The Social Dimension of Menander's Comedies in Foreign Historiography
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52575/2687-0967-2026-53-3-515-525Keywords:
Menander, New Comedy, Ancient Greek drama, gender history, social history, historiographyAbstract
This article presents analysis of the achievements of foreign researchers in the study of Menander's work and traces the evolution of approaches and the expansion of the subject area of Menandrian studies from the late 1960s to the present. The authors analyze the topics of scholarly works and identify the dynamics from the interpretation of Menander's comedies as primarily literary works and textual sources to the recognition of their value for the reconstruction of social relations and institutions. The study shows that methodological search has led to the development of a distinct historical perspective: Menander's comedies have come to be viewed as a comprehensive, multidimensional source on marital strategies, property relations, and the sociopolitical context of the era. The interdisciplinary nature of Menandrian studies has allowed for the integration of the study of slavery, violence, and female solidarity into the context of social connections and network interactions within historical anthropology. The social aspects of the gender approach have also been identified. The authors draw a conclusion about the deepening of traditional themes at the present stage and a shift in focus to implicit meanings within the framework of the history of emotions, imagology and the history of mentalities.
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Павленко Л.В. 1982. Менандр как источник по истории раннего эллинизма. Вестник древней истории, 160(4): 103–112.
Agrimonti S. 2023. Soldiers on stage: Athenian Attitudes towards Mercenaries in Menander's Comedies. Greece & Rome, 70 (1): 1–19.
Anderson W.S. 1984. Love Plots in Menander and his Roman Adapters. Ramus, 13(2): 124–134.
Arnott W.G. 1966. Observations on Menander's Dyskolos. Philologus, 110(1–2): 147–154.
Arnott W.G. 1981. Moral Values in Menander. Philologus, 125(2): 215–227.
Bain D. 1984. Female Speech in Menander. Antichthon, 18: 24–42.
Bathrellou E. 2014. Relationships among Slaves in Menander. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 40–57.
Bennett-Smith I. 2022. The Introduction of Young Women in Menander: Variation within the Constraints of the Genre. M.A. Thesis. Wellington: Open Access Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. 109 p. URL: https://openaccess.wgtn.ac.nz/articles/thesis/The_Introduction_of_Young_Women_in_Menander_Variation_within_the_constraints_of_the_genre/21688426 (accessed 16 March 2026).
Berg H. 2008. The Question of Age in the Construction of Hellenistic Masculinities in Menander. Boyhood Studies, 2(2): 125–139.
Blume H.-D. 2014. Money and Love in Menandrian Comedy. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 3–16.
Brown M. 2024. Menander and the Birth of Domestic Drama. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 216 p.
Ciesko M. 2004. Menander and the Expectations of his Audience. D. Phil. Thesis. Oxford: University of Oxford. URL: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ae81b7d0-87da-4e3e-bd00-3b49743a82c1 (accessed 13 March 2026).
Cox C.A. 2002. Crossing Boundaries through Marriage in Menander's Dyskolos. The Classical Quarterly, 52(1): 391–394.
Cox C.A. 2002. Is Sostratus' Family Urban in Menander's Dyskolos? The Classical Journal, 97(4): 351–358.
Cox C.A. 2012. Women and Family in Menander. In: A Companion to Women in the Ancient World / ed. by S.L. James, S. Dillon. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell: 278–287.
Cox C.A. 2013. Coping with Punishment: The Social Networking of Slaves in Menander. In: Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greek Comic Drama / ed. by B. Akrigg, R. Tordoff. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 159–172.
Cusset C. 2014. Melancholic Lovers in Menander. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 167–179.
Feltovich A.C. 2011. Women's Social Bonds in Greek and Roman Comedy. Ph.D. diss. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati. 245 p. URL: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1311691038 (accessed 16 March 2026).
Fountoulakis A. 2019. The Rhetoric of Erōs in Menander's Samia. In: Poet and Orator: A Symbiotic Relationship in Democratic Athens / ed. by A. Markantonatos, E. Volonaki. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter: 33–69.
Furley W.D. 2009. Drama at the Festival: A Recurrent Motif in Menander. In: The Play of Texts and Fragments: Essays in Honour of Martin Cropp / ed. by J.R.C. Cousland, J.R. Hume. Leiden; Boston: Brill: 389–401.
Glazebrook A. 2015. A Hierarchy of Violence?: Sex Slaves, Parthenoi, and Rape in Menander's Epitrepontes. Helios, 42(1): 81–101.
Gomme A.W., Sandbach F.H. 1973. Menander: A Commentary. London: Oxford University Press. 760 p.
Gruen S.W. 1991. The Role of the Courtesan in Menander and Terence. Ph.D. diss. Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley.
Heap A.M. 1998. People in Menander: Social Norms and Characterization. Ph.D. thesis. London: University of London, University College London.
Heap A.M. 1998. Understanding the Men in Menander. In: Thinking Men: Masculinity and Its Self-Representation in the Classical Tradition / ed. by L. Foxhall, J. Salmon. London; New York: Routledge: 115–129.
