Greek Tragedy Vocabulary Sheet

Tragic Hero -- a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, results in tragedy. This is the central character in a tragic play

Hubris -- exaggerated self pride or self-confidence (overbearing pride), often resulting in fatal retribution. It was considered the greatest sin of the ancient Greek world. Hubris is used today to refer to people who believe they are exempt from ordinary limitations on human behavior.

Hamartia – Literally translated, a hamartia is a “fatal flaw.” In Greek tragedy, however, hamartia refers to a typically desirable personality characteristic or course of action that, due to unforeseen circumstances, results in tragic consequences. In one famous tragedy, Thyestes attends a banquet to reconcile with his brother (normally an honorable and reasonable action to take). His brother, Atreus, uses the banquet as a opportunity to take revenge by killing Thyestes’ children and serving them to their father.

Ate: The blind recklessness frequently displayed by tragic heroes. Tragic heroes typically act impusively and refuse to listen to the advice of others. This complicates the conflict in the play and leads to the tragic outcomes of the plot.

Recognition (Anagnorisis) – The point at which a tragic hero becomes aware of, or accepts, the fact of his or her error in judgment. This frequently occurs at or near the climax of the conflict in the tragedy.

Reversal – The tragic hero’s change in behavior resulting from their recognition of error. In tragedy, the events set in motion by the tragic characters’ actions are generally too far advanced for the hero’s reversal of course to bring about change.

Nemesis – the force that brings down the powerful and arrogant

Purpose of tragedy for tragic hero – is to learn wisdom and to accept their limitations as humans before the laws of the gods. In short, the high are to be brought low so they can see the roots of their error.

Purpose of tragedy for audience – to experience pathos, or sympathy for the suffering experienced by the tragic hero as the result of his or her unwitting error in judgment.

Pathos – The sympathy and sorrow felt by the audience for the tragic hero.

Catharsis – The emotional release experienced by the audience of a tragedy.

Chorus – A group of actors representing the voice of society in a tragic play. The chorus will occasionally interact with characters in one of the scenes. However, its most important role is to respond to the action of each scene in a chanted “ode” which presents the thoughts of society

Choragos – The leader of the chorus. The choragus occasionally steps out of the main body of the chorus to interact with characters in a scene or provide commentary during an ode.

Ode – A chanted response to the events of a scene presented by the chorus. In Greek drama, the chorus would walk or dance from one side of the stage to another while they chanted. Singing and dancing were remnants of the old religious ceremonies that established the first dramatic performances in Greece.

Prologue – The opening scene in a tragic play which presents the setting , introduces the central characters, and establishes the conflict.

Parados – The initial ode following the prologue. This presents an opportunity for the chorus to reveal more information about the setting and establish public opinion about the events at the beginning of the play.

Exodus – The closing ode of the play in which the chorus responds to the tragic events and presents the moral lesson to be learned from the events.