#tragedy

• Aegeus — Mythical king of Athens, son of Pandion II and father of the hero Theseus, recognized in Hellenic legends for founding early Athenian power structures. His name is permanently linked to the Aegean Sea, into whose waves he threw himself from the cliffs of the Acropolis due to a tragic misunderstanding, erroneously believing his son was killed by the Cretan Minotaur because the returning ship carried black sails.
• Aegisthus — A tragic figure in Greek mythology, the adulterous son of Thyestes and his own daughter Pelopia, born as an instrument of bloody vengeance within the cursed house of the Pelopidae. He is celebrated as the lover of Clytemnestra, with whom he plotted to assassinate King Agamemnon upon his return from the Trojan War, usurping the throne of Mycenae until he was slain by Orestes in an act of filial retribution.
• Agamemnon — A central character in Greek mythology and Homer's epic 'Iliad', legendary king of Mycenae and the supreme commander of the Achaean armies during the Trojan War. Son of Atreus and brother of Menelaus, his structural figure embodies absolute royal authority, but also the tragic pride that triggered the conflict with Achilles, being assassinated upon his return by his wife, Clytemnestra.
• Agathon — An ancient Greek tragic poet from Athens, a contemporary of Socrates and Euripides, famously known as the main character and host in Plato's celebrated dialogue, the 'Symposium'. His work, of which only very few fragments survive, introduced structural innovations into Hellenic tragedy, such as utilizing entirely fictional characters and plots instead of traditional mythology, as well as composing musical interludes independent of the play's main plot.
• Aischylos — A proper onomastic name of universal resonance, representing the original or Latinized spelling of the great Greek playwright Aeschylus (c. 525 – c. 456 BC), structurally considered the father of classical European tragedy. In the history of theater and philology, his work (from which masterpieces like the Oresteia Trilogy or Prometheus Bound have been preserved) is recognized for introducing the second actor onto the stage, reducing the chorus's role, and creating a solemn poetic style deeply tied to human destinies and the will of the gods.
• Alas, poor Yorick — One of the most famous lines and expressions in world dramaturgy, uttered by the main character in Act V, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's tragedy 'Hamlet'; a philosophical and melancholic exclamation introducing the monologue spoken by the Prince of Denmark while gazing at and holding the exhumed skull of Yorick, the former royal court jester of his childhood. This structural element deeply symbolizes the theme of life's vanity (memento mori), the inevitability of death, and the striking contrast between past merriment and the grim reality of decomposition.
• Alfieri — A proper noun of Italian origin, famous worldwide due to Count Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803), considered the father of modern Italian tragedy and a precursor of Romanticism. Culturally, the name symbolizes an anti-tyrannical spirit, a passion for political freedom, and classic stylistic sobriety.
• Andromache — A famous heroine in Greek mythology, daughter of King Eetion of Cilician Thebe and the devoted wife of Hector, prince of Troy. In a literary and structural context, her figure (immortalized by Homer in the Iliad and by Jean Racine in his famous tragedy) embodies the classical ideal of feminine dignity, marital fidelity, and profound maternal suffering in the face of war.
• Antigone — A tragic heroine in Greek mythology, daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, famous for filial devotion and moral courage leading to self-sacrifice. In Sophocles' eponymous play, she defies King Creon's edict to bury her brother, Polyneices, invoking unwritten divine laws over state laws.
• Aulos — An ancient Greek wind instrument consisting of a double reed and one or, most frequently, two parallel cylindrical or conical pipes made of reed, wood, bone, or ivory, equipped with finger holes. Heavily used in Dionysian rituals, tragedies, and military marches.