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A COMPANION TO ARISTOPHANES A Companion to Aristophanes provides a comprehensive, systematic, and sophisticated treatment of the life and work of one of the world's great literary figures. Bringing together contributions by an international panel of scholars, this innovative volume situates each of Aristophanes' eleven surviving plays within discussion of key themes relevant to the study of the Aristophanic corpus and its place in literary and cultural history.
In-depth yet accessible chapters incorporate material culture and performance context, offer methodological and theoretical insights into the study of Aristophanes, and demonstrate the relevance of Aristophanes to modern life. Each chapter focused on a particular play is paired with a theme that is exemplified by that play, such as gender, sexuality, religion, and satire.
With an emphasis on understanding Greek comedy and its ancient Athenian context, this
Companion contains approaches to Aristophanes through criticism, performance, translation, and teaching that are designed to encourage and inform future work on Greek comedy.
With detailed syllabi and lesson plans for integrating the material into college curricula,
A Companion to Aristophanes is an essential resource for advanced students and instructors, academic scholars, university libraries, and non-specialists interested in Aristophanes, Greek drama, classical Athens, or the ancient Mediterranean world.
List of contents
List of Illustrations xi
Notes on Contributors xii
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
Matthew C. Farmer and Jeremy B. Lefkowitz Part I The World of Aristophanes 5 1 Aristophanes Among Athenians 7
Donald Lateiner and Rosaria Munson 2 The Staging of Old Comedy 21
A.C. Duncan 3 Meter and Song 35
Anne Mahoney 4 Style, Language, and Obscenity 46
Stephen E. Kidd 5 Images of Greek Comedy 56
Carl A. Shaw 6 Politics and Aristophanic Comedy 70
Edith Hall Part II The Comedies of Aristophanes 89 7 Acharnians: Tragedy and Epic 91
Stephanie Nelson 8 Knights: Political Satire 107
Natalia Tsoumpra 9 Clouds: Intellectuals and Philosophy 127
Olimpia Imperio 10 Wasps: Rhetoric and the Law 149
Nikoletta Kanavou 11 Peace: War 165
Elena Fabbro 12 Birds: Utopia 183
David Konstan 13 Lysistrata: Sexuality 196
Kate Gilhuly 14 Women at the Thesmophoria: Religion and Ritual 212
Helene P. Foley 15 Frogs: Metaphor and Allegory 228
Anna A. Novokhatko 16 Assemblywomen: Gender 247
Gwendolyn Compton-Engle 17 Wealth: Economic Fantasies 262
Ralph M. Rosen Part III The Fragments of Greek Comedy 279 18 Aristophanes' Lost Plays 281
Christian Orth 19 Aristophanes' Predecessors 292
Serena Perrone 20 Aristophanes' Contemporaries 304
Sarah N. Miles 21 Aristophanes' Successors 319
Anna Uhlig Part IV Aristophanes and His Readers 337 22 Aristophanes Between Plato and Aristotle 339
Pierre Destrée 23 Ancient Scholarship on Aristophanes 352
Andreas Willi 24 Aristophanes in Roman Literature 368
Jennifer L. Ferriss-Hill 25 Aristophanes and the Second Sophistic 381
Inger N.I. Kuin 26 Renaissance and Early Modern Reception of Aristophanes 393
Malika Bastin-Hammou Part V Aristophanes Today 407 27 Performing Aristophanes 409
Philip Walsh 28 Teaching Aristophanes 423
Elizabeth Scharffenberger Index 438
About the author
MATTHEW C. FARMER is Associate Professor and Chair of Classics at Haverford College. His research focuses on Greek comedy, with a particular emphasis on the study of comic fragments and the relationships comedy forms with other genres. He is the author of
Tragedy on the Comic Stage and
Theopompus: Introduction, Translation, Commentary.
JEREMY B. LEFKOWITZ is Associate Professor of Classics at Swarthmore College. He has published a number of studies on Aesop and the ancient fable tradition, and he is the co-editor, with Caterina Mordeglia, of
La favola tra Oriente e Occidente (forthcoming from SISMEL editrice).
Summary
Provides a comprehensive and systematic treatment of the life and work of Aristophanes
A Companion to Aristophanes provides an invaluable set of foundational resources for undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars alike. More than a basic reference text, this innovative volume situates each of Aristophanes' surviving plays within discussion of key themes relevant to the study of the Aristophanic corpus. Throughout the Companion, an international panel of contributors incorporates material culture and performance context, offers methodological and theoretical insights into the study of Aristophanes, demonstrates the relevance of Aristophanes to modern life, and more.
Each chapter focused on a particular play is paired with a theme that is exemplified by that play, such as gender, sexuality, religion, ritual, and satire. With an emphasis on understanding Greek comedy and its ancient Athenian context, the text includes approaches to Aristophanes through criticism, performance, translation, and teaching to encourage and inform future work on Greek comedy.
Illustrating the vitality of contemporary engagement with one of the world's great literary figures, this comprehensive volume:
* Helps new readers and teachers of Aristophanes appreciate the broader importance of each play within the study of antiquity
* Offers sophisticated analyses of the Aristophanic corpus and its place in literary and cultural history
* Includes chapters focused on teaching Aristophanes, including one emphasizing performance
* Provides detailed syllabi and lesson plans for integrating the material into high school and college curricula
A Companion to Aristophanes is an essential resource for advanced students and instructors in Classics, Ancient Literature, Comparative Literature, and Ancient Drama and Theater. It is also a must-have reference for academic scholars, university libraries, non-specialist Classicists and other literary critics researching ancient drama, and sophisticated general readers interested in Aristophanes, Greek drama, classical Athens, or the ancient Mediterranean world.
