Menander

Sebastiana Nervegna (Carleton University)

Ed. by Vaios Liapis, Open University of Cyprus
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

Dates

Born c. -342
Died -292
Activity c. -322--292

Places

Born in Ancient Greece
Active in Ancient Greece

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Menander's Works

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Menander is the most popular and influential playwright of Greek New Comedy, a comedy of characters that flourished in Athens in the 4th century BCE and revolves around everyday family situations. This type of comedy was taken over by Roman dramatists such as Plautus and Terence, and so Menander may be ultimately considered the founding father of European comedy.

Menander was born into a wealthy and socially prominent family of Athens in ca. 342/341 BCE. His father Diopeithes was from Kephisia, a large deme located north-west of the center of Athens, and is recorded as a public arbitrator in the year 325/324 BCE. Menander’s mother was named Hegestrate, and this is all we know about her. Menander had an education suitable to his family’s social standing: he was a pupil of Theophrastus,

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2360 words

Citation: Nervegna, Sebastiana. "Menander". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 April 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3078, accessed 22 November 2024.]