Menander in Antiquity: The Contexts of ReceptionThe comic playwright Menander was one of the most popular writers throughout antiquity. This book reconstructs his life and the legacy of his work until the end of antiquity employing a broad range of sources such as portraits, illustrations of his plays, papyri preserving their texts and inscriptions recording their public performances. These are placed within the context of the three social and cultural institutions which appropriated his comedy, thereby ensuring its survival: public theatres, dinner parties and schools. Dr Nervegna carefully reconstructs how each context approached Menander's drama and how it contributed to its popularity over the centuries. The resultant, highly illustrated, book will be essential for all scholars and students not just of Menander's comedy but, more broadly, of the history and iconography of the ancient theatre, ancient social history and reception studies. |
Contents
Canonizing Menander in Athens Alexandria and Rome 11 | 11 |
Menander in public theatres 63 | 63 |
Menander at dinner parties 120 | 120 |
Menander in schools 201 | 201 |
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Common terms and phrases
Aeschylus ancient Antiphanes antiquity apparently Aristophanes Aristophanes of Byzantium Arnott Athenaeus Athenian Athens audiences authors Casa characters codex comic actors comic poets Cratinus Cribiore Csapo declamations Demetrius Demetrius of Phaleron Dio Chrysostom Dionysia Dionysus Diphilus discusses Dyskolos Early-Hellenistic Epitrepontes Euripides excerpts festival fifth century Figure Fittschen 1991 fragment Greek drama Hellenistic House of Menander identified IG II2 illustrations inscription Inst komoidoi later LDAB literary maxims Menander Menander portraits Menander’s Menander’s comedies Menander’s drama Menander’s plays mimes Misoumenos MNC3 mosaic Museo Archeologico Nazionale Museum Mytilene Old Comedy P.Oxy papyrus papyrus roll dated Perikeiromene Philemon Philippides Plautus playwrights Plokion Plut Plutarch Pompeii Posidippus preserved probably Progymnasmata Quint Quintilian reading reception record reproducing rhetorical Rome Samia scene second century Sikyonioi slave speech stage Suda Synaristosai Terence Terence’s texts theatre theatrical Theophoroumene third century bc tradition tragedy tragic tragoidoi TrGF Villa wall painting δὲ καὶ