Definitions

These are definitions of terms that each of us were assigned for class. They do not necessarily have anything to do with plot or structure.

Yosie's Terms

Scholion : An explanatory note in the margin of an ancient Greek or Latin text.

Originally ancient scholars would write separate books offering notes about plays. Towards the end of the Roman Empire these commentaries were moved to the actual margin of the text, hence scholia were born. Scholia offer clarification or slight alterations to the text, clearing up potential confusions. Scholia were the written form of the ancients interpretations to the texts and often times were wrought with several differing opinions from different commentators. Aristophanes works benefited greatly from the many scholia that explained all of the topical literary and political references. Our copy of Birds doesn’t have any scholia per say, because it is a term reserved for the ancient’s margin notes, but it is possible that the translator used amendments or interpretations of the text from the original scholia.

Sources

Dover, K.J. Aristophanic Comedy. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1972.

Hornblower, Simon and Anthony Spawforth, ed. The Oxford Classical Dictionary.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Phlyax: A farce performed in southern Italy and Alexandria in the 4 th and 3 rd centuries B.C.E..

A phlyax was a mostly improvised farce that used as source material earlier plays, scenes from daily life and from mythology. It would be a burlesque of one of the three that was done in a most ludicrous manner. Men wore huge phalluses as in Greek comedy. It is speculated that the phlyax evolved into the Atellan farce. Vase paintings from the time depict phlyaxes being acted on a stage consisting of roughly hewn posts supporting a wooden platform, perhaps also with a background with doors and windows. It is speculated that this set up may have developed into the later prominent form of the Roman theatre, which differs greatly from the Greek arrangement.

Sources

Hartnoll, Phyllis and Peter Found, ed. The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Oxford and
New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Hornblower, Simon and Anthony Spawforth, ed. The Oxford Classical Dictionary.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Becca's Terms

Parodos

The parodos is the entry of the chorus in a Greek comedy. The Greek word odos means “way” or “path.” A typical Greek comedic chorus has 24 members. Often the prologue reveals the identity of the chorus before it enters. After the prologue, the chorus enters from the wings, sometimes rushing on as if going into battle, sometimes dancing its way into the orchestra. Upon entering, the chorus in most plays immediately energetically supports either the hero or his enemies. The parodos is sung in lyric meter rather than spoken in the iambic trimeters used elsewhere. This section can consist of a sequence of scenes, and ends with a short scene that serves as a transition to the next section. In Aristophanes’ Birds, the chorus portrays the birds, each member dressed in a unique costume representing a different kind of bird. Having been called by the Nightingale, the birds enter, immediately rally against Makemedo and Goodhope, and prepare to start a battle with them. The parodos in Birds begins at line 295.

Sources

Howatson, M.C., ed. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. 2 nd ed. New York:
Oxford University Press, Inc., 1989. Page 148.

Storey, Ian C. Introduction. Clouds, Wasps, Birds. By Aristophanes. Trans. Peter
Meineck. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1998. Pages xxvii-xxviii.

Pantomime

In ancient Rome, pantomime was a theatrical form in which a single actor performed all the parts in a silent show. Most of the stories were mythological, and they could be either comic or tragic. Pantomime was introduced to Rome in 22 BC choruses of singers and small orchestras were added to dumb shows to support the actor (pantomimus). This innovation was the work of the famous pantomime actor Pylades of Cilicia. Another actor of the time, Bathyllus of Alexandria was so popular that his name was used for all pantomime actors. Performances took place publicly and privately. The pantomimus wore a silk costume and a mask with closed lips. The rising popularity of pantomime, in conjunction with that of mime, contributed to the decline of serious drama in Rome.

Sources

Howatson, M.C., ed. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. 2 nd ed. New York:
Oxford University Press, Inc., 1989. Page 407.

Kennedy, Dennis, ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance. Vol. 2. New
York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2003. Page 994.