Heap A.M. 2003. The Baby as Hero? The Role of the Infant in Menander. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 46(1): 77–129.
Henry M.M. 1985. Menander's Courtesans and the Greek Comic Tradition. Frankfurt am Main; Bern; New York: Peter Lang. 148 p.
Ireland S. 1994. Personal Relationships and other Features of Menander. Electronic Antiquity, 2(4).
James S.L. 2014. Reconsidering Rape in Menander's Comedy and Athenian Life: Modern Comparative Evidence. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 24–39.
Kiritsi S. 2013. Erōs in Menander: Three Studies in Male Character. In: Erōs and the Polis: Love in Context / ed. by E. Sanders. London: Institute of Classical Studies, University of London: 85–100.
Konstan D. 1987. Between Courtesan and Wife: Menander's Perikeiromene. Phoenix, 41(2): 122–139.
Konstan D. 2013. Menander's Slaves: The Banality of Violence. In: Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greek Comic Drama / ed. by B. Akrigg, R. Tordoff. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 144–158.
Lape S. 2001. The Ethics of Democracy in Menander's Dyskolos. Helios, 28(2): 141–174.
Lape S. 2004. Reproducing Athens: Menander's Comedy, Democratic Culture, and the Hellenistic City. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 294 p.
MacCary W.T. 1969. Menander's Slaves: Their Names, Roles, and Masks. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 100: 277–294.
MacCary W.T. 1971. Menander's Old Men. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 102: 303–325.
MacCary W.T. 1972. Menander's Soldiers: Their Names, Roles, and Masks. American Journal of Philology, 93(2): 279–298.
Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. 2014. New York: Routledge. 286 p.
Menander. 1979–2000. Menander. In 3 Vols. / Ed. and transl. by W.G. Arnott. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: W. Heinemann.
Miles S. 2014. Staging and Constructing the Divine in Menander. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 75–89.
Proffitt L. 2011. Family, Slavery and Subversion in Menander's Epitrepontes. In: Reading Ancient Slavery / ed. by R. Alston, E. Hall, L. Proffitt. London: Bristol Classical Press: 152–174.
Ramage E.S. 1966. City and Country in Menander's Dyskolos. Philologus, 110(3): 194–211.
Rosivach V.J. 2001. Class matters in the Dyskolos of Menander. The Classical Quarterly, 51(1): 127–134.
Sommerstein A.H. 2014. Menander and the Pallake. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 17–23.
Tosheva D. 2020. Close-kin Marriages in Menander. Societas Classica, 10(1): 85–96.
Traill A. 2008. Women and the Comic Plot in Menander. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 301 p.
Webster T.B.L. 1974. An Introduction to Menander. Manchester: Manchester University Press; New York: Barnes & Noble Books. 211 p.
Zagagi N. 1990. Divine Interventions and Human Agents in Menander. Recherches et Rencontres, 2: 63–91.
References
Pavlenko L.V. 1982. Menandr kak istochnik po istorii rannego ellinizma [Menander as a Source on the History of Early Hellenism]. Vestnik drevney istorii [Bulletin of Ancient History], 160(4): 103–112.
Agrimonti S. 2023. Soldiers on stage: Athenian Attitudes towards Mercenaries in Menander's Comedies. Greece & Rome, 70 (1): 1–19.
Anderson W.S. 1984. Love Plots in Menander and his Roman Adapters. Ramus, 13(2): 124–134.
Arnott W.G. 1966. Observations on Menander's Dyskolos. Philologus, 110(1–2): 147–154.
Arnott W.G. 1981. Moral Values in Menander. Philologus, 125(2): 215–227.
Bain D. 1984. Female Speech in Menander. Antichthon, 18: 24–42.
Bathrellou E. 2014. Relationships among Slaves in Menander. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 40–57.
Bennett-Smith I. 2022. The Introduction of Young Women in Menander: Variation within the Constraints of the Genre. M.A. Thesis. Wellington: Open Access Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. 109 p. URL: https://openaccess.wgtn.ac.nz/articles/thesis/The_Introduction_of_Young_Women_in_Menander_Variation_within_the_constraints_of_the_genre/21688426 (accessed 16 March 2026).
Berg H. 2008. The Question of Age in the Construction of Hellenistic Masculinities in Menander. Boyhood Studies, 2(2): 125–139.
Blume H.-D. 2014. Money and Love in Menandrian Comedy. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 3–16.
Brown M. 2024. Menander and the Birth of Domestic Drama. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 216 p.
Ciesko M. 2004. Menander and the Expectations of his Audience. D. Phil. Thesis. Oxford: University of Oxford. URL: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ae81b7d0-87da-4e3e-bd00-3b49743a82c1 (accessed 13 March 2026).
Cox C.A. 2002. Crossing Boundaries through Marriage in Menander's Dyskolos. The Classical Quarterly, 52(1): 391–394.
