Sport & ContestGreek → English
Agon
/ˈæɡɒn/noun
A contest or struggle, including the formal debate scene in Greek comedy.
The Greek roots
ἀγών
agṓn
contest, gathering
Literally: “the gathering, then the contest”
Follow a root:ἀγών2 words
The story of the word
The word begins with ἄγω, to lead or bring together, and means the crowd assembled to watch before it means the competition they came for. From the assembly it spread to the games, the lawcourt and the theatre, and the official who organised a festival was the ἀγωνοθέτης, the contest-setter. English took the strain rather than the crowd: agony was once the struggle of the athlete, and the protagonist is the first contender.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → English
Same family
agonyprotagonistantagonistdemagogue
In a sentence
The middle of the comedy is a formal agon in which two speakers argue the case out.