Ancient Greek comedy

The Greek comedy is a literary work for the stage, usually with comic effects and usually a happy ending and the next tragedy, the most important genus of European drama. Frequently in the comedy is a conflict designed unmasks supposed values ​​or exposes human weaknesses and its solution evokes laughter. It is difficult to define clearly the comedy. The main feature of the comic itself has only limited validity, since the comedy also include combinations with serious or absurd genres such as tragicomedy or grotesque.

The contents of a comedy is the mocking discussion of prominent citizens and celebrities. The theme is to reproduce stories from the life of the polis is. The purpose of a comedy is a conveying certain values ​​through laughter ( through laughter to get something taught ).

The comedy was created as well as the tragedy of the cult of Dionysus, where Phallosträger songs in honor of Dionysus ' sang to exert a growing spell. Partly because of this tradition was the Doric comedy, whose most important representative was Epicharmos of Kos forth. Since 488 BC there were the first performances of comedies in Athens, to annual competitions poet, stretched themselves two years later, the Lenaea in January / February and the Dionysia in March / April.

The further development of the comedy can be roughly divided into old comedy and new comedy divide.

Old Comedy

As the founder of Attic comedy applies Cratinus. He lay with his humor and his ridicule the foundation for more comedy writer as Hermippus and Eupolis. Probably the most famous poets of this time is Aristophanes (c. 448-385 BC). With his satires and caricatures such as Socrates in his play " Clouds" he wowed the audience and criticized both political conditions and scientific currents.

The representatives of Old Comedy are also known by the partial traditional winners' list, in which the following poets are mentioned most frequently:

  • Magnes: 11 wins at Lenaea and Dionysia
  • Cratinus: 3 wins at the Lenaea, 6 wins at the Dionysia
  • Telekleides: 5 wins at the Lenaea, 3 wins at the Dionysia
  • Eupolis: 3 wins at the Lenaea, 4 wins at the Dionysia
  • Aristophanes: at least four victories in the Lenaea, at least 2 victories at the Dionysia
  • Hermippus: 4 wins at the Lenaea, at least one victory at the Dionysia
  • Phrynichus: 2 wins at the Lenaea, at least 1 victory at the Dionysia
  • Pherecrates: 2 wins at the Lenaea, 1 victory at the Dionysia
  • Ameipsias: at least 1 victory at the Dionysia
  • Plato: at least 1 victory at the Dionysia

New Comedy

By the reign of the Macedonian kings in later times it was over with democracy and freedom of speech. As a result, could not use allusions to persons or more cartoons in his plays the poet. Thus, the content shifted from the biting satire on the representation of different types of people.

The most important poets of this time was Menander ( by 342 / 41-291 / 90).

Scenic representation

A problem of research to comedy is to find out ways in which the plays were performed exactly. The problem here is that only the individual dialogue games have survived in the original text, no stage directions or other instructions that tell something about the presentation. This can be demonstrated with the example of the Clouds of Aristophanes, where appear multiple times in the original Greek text jumps in the action, such as Strepsiades decides to go to the Phrontisterion of Socrates. The transition at this point is done in only two verses:

ἀλλ ' εὐξάμενος τοῖσιν θεοῖς διδάξομαι αὐτὸς βαδίζων εἰς τὸ φροντιστήριον. πῶς οὖν γέρων ὢν κἀπιλήσμων καὶ βραδὺς λόγων ἀκριβῶν σκινδαλάμους μαθήσομαι; But let me teach, by the gods, I want by myself go to Phrontisterion. How, then, shall I forgetful and slow old man, who I am, the subtleties of the exact words to learn? ( Aristophanes, Clouds V. 127-130 )

It is likely that Strepsiades arrives at or after speaking of verse 128 at Phrontisterion. But what the actor has done it on stage and how much time has actually passed in the performance of the play, so far remains unclear. Unfortunately, there is on this issue almost no archaeological evidence, as the ancient theater in the earlier period were mostly built of wood and therefore have not been preserved for posterity.

Editions and translations

  • Rudolf Kassel, Colin Austin (ed.): poetae Comici Graeci. De Gruyter, Berlin ( critical edition ) Volume 1: Comoedia Dorica, mimi, phylaces, 2001, ISBN 3-11-016949-5
  • Volume 2: Agathenor - Aristonymus, 1991, ISBN 3-11-012840-3
  • Volume 3.2: Aristophanes. Testimonia et fragmenta, 1984, ISBN 3-11-0098938-0 (formally wrong ISBN )
  • Volume 4: Aristophon - Crobylus, 1983, ISBN 3-11-002405-5
  • Volume 5: Damoxenus - Magnes, 1986, ISBN 3-11-010922-0
  • Volume 6.2: Menander. Testimonia et fragmenta apud Scriptores servata, 1998, ISBN 3-11-015825-6
  • Volume 7: Menecrates - Xenophon, 1989, ISBN 3-11-012035-6
  • Volume 8: Adespota, 1995, ISBN 3-11-014534-0
Dionysian Mysteries Phallus Phrynichus (comic poet) Plato (comic poet)
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