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agon

 - 3 dictionary results

ag⋅on

[ag-ohn, -on, ah-gohn]
–noun, plural a⋅go⋅nes [uh-goh-neez] .
1. (in ancient Greece) a contest in which prizes were awarded in any of a number of events, as athletics, drama, music, poetry, and painting.
2. (italics) Greek. (in ancient Greek drama) a formalized debate or argumentation, esp. in comedy: usually following the proagon and preceding the parabasis.
3. Literature. conflict, esp. between the protagonist and the antagonist.

Origin:
1650–60; < Gk agn struggle, contest
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ag·on   (āg'ŏn, -ōn, ä-gōn')   
n.   pl. a·gon·es (ə-gō'nēz)
  1. A conflict, especially between the protagonist and antagonist in a work of literature.

  2. The part of an ancient Greek drama, especially a comedy, in which two characters engage in verbal dispute.

  3. A test of will; a conflict: "Freud's originality stemmed from his aggression and ambition in his agon with biology" (Harold Bloom).

  4. A contest in ancient Greece, as in athletics or music, in which prizes were awarded.


[Greek agōn; see agony.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

agon

debate or contest between two characters in Attic comedy, constituting one of several formal conventions in these highly structured plays. More generally, an agon is the contest of opposed wills in Classical tragedy or any subsequent drama

Learn more about agon with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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