Nature, Culture, and the Origins of Greek Comedy
A Study of Animal Choruses

Argues that the animal choruses in Greek comedy of the late fifth century may have been conscious revivals of an earlier tradition.

Kenneth S. Rothwell, Jr (Author)

9780521860666, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 October 2006

340 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.4 cm, 0.697 kg

'Clearly, R[othwell]'s is a work of classical scholarship, a field of discourse that has its own rules for participation, and Origins proceeds accordingly - and is generally successful.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Aristophanes' Birds, Wasps and Frogs offer the best-known examples of the animal choruses of Greek comedy of the fifth century BC, but sixth-century vase-paintings of men costumed as cocks, bulls and horses indicated that comedies were only the last phase of a longer tradition. This book suggests that although the earlier masquerades may have had ritual origins, they should be seen also as products of the culture of the archaic aristocratic symposium. The animal choruses of the late fifth century may have been conscious revivals of an earlier tradition. Moreover, the animals of comedy were not the predators found in other literary genres; they were, instead, social animals who showed that nature and culture could co-exist. The Birds, which tells the story of a city foundation, also parodies fifth-century philosophical accounts of the origins of human civilization. Also discussed are the Wasps, Frogs and fragments of lost comedies.

1. Komos, symposium, and performance, 2. Animal choruses: the evidence of vase-painting
3. Animals and satyrs in classical Greece: an excursus
4. The literary fragments and Aristophanes
Knights, Wasps, and Frogs
5. Aristophanes' Birds and the rise of civilization
Conclusions
Appendix A: testimonia and fragments of lost comedies
Appendix B: miscellaneous depictions of animals costumes.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: plays & playwrights [DSG], Literature: history & criticism [DS], Theatre studies [AN]