Knowra Menander Menander Menander was an Athenian playwright of Greek New Comedy, active in the late fourth and early third centuries BCE. His surviving comedy Dyskolos portrays ordinary people, family relations, and social life.
New Comedy : A genre of Greek comedy focused on domestic life, romantic entanglements, and recognizable social characters. Menander is its best-known surviving playwright, and its conventions shape his plots.
Dyskolos : A Greek comedy by Menander about the misanthropic Knemon and the people around his household. It is Menander’s only substantially complete surviving play.
Athens : A city-state in ancient Greece and the principal setting for the development of classical Greek drama. Menander was born and worked in Athens, where his comedies were staged.
Plautus : A Roman comic playwright whose surviving plays adapted Greek New Comedy for Roman audiences. His adaptations transmit plots and comic devices associated with Menander’s tradition.
Aristophanes : An Athenian playwright of Old Comedy, known for political satire, fantasy, and plays such as Lysistrata. His topical, public satire offers a strong contrast to Menander’s domestic comedy.
Old Comedy : A form of ancient Greek comedy known for political satire, topical references, and exuberant fantasy. Its public satire contrasts with Menander’s domestic subjects and restrained plots.
Samia : A Greek comedy by Menander involving a mistaken belief about a young woman’s pregnancy and a household’s response. Its surviving text illustrates Menander’s domestic plots and comic misunderstandings.
Lenaia : An Athenian festival of Dionysus associated especially with dramatic competitions and comedy. Menander’s plays competed within the festival culture of Athenian comedy.
Terence : A Roman playwright whose six surviving comedies adapt Greek New Comedy, including plays by Menander. Terence directly adapted Menander’s Andria and Eunuchus.
Philemon : A Greek playwright of New Comedy and a frequent rival of Menander in Athenian dramatic competitions. Ancient accounts describe a successful rivalry between the two comic playwrights.
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