Episode 309: Phantasmagoria

Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go!

In the late 1700s a mysterious traveling showman Paul De Philipstal appeared in Berlin, he spoke French and in the advertisement for his show , he claimed to conjure ghosts, reunite audiences with dead loved ones and even show monsters on stage. He used magic tricks, shadow play and machinery. When he was kicked out of Berlin as a fraud, he moved to Paris where he spoke German and run the same show. In 1802, under an anglicised version of his name Paul Philidor and speaking English with a French accent, he has a show at the Lyceum theatre in London. He then starts touring the country and ends up in Leeds until his death. Nobody knows when he was born or where but he kept claiming several relations with different European royal families. A few years before Philidor started, French dramatist Louis-Sebastien Mercier had coined the term Philidor used to name his show. From the Ancient Greek infinitive φαινεσθαι (fenesthe) meaning ‘to appear´ we get Φάντασμα (fantasma) meaning ‘an apparition´, ´a ghost´. Αγορά (agora) meant ‘assembly´. An assembly of ghosts is a ΦΑΝΤΑΣΜΑΓΟΡΙΑ/PHANTASMAGORIA

Audible
Step into another world! Listen to any audiobook with a month long free trial (cancel anytime)

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Instagram @yourgreeksunday ,
Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social
email [e-mail]