Agon is the formal contest or debate, the tension, that takes place between the two principal characters on the stage, the protagonist and antagonist, in the highly structured tragedies of classical Greek drama. Agon could either be between an actor and the chorus, or between two actors, with the chorus being divided in two halves each of which halves supporting one or the other side of the debate. The argument in these performances resembled the dialogue that might take place in a court of law, in which the two characters confront each other with long speeches, often before an arbitrator or judge: sometimes this latter could be a character playing a god, or even a deus ex machina who has arrived out of nowhere to resolve the apparently unresolvable dispute or situation. More often than not it was the audience itself who sat as the jury in these cases. In this manner Agon resembled the dialectical dialogues of the Ancient Greek philosophers, in which rhetoric was the principal skill used. The Agon debate could be a war. The Agon could be the opposing psychological tensions in the mind of a single character, that is the agony faced by that character as (s)he tries to resolve his or her dilemma. A well-structured Agon was and still is essential to an effective and good drama. Understanding the Agon is the key to understanding the tragedy.
In an Agon it was always the prosecutor who spoke first; the defendant spoke second. After an Agon the plot was never resolved, the differences between the two parties only deepened and became more tragic.
In an Agon it was always the prosecutor who spoke first; the defendant spoke second. After an Agon the plot was never resolved, the differences between the two parties only deepened and became more tragic.
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Thanks for making it ver easy to understand 😩
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