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The Wasps
''The Wasps'' () is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, during Athens' short-lived respite from the Peloponnesian War and shortly before the death of Cleon. ''The Wasps'' follows a son's attempt to stop his father from constantly serving jury duties as it is detrimental to his father's health. It also serves as a parody of Cleon; a figure Aristophanes was publicly critical of. He also ridicules the law courts, one of the institutions that provided Cleon his power. The play has been thought to exemplify the dramatic style of Greek Old Comedy. Historical Background The Peloponnesian War * 431: The Peloponnesian War commenced. Many of Aristophanes' plays respond to the war, such as '' The Acharnians, Peace,'' and '' Lysistrata.'' * 425: Athens obtained a significant victory against Sparta in the Battle of Sphacteria and Cleon claimed responsibility for it. * 423: Athens and Spar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey. The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other. However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding independently. Females typically have an oviposit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parabasis
In Greek comedy, the parabasis (plural parabases; , plural: ) is a point in the play when all of the actors leave the stage and the chorus is left to address the audience directly. The chorus partially or completely abandons its dramatic role, to step forward (parabasis) and talk to the audience on a topic completely irrelevant to the subject of the play. Structure A parabasis usually consists of three songs (S) alternating with three speeches (s) (or recitatives) in the order S-s-S-s-S-s. The first speech, or parabasis proper - generally in anapaest - often ends with a passage which is to be rattled off very quickly (theoretically in one breath - called a ''πνῖγος – pnigos''). Examples *In ''The Knights'', we find Aristophanes offers a survey of the Athenian comic tradition, thereby enhancing his own role: “if one of the old comic poets had tried to force us Knights to address the public in the parabasis he wouldn’t have got away with so lightly. But this time the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agon
() is the Greek personification for a conflict, struggle or contest, describing a concept of the same name. This could be a contest in athletics, in chariot or horse racing, or in music or literature at a public festival in ancient Greece. is the word-forming element in 'agony', explaining the concept of agon(y) in tragedy by its fundamental characters, the protagonist and antagonist. Athletics In one sense, meant a contest or a competition in athletics, for example, the Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ Ἀγῶνες). Agon was also a mythological personification of the contests listed above. This god was represented in a statue at Olympia with '' halteres'' ( dumbbells) () in his hands. This statue was a work of sculptor , and dedicated by Micythus of Rhegium. Religion According to Pausanias, Agon was recognized in the Greek world as a deity, whose statue appeared at Olympia, presumably in connection with the Olympic Games, which operated as both religious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parodos
A parodos (also parode and parodus; , 'entrance', plural ), in the theater of ancient Greece, is a side-entrance to the stage, or the first song that is sung by the chorus at the beginning of a Greek tragedy. Side-entrance to the theater The parodos is a large passageway affording access either to the stage (for actors/ singers) or to the orchestra (for the chorus) of the ancient Greek theater. The parodoi can be distinguished from the entrances to the stage from the '' skene'', or stage building, as the two parodoi are long ramps located on either side of the stage, between the and the '' theatron'', or audience seating area. The term ('way in') is also used. Scholars note that was an older term for the passageway while ''parodos'' was widely used by writers from Aristotle onwards. Entrance song of the chorus ''Parodos'' also refers to the ode sung by the chorus as it enters and occupies its place in the orchestra. Aristotle defined it as "the first whole utterance of a choru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iambic Trimeter
The Iambic trimeter, in classical Greek and Latin poetry, is a meter of poetry consisting of three iambic metra (each of two feet) per line. In English poetry, it refers to a meter with three iambic feet. In ancient Greek poetry and Latin poetry, an iambic trimeter is a quantitative meter, in which a line consists of three iambic ''metra''. Each '' metron'' consists of the pattern , x – u – , , where "–" represents a long syllable, "u" a short one, and "x" an ''anceps'' (either long or short). Resolution was common, especially in the first two metra of the line, so that any long or ''anceps'' syllable except the last could be replaced by two short syllables (see for example Euripides#Chronology), making a total of 13 or more syllables. It is the most common meter used for the spoken parts (as opposed to the sung parts) of Ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays. It is also common in iambus or 'blame poetry', although it is not the only meter for that genre. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Eumenides
