(παράβασις, parábasis; Lat. parabasis).
Characteristic component peculiar to Old Attic comedy, recognizable in the plays of Aristophanes [3] and in fragments of other comedic poets (no certain evidence before Cratinus [4. 24]). The term derives from parabaínein (παραβαίνειν πρὸς τὸ θέατρον, 'stepping towards the audience'), with which Aristophanes's chorus repeatedly begins the parabasis (Aristoph. Ach. 629; Equ. 508; Pax 735): they also divest themselves of parts of their clothing (Ach. 627) or other accessories (Pax 729), while …