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GLOSSARY
ACROPOLIS
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ANAGNORISIS
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ANTISTROPHE
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APOLLO
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ARTEMIS
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ATHENE
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DELPHI
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DIONYSIUS
DITHYRAMB
EISOIDAI
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EKKYKLEMA
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EPISODOS
EXODUS
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FURIES
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HAMARTIA
HUBRIS
KATHARSIS
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KOMMOI
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MECHANE
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Elevated and walled section of Athens where the festival of
Dionysius was held.
The revelation of some fact not know before, or some
person’s true identity.
The second of three parts in the Greek choral ode. It is
delivered as the Chorus circles back toward the orchestra,
moving from left to right.
The god of prophecy, reward, and punishment. Apollo was
the son of Zeus and the most respected of the Greek gods.
The twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the heavens.
Artemis was known to send plagues and sudden death—
especially to women—without warning..
The goddess of power and wisdom. Athene was known as
the protector of the Athenian state and was responsible for
maintaining Greek law and order.
The most sacred city in Greece, home of the holy Oracle of
Apollo. Considered to be the geographical center of the
Greek world.
God of wine and fertility; proprietor of the theater.
choral hymns to Dionysius
“entrances” to performance space; the opposite of an
exodus
a cart inside the skene which could be suddenly rolled out
to display the result of an event inside; e.g. murder of
Agamemnon
A section of spoken iambic verse separated by a stasimon.
A choral recessional in Greek tragedy. It is the ritual
departure song of the Chorus as it moves off the stage at the
end of the play.
The Eumenides, or “gracious ones,” who punished people
for disobedience.
The error, transgression or tragic flaw.
Excessive pride
A sense of relief brought on by the release of pent up
emotions.
A lyric exchange between the chorus and one or more of
the characters in the play.
A crane used to lift actors above the acting area; usually
actors are playing gods here; hence the phrase deus ex
machina
ORACLES
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ORCHESTRA
PARADOS
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PATHOS
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PEREPETEIA
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PROLOGUE
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SKENE
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SPHINX
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STASIMON
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STROPHE
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THEBES
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THESPIS
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ZEUS
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Priests or psychics believed to be in direct communication
with the gods. The Greeks believed oracles were holy
prophets, capable of predicting the future and also
interpreting the past and the present. The most famous
oracle was located at Delphi.
the dancing area; chorus occupies this space
The ceremonial entrance of the Chorus; it is also the first
song chanted by the Chorus as it enters the theater and
moves to the orchestra.
The sense of pity or sorrow aroused by a particular element
or scene in a literary work
An action that turns out to have the opposite effect from the
one its doer intended. It usually occurs in the next to last
section of the play.
Literally, “the speech before.” In Greek tragedy the
prologue is the first passage of spoken dialogue before the
entrance of the Chorus.
building or tent at back of acting area; often painted for
scenery
A winged monster known in myth as “the strangler.” The
Sphinx had a lion’s body and the head and breasts of a
woman. Sitting on a rock outside the gates of Thebes, the
Sphinx asked the same riddle of every passerby. Those
who could not answer the riddle were strangled. when
Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx, she flung herself
from the rock and was killed.
The choral song chanted or sung by the Chorus in its ritual
movement around the stage. Stasima alternate with
passages of spoken dialogue are also found as choral odes
between individual episodes of the tragedy.
The first of three parts of the Greek choral ode. It is
delivered as the Chorus circles from right to left in the
orchestra; it comes before the antistrophe.
The chief city of the province of Boeotia, reportedly
founded by the hero Cadmus. Legend had it that Thebes
was created when Amphion played his magic lyre and
caused stones and rocks to move in place to form a city.
Oedipus is a descendant of Cadmus
An Athenian poet who first won the prize at the Dionysian
Play festival.
The husband of Hera, Zeus was the most powerful of all the
Greek gods and was entrusted with ruling Mount Olympus.