The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of Atreus and the pacification of the Furies (also called Erinyes or Eumenides). The ''Oresteia'' trilogy consists of three plays: ''Agamemnon'', ''The Libation Bearers'', and ''The Eumenides''. It shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy, the ''Oresteia'' won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. ''Oresteia'' originally included a satyr play, ''Proteus'' (), following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of ''Proteus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agamemnon (Aeschylus)
The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of Atreus and the pacification of the Furies (also called Erinyes or Eumenides). The ''Oresteia'' trilogy consists of three plays: ''Agamemnon'', ''The Libation Bearers'', and ''The Eumenides''. It shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy, the ''Oresteia'' won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. ''Oresteia'' originally included a satyr play, ''Proteus'' (), following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of ''Proteus'' has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is largely based on inferences made from reading his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in the theatre and allowed conflict among them. Formerly, characters interacted only with the Greek chorus, chorus.The remnant of a commemorative inscription, dated to the 3rd century BC, lists four, possibly eight, dramatic poets (probably including Choerilus, Phrynichus, and Pratinas) who had won Dionysia#Known winners of the City Dionysia, tragic victories at the Dionysia before Aeschylus had. Thespis was traditionally regarded the inventor of tragedy. According to another tradition, tragedy was established in Athens in the late 530s BC, but that may simply reflect an absence of records. Major innovations in dramatic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oresteia
The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of Atreus and the pacification of the Furies (also called Erinyes or Eumenides). The ''Oresteia'' trilogy consists of three plays: ''Agamemnon'', ''The Libation Bearers'', and ''The Eumenides''. It shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy, the ''Oresteia'' won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. ''Oresteia'' originally included a satyr play, ''Proteus'' (), following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of ''Proteus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carcinus (writer)
Carcinus () was an Ancient Greek tragedian from Thoricus, the son of the playwright Xenocles and grandson of Carcinus. Another Xenocles, mentioned by a scholiast on Aristophanes' ''Frogs'', may have been Carcinus' son. The ''Suda'' records that he wrote one hundred and sixty plays. He won eleven victories at the ''Dionysia''. His exact dates are uncertain, though he was certainly active in the 370s BC. According to the ''Suda'', his floruit was in the 100th Olympiad (380–377 BC); and his first victory at the Dionysia can be dated to before 372. Dionysius II of Syracuse was a patron of Carcinus. Nine or ten titles of his plays are known: ''Aerope'', ''Ajax'', ''Alope'', ''Amphiaraus'', ''Medea'', ''Oedipus'', ''Orestes'', ''Semele'', ''Thyestes'', and possibly ''Tyro''. His work survives only in fragments. Carcinus is mentioned briefly by Aristotle. In the ''Poetics'', Chapter 17 (1455a lines 22 to 29), Aristotle discusses the necessity for a playwright to see the comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclops (play)
''Cyclops'' (, ''Kyklōps'') is an ancient Greek satyr play by Euripides, based closely on an episode from the ''Odyssey''. It is likely to have been the fourth part of a tetralogy presented by Euripides in a dramatic festival in Fifth-century Athens, 5th Century BC Athens, although its intended and actual performance contexts are unknown. The date of its composition is unknown, but it was probably written late in Euripides' career. It is the only complete satyr play extant. Plot The play is set in Sicily at Mount Etna. Silenus explains that he and his sons, the chorus, are slaves to the Cyclopes, Cyclops Polyphemus. The chorus enter with singing and sheep. Silenus tells them to stop singing and send the sheep into the cave because he can see a Greek ship by the coast and men coming to the cave. Odysseus enters with his men and asks where they can find water and if anyone will sell them food. Silenus questions Odysseus and Odysseus questions Silenus. On learning that he will pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
