Menander

Menander (342 - 291 BC), Greek dramatist,chief representative ofNew Comedy, was born at Athens. He wassonwell-to-do parents; his father Diopeithesidentified by some withAthenian generalgovernor ofThracian Chersonese known fromspeechDemosthenes De Chersoneso. He doubtless derived his taste forcomic drama from his uncle Alexis.

He wasfriendassociate, if notpupil,Theophrastus,was on intimate termsDemetriusPhalerum. He also enjoyedpatronagePtolemy Soter,sonLagus, who invited himhis court. But Menander, preferring independence andcompanyhis mistress Glycerahis villa inPeiraeus, refused. According tonote ofscholiast onIbisOvid, he was drowned while bathing; his countrymen built himtomb onroad leadingAthens, wherewas seen by Pausanias. A well-known statue inVatican, formerly thoughtrepresent Marius,now generally supposedbe Menander (although some distinguished archaeologists dispute this),has been identifiedhis statue intheatre at Athens, also mentioned by Pausanias.

Menander wasauthormore thanhundred comedies, but only gainedprize eight times. His rivaldramatic artalso inaffectionsGlycera was Philemon, who appearshave been more popular. Menander, however, believed himselfbebetter dramatist, and, accordingAulus Gellius, usedask Philemon: "Don’t you feel ashamed whenever you gainvictory over me?" AccordingCaeciliusCalacte (PorphyryEusebius, Praeparatio evangelica x. 3,13) he was guiltyplagiarism, his Δεισιδαίμων (Deisidaimōn; English: The Superstitious Man) being taken bodily fromΟἰωνιστής (Oiōnistēs; English: The Augur)Antiphanes. But, although he attained only moderate success during his lifetime, he subsequently becamefavourite writerantiquity. Copieshis plays were knownSuidasEustathius (10th11th centuries,twenty-threethem,commentary by Psellus, were saidhave beenexistence at Constantinople in16th century. Hepraised by Plutarch (ComparisonMenanderAristophanes)Quintilian (Institutio Oratoria, x. 1. 69), who acceptedtradition that he wasauthor ofspeeches published undername ofAttic orator Charisius.

A great admirerimitatorEuripides, he resembles himhis keen observationpractical life, his analysis ofemotions,his fondnessmoral maxims, manywhich have become proverbial: "The propertyfriendscommon," "Whomgods love die young," "Evil communications corrupt good manners" (fromThaïs, quoted1 Corinthians 15:33). These maxims (chiefly monostichs) were afterwards collected, and,additions from other sources, were edited as Μενάνδρου γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι (Menandrou gnōmai monostichoi; English: Menander's One-Verse Maxims),kindmoral textbook foruseschools.

Menander found many Roman imitators. The Eunuchus, Andria, Heautontimoroumenos (The Self-Tormentor)AdelphiTerence (called by Caesar "dimidiatus Menander") were avowedly taken from Menander, but somethem appearbe adaptationscombinationsmore than one play; thus, inAndria were combined Menander's Ἀνδρία (Andria; English:The Woman from Andros)Περινθία (Perinthia; English:The Woman from Perinthos), inEunuchusΕὐνοῦχος (Eunouchos; English: The Eunuch)Κόλαξ (Kolax; English: The Flatterer), whileAdelphi was compiled partly from Menanderpartly from Diphilus. The originalTerence's Hecyra (as ofPhormio)generally supposedbe, not Menander, but ApollodorusCarystus. The BacchidesStichusPlautus were probably based upon Menander's Δὶς Ἐξαπατῶν (Dis Exapatōn; English: The Double Deceiver)Φιλάδελφοι (Philadelphoi; English: The Brotherly-Loving Men), butPoenulus, does not seembe fromΚαρχηδόνιος (Karchēdonios; English: The Carthaginian), norMostellaria fromΦάσμα (Phasma; English:The Apparition),spite ofsimilaritytitles. Caecilius Statius, Luscius Lavinius, TurpiliusAtilius also imitated Menander. He was further credited withauthorshipsome epigramsdoubtful authenticity;letters addressedPtolemy Soter anddiscoursesprose on various subjects mentioned by Suidasprobably spurious.

Tillend of19th century, all that was knownMenander werefragments collected by A. Meineke (1855)T. Kock, Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta, iii. (1888). They consistsome 1650 verses or partsverses,addition toconsiderable numberwords quoted expressly as from Menander byold lexicographers. From 18971907 papyri were discovereddifferent partsEgypt, containing fragmentsconsiderable length, amountingsome 1400 lines. In 1897, about eighty lines ofΓεωργός (Geōrgos; English: The Farmer);1899, fifty lines ofΠερικειρομένη (Perikeiromenē; English: The Shorn Woman);1903, one hundred lines (half invery mutilated condition) fromΚόλαξ;1906, two hundred lines frommiddle ofΠερικειρομένη,part previously discovered containingdénouement; five hundred lines fromἘπιτρέποντες (Epitrepontes; English: The Arbitrants), generally well preserved; sixty-three lines (the prologue, listcharacters, andfirst scene), fromἭρως (Hērōs; English: The Hero); three hundredforty lines fromΣαμία (Samia; English: The Woman from Samos);twenty lines from an unknown comedy. Subsequently, part ofthird copy ofΠερικειρομένη was foundEgypt, some one hundredforty lines, halfwhich were already known, whileremainder were new.

The complete manuscript ofΔύσκολος (Dyskolos; English: The Grouch) was published fromrecovered papyrus manuscript1959. This play was first presented atLenaian festival317 BC, wherewon Menander first prize.

Itdoubtful whether these fragments, whichof sufficient lengthaffordbasis forconsideration ofmeritsMenander aswritercomedies, justifygreat reputation enjoyed by himancient times. Withexception ofscene inἘπιτρέποντες, which would appeal tolitigious Athenians,contain little thatwitty or humorous; therelittle variety incharacters,situationsconventional, andplots, not ofhighly edifying character,lackingoriginality. Menander's chief excellences seembe facilitylanguage, accurate portrayalmanners,naturalness ofsentiments which he puts intomouthhis dramatis personae. Itremarkable thatmaxims, which formchief part ofearlier collectionsfragments,few inlater.

On Menander generally see monographs by C. Benoît (1854)G. Guizot (1855); J. Geffeken, Studia zu Menander (1898); H. Lübke, Menander und seine Kunst (1892); J. Denis, La Comédie grecque (1886), vol. ii; H. Weil, Études sur l'antiquité grecque (1900).

Editions offragments: Γεωργός, by J. Nicole,translationnotes (1898)by Bernard GrenfellArthur Hunt,revised texttranslation (1898);Ἥρως, Ἐπιτρέποντες, Περικειρομένη, Σαμία, by G. LefebvreM. Croiset,introduction, notestranslation (Cairo, 1907); J. van Leeuwen,Latin notes (2nd ed., 1908); L. BodinP. Mazon, Extracts de Ménandre (SamiaEpitrepontes, 1908); E. Croiset, L'Arbitrage, critical ed.translation (1908); C. Robert, Der neue Menander (text reconstructed, 1908); Wilamowitz-Möllendorff, "Der Menander von Kairo"Neue Jahrbücher für das klassische Altertum (1908), pp. 34-62; German trans. by C. Robert, Szenen aus Menander (1908); English by Unus Multorum (1909).

This entry was originally from1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.