Old Comedy

Old Comedy was the earliest major phase of Athenian comedy, flourishing in the fifth century BCE. Its plays combined political satire, fantastical plots, and a prominent chorus.

Parabasis: A choral passage in Greek Old Comedy that directly addresses the audience, often expressing the poet’s views. This break in dramatic action gave comic poets a direct voice in public debate.
The Acharnians: A comedy by Aristophanes in which an Athenian makes a private peace during the Peloponnesian War. Its antiwar fantasy turns a public conflict into a comic individual bargain.
City Dionysia: An Athenian festival honoring Dionysus that featured dramatic competitions. The festival’s comedy contest provided Old Comedy with a major public stage.
Aristophanes: An Athenian comic playwright of the fifth and early fourth centuries BCE, whose plays are the main surviving examples of Old Comedy. Most surviving knowledge of the genre comes from his plays.
Middle Comedy: A phase of ancient Greek comedy between Old Comedy and New Comedy, conventionally dated to the fourth century BCE. Its transitional features mark the genre’s shift away from Old Comedy’s direct political satire.
Agon: A formal contest in Greek drama, often a structured debate between opposing characters. Many plays stage their central argument as a contest between rival positions.
The Knights: A comedy by Aristophanes that attacks the demagogue Cleon through a contest between servants. It exemplifies Old Comedy’s direct assault on contemporary political figures.
Lenaia: An Athenian festival of Dionysus, held chiefly in winter, that included dramatic competitions. Its comedy competition supported performances before audiences largely composed of Athenians.
Crates (comic poet): An Athenian comic poet of the fifth century BCE, known from ancient testimony and fragments. His career shows that Old Comedy included poets beyond its best-preserved playwright.
New Comedy: A phase of ancient Greek comedy centered on domestic plots, stock characters, and private life. Its focus on household and social situations contrasts with Old Comedy’s civic attacks.

Linked from 8 pages