle the master of the tragedy. He draws men ‘as they ought to be,’ and creates a higher view of humans.
