Lesson plan
Coryphaeus
In Attic drama, the coryphaeus, corypheus, or koryphaios ( , from , , meaning "the top of the head") was the leader of the chorus. Hence the term (sometimes anglicised as coryphe) is used for the chief or leader of any company or movement. The original Greek coryphaeus spoke for all the chorus, whenever the chorus took part in the action, in quality of a person of the drama, during the course of the acts. The term is sometimes used for the chief or principal of any company, corporation, sect, opinion, etc. Thus, Eustathius of Antioch is called the coryphaeus of the First Council of Nicaea of AD 325, and Cicero calls Zeno of Citium ( ) the coryphaeus of the Stoics. Apostles Peter and Paul are often entitled "Coryphaeus" in Orthodox Christian iconography. In 1856 the University of Oxford established the office of Coryphaeus or Praecentor with the duty of leading the musical performances directed by the Choragus. The office ceased to exist in 1899. Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle (1968), often refers to Stalin as a "Coryphaeus" ("the Coryphaeus of all the Sciences", for example), meaning that he speaks for all in the Soviet Union.
Article summary
In Attic drama, the coryphaeus, corypheus, or koryphaios ( , from , , meaning "the top of the head") was the leader of the chorus. Hence the term (sometimes anglicised as coryphe) is used for the chief or leader of any company or movement. The original Greek coryphaeus spoke for all the chorus, whenever the chorus took part in the action, in quality of a person of the drama, during the course of the acts. The term is sometimes used for the chief or principal of any company, corporation, sect, opinion, etc. Thus, Eustathius of Antioch is called the coryphaeus of the First Council of Nicaea of AD 325, and Cicero calls Zeno of Citium ( ) the coryphaeus of the Stoics. Apostles Peter and Paul are often entitled "Coryphaeus" in Orthodox Christian iconography. In 1856 the University of Oxford established the office of Coryphaeus or Praecentor with the duty of leading the musical performances directed by the Choragus. The office ceased to exist in 1899. Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle (1968), often refers to Stalin as a "Coryphaeus" ("the Coryphaeus of all the Sciences", for example), meaning that he speaks for all in the Soviet Union.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.