Epeisodos

Epeisodos, plural epeisodoi, is a term from ancient Greek theater used to designate the episodes or action-driven scenes of tragedy (and, less commonly, comedy) that occur between choral songs. The word is commonly understood as referring to a section in which characters speak in dialogue, interact, and advance the plot, in contrast to the stasima, the choral odes. An epeisodos typically follows the parodos, the chorus’s entry, and ends with the next stasimon or with a turning point in the action.

In the classical structure of Greek drama, the play alternates between epeisodoi and stasima. The episodes are the principal seats of dramatic development, featuring character confrontations, discoveries, and crises, while the chorus provides commentary and reflection during the intervening stasima. The balance between dialogue-driven action and choral reflection is a defining feature of the form.

Function and form: epeisodoi serve to develop conflict, reveal character, and move the plot toward catastrophe or resolution. They vary in length and number from play to play, and though the chorus may participate in the dialogue to some extent, the emphasis during an episode is on interaction among the actors and the progression of the narrative.

See also: Greek tragedy, parodos, stasimon, exodos, chorus, peripeteia, Poetics.

Notes: The concept is central to scholarly analysis of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and it remains a foundational term in discussions of ancient dramatic structure.