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General Introduction xxxix
tween the parodos as a whole and the syzygies which it contains is the
same as that which exists between the latter half of the comedy and its
episodic syzygies. In both cases we seem to be dealing with an extension
to a new use of a formal structure not originally indigenous to these parts
of the play, whereas the syzygy looks like an essential and primordial
feature of the parabasis.
The same may be said of the agon, the last of the formal peculiarities
of fifth-century comedy which we have to examine. 6 Generally to be
described as a highly conventional debate, the agon is functionally not
nearly so undramatic and formally not quite so strict as the parabasis,
but it is structurally even more elaborate. For obvious reasons it is
usually found in the first half of the typical fifth-century comedy. The
establishment of the new and incongruous situation inevitably encounters
determined opposition from some defender of the old order, and the
resultant conflict usually begins with deeds and ends with words. As
soon as both of the combatants have agreed to settle their differences
in orderly debate, the agon is opened with the singing of the ode by the
Chorus. This usually contains some comment on the issues involved in
the debate; occasionally we find it interrupted by spoken lines from
one or both of the combatants. After the ode the Leader of the Chorus
instructs one of the opposing parties to present his case; this command
always fills exactly two lines and is called the katakeleusmos. The designated
party, who always turns out to be the loser of the debate, then
expounds his views in the epirrheme, which is never a single speech, but
is interrupted, frequently or infrequently, by the defender of the other
side. The pleader normally grows more and more fervid and excited,
finally winding up with a pnigos. The four parts are then repeated. The
Chorus sings the antode, and in the two-line antikatakeleusmos the
Leader bids the other combatant state his views. This is done in the
antepirrhetne and antipnigos. The agon is sometimes concluded with
the sphragis, a few lines spoken by the Leader of the Chorus announcing
the winner of the debate, but this exceedingly archaic feature is more
often absent than present in the comedies that have come down to us.
Like the parabasis, the agon is evidently nothing but a highly specialized
epirrhematic syzygy, formally distinguished by the preservation
of both the pnige and by the presence of the conventional two-line
katakeleusmoi, which are found nowhere else. It differs from the parabasis
mainly in the fact that its contents are an organic part of the play,
and a certain amount of adaptation to dramatic requirements is accordingly
necessary. This is reflected in the composition of the epirrhemes,
6 The extant agons are: Kn. 756-941, Clouds 950-1104, Wasps 526-724, Birds 451-
628, Lys. 476-613, Frogs 895-1098, Eccl. 571-709 (defective), Plutus 487-626 (defective).