agon

American  

[ag-ohn, -on, ah-gohn] / ˈæg oʊn, -ɒn, ɑˈgoʊn /

noun

plural

agones

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) (in ancient Greek drama) a formalized debate or argumentation, especially in comedy: usually following the proagon and preceding the parabasis.

3. Literature. conflict, especially between the protagonist and the antagonist.

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agon British  

/ ˈæɡəʊn, -ɡɒn /

noun

1. (in ancient Greece) a festival at which competitors contended for prizes. Among the best known were the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games

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Etymology

Origin of agon

First recorded in 1650–60, agon is from the Greek word agṓn struggle, contest

Example Sentences

Since Assad’s fall, the new authorities have reported numerous major seizures of agon across the country.

From Barron's

But what makes the unfurling phenomenon of Matisse’s career so compelling is the struggle — or what the Greeks called “agon.”

From Washington Post

Each competitor in the agon is expected to stake his or her claims on truth; Nietzsche advanced his own opinions with utmost vehemence.

From The New Yorker

“He’s the first master of agon, which is dialogue,” McLaughlin says.

From Washington Post

The agon of the central character, self-besieged or plagued by circumstance, runs through the history of the director’s films, as does the suspicion that man’s brutality to man may have a penitential purpose.

From The New Yorker