Laughter on the Fringes : The Reception of Old Comedy in the Imperial Greek World

This book examines the impact that Athenian Old Comedy had on Greek writers of the imperial era. It is generally acknowledged that imperial-era Greeks responded to Athenian Old Comedy in one of two ways: either as a treasure trove of Atticisms or as a genre defined by and repudiated for its aggressive humor. Worthy of further consideration, however, is the degree to which both approaches, and particularly the latter one that relegated Old Comedy to the fringes of the literary canon, led authors to engage with the ironic and self-reflexive humor of Aristophanes, Eupolis and Cratinus. Authors ranging from serious moralizers (Plutarch and Aelius Aristides) to comic writers in their own right (Lucian, Alciphron) to other figures not often associated with Old Comedy (Libanius) adopted aspects of the genre to negotiate power struggles, facilitate literary and sophistic rivalries, and as a model for autobiographical writing. To varying degrees, these writers wove recognizable features of the genre (e.g. the parabasis, its agonistic language, the stage biographies of the individual poets) into their writings. The image of Old Comedy that emerges from this time is that of a genre in transition. It was, on the one hand, with the exception of Aristophanes'extant plays, on the verge of being almost completely lost; on the other hand, its reputation and several of its most characteristic elements were being renegotiated and reinvented. Cover 1 Laughter on the Fringes 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Note to the Reader 10 Introduction 12 Lexicographers, Scholars, and the Cultural Authority of Old Comedy 18 Critical Posturing 24 In the Shadow of Plato 29 The Structure of the Book 33 1. A Problematic Genre: Plutarch 36 Aristophanes versus Menander 38 Putting It to Good Use: Quoting Old Comedy in the Parallel Lives 51 Conclusions 61 2. Between Plato and the Gods: Aelius Aristides on Old Comedy 63 Contending with Plato: Old Comedy’s Place in Aristides’ Defense of Rhetoric 65 Self-​Praise and the Parabasis: Or. 28 73 Revoking Comic License: Or. 29 and the Question of Performance 81 Conclusions 92 3. Old Comedy Revived: Lucian’s Fisherman and Double Indictment 93 Setting the Stage: Lucian’s Fisherman 96 A Comic Anabasis: Lucian’s Fisherman and Eupolis’ Demoi 98 A Contest of Genres: Lucian’s Fisherman and Aristophanes’ Acharnians 100 Old Comedy and the Tradition of Intellectual Biography in Double Indictment 110 Reading Socrates’ Life through Plato and Old Comedy 112 The First Five Trials and Their Significance for the Narrative of the Syrian 116 Unlikely Foils: Cratinus, Polemon, and the Charge of κάκωσις Against the Syrian 118 Conclusions 126 4. Lucian’s Prolaliai and the Dynamics of Competition 128 Reading Lucian’s Prolaliai as Parabases 129 A Parabatic Prometheus: Lucian and the Literary Hybrid 132 A Novel Problem: Zeuxis 138 A Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man: Heracles 146 Conclusions 152 A Menandrian Interlude: Alciphron and Old Comedy in Epistolary Form 154 5. Old Comedy Transformed: Libanius and the Fourth Century 162 Old Comedy in the Fourth Century 166 Aristophanic Self-​Fashioning? Libanius’ Life and the Scene of the Lightning Strike 173 The “Trees” of Eupolis: Eunapius on Libanius’ Rhetorical Style 181 Conclusions 189 Epilogue: Aristophanes in Utopia 191 References 204 Index Locorum 222 General Index 230 This book examines the impact that Athenian Old Comedy had on Greek writers of the imperial era. It is generally acknowledged that imperial-era Greeks responded to Athenian Old Comedy in one of two ways: either as a treasure trove of Atticisms or as a genre defined by and repudiated for its aggressive humor. Worthy of further consideration, however, is the degree to which both approaches, and particularly the latter one that relegated Old Comedy to the fringes of the literary canon, led authors to engage with the ironic and self-reflexive humor of Aristophanes, Eupolis and Cratinus. Authors ranging from serious moralizers (Plutarch and Aelius Aristides) to comic writers in their own right (Lucian, Alciphron) to other figures not often associated with Old Comedy (Libanius) adopted aspects of the genre to negotiate power struggles, facilitate literary and sophistic rivalries, and as a model for autobiographical writing. To varying degrees, these writers wove recognizable features of the genre (e.g. the parabasis, its agonistic language, the stage biographies of the individual poets) into their writings. The image of Old Comedy that emerges from this time is that of a genre in transition. It was, on the one hand, with the exception of Aristophanes' extant plays, on the verge of being almost completely lost; on the other hand, its reputation and several of its most characteristic elements were being renegotiated and reinvented This book examines the reception of Athenian Old Comedy by Greek writers of the imperial era. It explores how the major authors of this period (Plutarch, Aelius Aristides, Lucian, Alciphron, and Libanius) adopted aspects of the genre to negotiate power struggles, facilitate rivalries, and provide a model for autobiographical writing.