Cox C.A. 2002. Is Sostratus' Family Urban in Menander's Dyskolos? The Classical Journal, 97(4): 351–358.
Cox C.A. 2012. Women and Family in Menander. In: A Companion to Women in the Ancient World / ed. by S.L. James, S. Dillon. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell: 278–287.
Cox C.A. 2013. Coping with Punishment: The Social Networking of Slaves in Menander. In: Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greek Comic Drama / ed. by B. Akrigg, R. Tordoff. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 159–172.
Cusset C. 2014. Melancholic Lovers in Menander. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 167–179.
Feltovich A.C. 2011. Women's Social Bonds in Greek and Roman Comedy. Ph.D. diss. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati. 245 p. URL: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1311691038 (accessed 16 March 2026).
Fountoulakis A. 2019. The Rhetoric of Erōs in Menander's Samia. In: Poet and Orator: A Symbiotic Relationship in Democratic Athens / ed. by A. Markantonatos, E. Volonaki. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter: 33–69.
Furley W.D. 2009. Drama at the Festival: A Recurrent Motif in Menander. In: The Play of Texts and Fragments: Essays in Honour of Martin Cropp / ed. by J.R.C. Cousland, J.R. Hume. Leiden; Boston: Brill: 389–401.
Glazebrook A. 2015. A Hierarchy of Violence?: Sex Slaves, Parthenoi, and Rape in Menander's Epitrepontes. Helios, 42(1): 81–101.
Gomme A.W., Sandbach F.H. 1973. Menander: A Commentary. London: Oxford University Press. 760 p.
Gruen S.W. 1991. The Role of the Courtesan in Menander and Terence. Ph.D. diss. Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley.
Heap A.M. 1998. People in Menander: Social Norms and Characterization. Ph.D. thesis. London: University of London, University College London.
Heap A.M. 1998. Understanding the Men in Menander. In: Thinking Men: Masculinity and Its Self-Representation in the Classical Tradition / ed. by L. Foxhall, J. Salmon. London; New York: Routledge: 115–129.
Heap A.M. 2003. The Baby as Hero? The Role of the Infant in Menander. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 46(1): 77–129.
Henry M.M. 1985. Menander's Courtesans and the Greek Comic Tradition. Frankfurt am Main; Bern; New York: Peter Lang. 148 p.
Ireland S. 1994. Personal Relationships and other Features of Menander. Electronic Antiquity, 2(4).
James S.L. 2014. Reconsidering Rape in Menander's Comedy and Athenian Life: Modern Comparative Evidence. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 24–39.
Kiritsi S. 2013. Erōs in Menander: Three Studies in Male Character. In: Erōs and the Polis: Love in Context / ed. by E. Sanders. London: Institute of Classical Studies, University of London: 85–100.
Konstan D. 1987. Between Courtesan and Wife: Menander's Perikeiromene. Phoenix, 41(2): 122–139.
Konstan D. 2013. Menander's Slaves: The Banality of Violence. In: Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greek Comic Drama / ed. by B. Akrigg, R. Tordoff. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 144–158.
Lape S. 2001. The Ethics of Democracy in Menander's Dyskolos. Helios, 28(2): 141–174.
Lape S. 2004. Reproducing Athens: Menander's Comedy, Democratic Culture, and the Hellenistic City. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 294 p.
MacCary W.T. 1969. Menander's Slaves: Their Names, Roles, and Masks. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 100: 277–294.
MacCary W.T. 1971. Menander's Old Men. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 102: 303–325.
MacCary W.T. 1972. Menander's Soldiers: Their Names, Roles, and Masks. American Journal of Philology, 93(2): 279–298.
Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. 2014. New York: Routledge. 286 p.
Menander. 1979–2000. Menander. In 3 Vols. / Ed. and transl. by W.G. Arnott. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: W. Heinemann.
Miles S. 2014. Staging and Constructing the Divine in Menander. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 75–89.
Proffitt L. 2011. Family, Slavery and Subversion in Menander's Epitrepontes. In: Reading Ancient Slavery / ed. by R. Alston, E. Hall, L. Proffitt. London: Bristol Classical Press: 152–174.
Ramage E.S. 1966. City and Country in Menander's Dyskolos. Philologus, 110(3): 194–211.
Rosivach V.J. 2001. Class matters in the Dyskolos of Menander. The Classical Quarterly, 51(1): 127–134.
Sommerstein A.H. 2014. Menander and the Pallake. In: Menander in Contexts / ed. by A.H. Sommerstein. New York: Routledge: 17–23.
Tosheva D. 2020. Close-kin Marriages in Menander. Societas Classica, 10(1): 85–96.
Traill A. 2008. Women and the Comic Plot in Menander. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 301 p.
Webster T.B.L. 1974. An Introduction to Menander. Manchester: Manchester University Press; New York: Barnes & Noble Books. 211 p.
Zagagi N. 1990. Divine Interventions and Human Agents in Menander. Recherches et Rencontres, 2: 63–91.
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