Fragments

by Aristophanes

Overview

The master of Old Comedy.

The eleven plays by Aristophanes that have come down to us intact brilliantly illuminate the eventful period spanned by his forty-year career, beginning with the first production in 427 BC. But the Athenians knew much more of his work: over forty plays by Aristophanes were read in antiquity, of which nearly a thousand fragments survive. These provide a fuller picture of the poet’s ever astonishing comic vitality and a wealth of information and insights about his world. Jeffrey Henderson’s new, widely acclaimed Loeb edition of Aristophanes is completed by this volume containing what survives from, and about, his lost plays, hitherto inaccessible to the nonspecialist, and incorporating the enormous scholarly advances that have been achieved in recent years.

Each fragmentary play is prefaced by a summary of what can be inferred about its plot, characters, themes, theatricality, and topical significance. Also included in this edition are the ancient reports about Aristophanes’ life, works, and influence on the later comic tradition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674996151
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2008
Series:	Loeb Classical Library , #502
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	711,842
Product dimensions:	4.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Language:	Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

About the Author

Jeffrey Henderson is William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Greek Language and Literature at Boston University.