Parodos

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Parodos (plural parodoi) is a term used in Greek tragedy. An alternate spelling is "parados." The term is used in two ways: to refer to part of the theater's structure, and to refer to a section of a play.

A "parodos" is either of two passages on each end of the orchestra in front of the skene of a Greek open-air ampitheater such as the theater at Epidaurus (See Gisela Richter's Handbook of Greek Art). Actors might enter through a parodos, and the Chorus would enter that way.

"Parodos" also refers to the section of the play following the prologue, in which the Chorus enters chanting or singing verses (alternating strophes and antistrophes) that provide background for the events of the play.