parodos
{{Distinguish|parados}}
A parodos (also parode and parodus; {{langx|grc|πάροδος}}, 'entrance', plural {{Lang|grc-latn|parodoi}}), 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.[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parodos Merriam-Webster dictionary]
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{{Cite book|last=Sophocles|title=The Theban Plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone|publisher=JHU Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8018-9541-8|pages=xvii|language=en}} located on either side of the stage, between the {{Lang|grc-latn|skene}} and the theatron, or audience seating area. The term {{Lang|grc-latn|eisodos}} ('way in'){{Cite book|last=Dobrov|first=Gregory|title=Brill's Companion to the Study of Greek Comedy|publisher=BRILL|year=2010|isbn=978-90-04-18884-6|location=Leiden|pages=2017|language=en}} is also used. Scholars note that {{Lang|grc-latn|eisodos}} was an older term for the passageway while parodos was widely used by writers from Aristotle onwards.{{Cite book|last=Dobrov|first=Gregory|title=Brill's Companion to the Study of Greek Comedy|publisher=BRILL|year=2010|isbn=978-90-04-18884-6|location=Leiden|pages=135|language=en}}
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.{{Cite book|last=Clay|first=Diskin|title=The Trojan Women|publisher=Hackett Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-1-58510-435-2|location=Indianapolis|pages=15|language=en}} Aristotle defined it as "the first whole utterance of a chorus".{{Cite book|last=McClure|first=Laura K.|title=A Companion to Euripides|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2017|isbn=978-1-119-25752-3|location=West Sussex, UK|pages=369|language=en}} Usually the first choral song of the drama, the parodos typically follows the play's prologue. It is an important part as it defines the chorus, provides information about the plot, and assists or fights the protagonist.{{Cite book|last=Euripides|title=The Trojan Women|publisher=Hackett Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-1-904350-61-3|location=London|pages=259|language=en}} In Greek comedy, the parodos is considered the climactic moment. The parodos is highly commemorated in Athenian artifacts that show choral performance.
References
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- {{cite book|last=Leacroft|first=Richard|title=Theatre and Playhouse: An Illustrated Survey of Theatre Building from Ancient Greece to the Present Day|year=1988|publisher=Methuen|location=London|isbn=0413529401|pages=[https://archive.org/details/theatreplayhouse0000leac/page/6 6]|author2=Leacroft, Helen|url=https://archive.org/details/theatreplayhouse0000leac/page/6}}
Category:Ancient Greek theatre
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