n., pl. a·gon·es (ə-gō'nēz).

1. A conflict, especially between the protagonist and antagonist in a work of literature.
2. The part of an ancient Greek drama, especially a comedy, in which two characters engage in verbal dispute.
3. A test of will; a conflict: “Freud's originality stemmed from his aggression and ambition in his agon with biology” (Harold Bloom).
4. A contest in ancient Greece, as in athletics or music, in which prizes were awarded.

[Greek agōn. See agony.]

agon [a‐gohn] (plural agones [ă‐goh‐niz]), the contest or dispute between two characters which forms a major part of the action in the Greek Old Comedy of Aristophanes, e.g. the debate between Aeschylus and Euripides in his play The Frogs (405 BCE). The term is sometimes extended to formal debates in Greek tragedies.

Adjective: agonistic.

agōn (‘contest’). 1. In Greece and later at Rome, a public festival at which competitors contended for a prize, usually in chariot- and horse-races and athletics but occasionally in musical or dramatic competitions.

2. The ‘debate’ in Attic Old Comedy; see COMEDY, GREEK 3 (iii).

the dramatic conflict between the chief characters in a literary work

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