Unit I Introduction: Ancient Athens

Front 1

Polis

Back 1

Ciy-state, referring to Athens.

Front 2

City Dionysia

Back 2

Massive rural civic spectacle festivals with dramatic performance at the center of a religious festival. Structured around a series of constests. Magistrate assigned rich sponsors to tragic dramatists, who funded, chose and trained players. Dramatists wrote a trilogy of unrelated plays. Prominent citizens acted as judges.

Front 3

Archon eponymous

Back 3

City magistrate who honored selected wealthy citizens by choosing them to finance one of the three principal tragic dramatists competing for a prize in the City Dionysia.

Front 4

Choregos (pl. choregoi)

Back 4

Sponsor chosen by Archon, responsible for hiring the chorus of young men who sang and danced in City Dionysia plays. Hired musicians and provided costumes and support for the playwright. Housed and fed performers

Front 5

Dithyramb

Back 5

Hymns sung and danced by a large chorus, sponsored and performed by tribes. One men's, one boys'.

Front 6

Satyr play

Back 6

Rugged force following each complete trilogy of plays in City Dionysia.

Front 7

Protagonist, deuteragonist, tritagonist.

Back 7

First, second, third contestants in City Dionyisa plays.

Front 8

Proagon

Back 8

"Before the agon [performance]", actors, choruses displayed, unmasked garlands

Front 9

Eisagog

Back 9

Introduction icon of Dionysia, thyrsus and mask, dressed, procession

Front 10

Pompe

Back 10

Parade through the city; male citizens, ephebes, bull, etc. Led by a virgin. Satirical, assembled at theater at the end.

Front 11

Strategos (strategoi)

Back 11

Generals

Front 12

Events at the theater

Back 12

ritual purification, libations poured by 10 strategoi, announcement of distinguished citizens given bolden crowns, receive tribute from subject states in Athenian empire, display slaves and gold, orphaned sons of war dead presented suits of armor (ephebes)

Front 13

Trilogy

Back 13

Three plays (almost always unrelated) submitted by playwrights for City Dionysia.

Front 14

Agora

Back 14

Market square

Front 15

Theatron

Back 15

Seeing place.

Front 16

Parodos

Back 16

Passageway into orchestra.

Front 17

Orchestra

Back 17

Central circular performance area, "dancing place"

Front 18

Skene

Back 18

Low building, originally temporary behind orchestra

Front 19

Machina

Back 19

Machine, crane (Medea)

Front 20

Ekkyklema

Back 20

Rolling platforms for bodies, etc

Front 21

Periaktoi

Back 21

Possibly pyrmaid shaped revolving devices to display "scenic" info

Front 22

Theorikon

Back 22

Fee payed by state treasury to each citizen to attend City Dionysia

Front 23

Propedria

Back 23

Seats in front for priests, etc.

Front 24

Kerkides

Back 24

wedge-shaped sections of the ampitheater

Front 25

phalanx

Back 25

Fighting unit; three rows of five soldiers; best center front, second best front right, best row front, second best rear

Front 26

Kothurnos (kothurnoi)

Back 26

Tall shoes used for tragedy

Front 27

Chiton

Back 27

Short tunic worn in comedy

Front 28

Phallos

Back 28

Outsized leather phallus worn in comedy

Front 29

Choryphaios

Back 29

Leader of the chorus

Front 30

Parados, stasimon, parabasis, expodos

Back 30

Coming in, standing, moving back and forth, leaving

Front 31

Peripeteia

Back 31

Reversal in the external situation or fortune of the protagonist.

Front 32

Anagnorisis

Back 32

Recognition in which the character responds to the peripeteia

Front 33

Catharsis

Back 33

Purgation of pity and fear