Who is menander

Yet love is often only one ingredient in the drama; thus in Dyskolos, Sostratos' infatuation shares the limelight with his developing friendship with Gorgias, and Knemon's misanthropy. Menander was a skilful constructor of plots, an imaginative deviser of situations, and a master of variety and suspense.

They are presented as credible individuals, and here two aspects of technique are significant. Menander often takes a type figure and either adds to it some unexpected touches or develops the expected traits in a new direction.

Secondly, although almost every character speaks the same late Attic dialect, many of them are given individual turns of phrase that set them apart e. Subjects: Classical studies. View all reference entries ». View all related items in Oxford Reference ». Search for: 'Menander' in Oxford Reference ». All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice.

Oxford Reference. Publications Pages Publications Pages. He was the acknowledged master of the so-called New Comedy in Greece. Famed for his realistic portrayal of situations and characters, he greatly influenced later comic dramatists.

New Comedy was the term for the comedy of manners popular in Greece after B. Whereas the Old Comedy was characterized by broad burlesque, fantasy, coarseness, and biting political and social satire and the Middle Comedy ca. The absurdity and fantasy of the Old and Middle Comedy were abandoned in favor of realistic situations and characters who speak and act as they would in real life. The chorus virtually disappears except as an interlude between the acts. As with most of the figures of antiquity, there are few facts on the life and career of Menander.

He was born in Athens in B. According to ancient sources, he was a boyhood friend of the philosopher Epicurus and a pupil of Theophrastus, Aristotle's successor as the head of the Peripatetic school. He is said to have been the nephew of the comic playwright Alexis, who instructed him in the art of writing comedies.

Menander was said to have been exceptionally handsome, as surviving portraits attest. He was elegant in manner and in dress, easy-tempered, and a lover of luxury and comfort. Tradition relates that he refused an invitation from Ptolemy I of Egypt, an admirer of his work, to visit there because this would disturb his ease. From his association with Athens's oligarchic governor, Demetrius of Phalerum, it is surmised that Menander was antidemocratic in politics, although in his surviving works there is scarcely a mention of political matters.

Intellectually, Menander was very much a man of his times, and the influence of Theophrastus's Characters and the teachings of Epicurus and other philosophers is evident in the manner and outlook of his plays.

According to the ancient account, Menander died in B. Menander's writing career spanned the 30 years from his first play, Orge Anger , in , to his death. He wrote perhaps as many as comedies, but the fact that he was awarded first prize in the competitions only eight times indicates that his popularity during his lifetime did not equal his later fame.

Of his output only one play, the Dyskolos The Bad-tempered Man , which won the prize in , survives in its entirety; large portions of several other plays exist. By profession:. American Argentinia Spanish Swedish Swiss. Famous authors:. Priestley Jerry B. Facts about Menander.