Fragments of Old Comedy, Volume II


Book Description

The era of Old Comedy (ca. 485–ca. 380 BC), when theatrical comedy was created and established, is best known through the extant plays of Aristophanes. But the work of many other poets, including Cratinus and Eupolis, the other members, with Aristophanes, of the canonical Old Comic Triad, survives in fragments.




Fragments of Old Comedy, Volume I


Book Description

Laughter in stitches. The era of Old Comedy (ca. 485 – ca. 380 BC), when theatrical comedy was created and established, is best known through the extant plays of Aristophanes, but there were many other poets whose comedies survive only in fragments. This new Loeb edition, the most extensive selection of the fragments available in English, presents the work of more than fifty-five poets, including Cratinus and Eupolis, the other members (along with Aristophanes) of the canonical Old Comic triad. For each poet and play there is an introduction, and for many there are brief notes and recent bibliography. Also included are a selection of ancient testimonia to Old Comedy, nearly one hundred unattributed fragments (both book and papyri), and descriptions of thirty vase paintings illustrating Old Comic scenes. The texts are based on the monumental edition of Kassel and Austin, updated to reflect the latest scholarship. The complete Loeb Fragments of Old Comedy is in three volumes.




Fragmentation in Ancient Greek Drama


Book Description

This volume examines whether dramatic fragments should be approached as parts of a greater whole or as self-contained entities. It comprises contributions by a broad spectrum of international scholars: by young researchers working on fragmentary drama as well as by well-known experts in this field. The volume explores another kind of fragmentation that seems already to have been embraced by the ancient dramatists: quotations extracted from their context and immersed in a new whole, in which they work both as cohesive unities and detachable entities. Sections of poetic works circulated in antiquity not only as parts of a whole, but also independently, i.e. as component fractions, rather like quotations on facebook today. Fragmentation can thus be seen operating on the level of dissociation, but also on the level of cohesion. The volume investigates interpretive possibilities, quotation contexts, production and reception stages of fragmentary texts, looking into the ways dramatic fragments can either increase the depth of fragmentation or strengthen the intensity of cohesion.




Fragments of Old Comedy, Volume III


Book Description

This text presents the work of 56 poets, including Cratinus and Eupolis, the other members (along with Aristophanes) of the canonical Old Comic triad. For each poet and play their is an introduction, brief notes and select bibliography.




The Rivals of Aristophanes


Book Description

The work of the 'other' comic poets of classical Athens, those who competed with, and in some cases defeated, their (eventually) better-known fellow comedian, Aristophanes, has almost eluded the historical record. The poetry of Cratinus, Phrynichos, Eupolis and the rest has survived only in tantalising, often tiny, fragments and citations. Modern studies in this field have themselves often been difficult of access. Here an exceptional cast of scholars, including most of the leading international authorities, provides a set of 28 interpretative essays to cover every one of these 'other' poets of Athenian Old Comedy for whom significant evidence survives. The work includes a comprehensive bibliography, and is a landmark in the study of Old Comedy.




Broken Laughter


Book Description

A collection of over 200 of the most interesting and important fragments of Greek comedy, accompanied by a commentary; an extensive introduction discussing the history of comic genre; a series of appendixes on the individual poets, the inscriptional evidence, and the like; and a complete translation of the fragments. Individual sections illustrate the earliest Greek comedy from Syracuse; the characteristic features of Athenian `Old', `Middle', and `New Comedy'; the comic presentation of politicians, philosophers, and women; the comic reception of other poetry; and many aspects of daily life, including dining and symposia.




Eupolis frr. 326-497


Book Description

English summary: The series 'Fragmenta Comica' will provide a complete commentary on the fragments of Greek comedy. The aim of the commentary is twofold: on the one hand, it is meant to make accessible these mostly rather challenging texts from a number of different perspectives. On the other hand, it should help in the reconstruction the plays where this is possible, as well as in achieving a literary-historical classification of the authors. The fragments and testimonia will be translated. The results obtained in the commentary will be integrated into general surveys published in the Studia Comica series: on comedy and comedy techniques such as parody and satire as well as on its political function. The project is planned to take fifteen years to complete. German description: Die Reihe Fragmenta Comica wird die vollstandige Kommentierung der Fragmente der griechischen Komodie bieten. Ziel der Kommentare ist es, einerseits die in der Regel schwierig zu verstehenden Texte unter allen moglichen Gesichtspunkten zu erschlieaen, andererseits, wo dies moglich ist, eine Rekonstruktion der Stucke zu versuchen und eine literaturgeschichtliche Einordnung der Autoren vorzunehmen. Die Fragmente und Testimonien werden ubersetzt. Die in den Kommentaren erzielten Ergebnisse sollen in allgemeine Studien einflieaen, die in den Studia Comica veroffentlicht werden: zur Komik und komischen Techniken wie Parodie, Satire sowie zur politischen Funktion. Prof. Dr. Bernhard Zimmermann leitet die Forschungsstelle Kommentierung der Fragmente der griechischen Komodie an der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Die Arbeitsstelle des Projekts ist am Seminar fur Klassische Philologie der Universitat Freiburg angesiedelt. Ein Weblog berichtet aktuell uber den Fortgang des Projekts, das auf 15 Jahre ausgelegt ist. Das Projekt ist international vernetzt und arbeitet mit Zentren zur Erforschung der fragmentarisch erhaltenen griechischen Literatur in Italien, Groabritannien und den USA zusammen.




The Spartan Scytale and Developments in Ancient and Modern Cryptography


Book Description

This book offers a comprehensive review and reassessment of the classical sources describing the cryptographic Spartan device known as the scytale. Challenging the view promoted by modern historians of cryptography which look at the scytale as a simple and impractical 'stick', Diepenbroek argues for the scytale's deserved status as a vehicle for secret communication in the ancient world. By way of comparison, Diepenbroek demonstrates that the cryptographic principles employed in the Spartan scytale show an encryption and coding system that is no less complex than some 20th-century transposition ciphers. The result is that, contrary to the accepted point of view, scytale encryption is as complex and secure as other known ancient ciphers. Drawing on salient comparisons with a selection of modern transposition ciphers (and their historical predecessors), the reader is provided with a detailed overview and analysis of the surviving classical sources that similarly reveal the potential of the scytale as an actual cryptographic and steganographic tool in ancient Sparta in order to illustrate the relative sophistication of the Spartan scytale as a practical device for secret communication. This helps to establish the conceptual basis that the scytale would, in theory, have offered its ancient users a secure method for secret communication over long distances.




Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol II of 2)


Book Description

Reproduction of the original: Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol II of 2) by John Addington Symonds




How to Say No


Book Description

An entertaining and enlightening collection of ancient writings about the philosophers who advocated simple living and rejected unthinking conformity The Cynics were ancient Greek philosophers who stood athwart the flood of society’s material excess, unexamined conventions, and even norms of politeness and thundered “No!” Diogenes, the most famous Cynic, wasn’t shy about literally extending his middle finger to the world, expressing mock surprise that “most people go crazy over a finger.” When asked why he was called Diogenes the Dog, he replied “because I fawn on those who give, I bark at those who don’t, and I bite scoundrels.” How to Say No is a delightful collection of brief ancient writings about Cynicism that captures all the outrageousness, wit, and wisdom of its remarkable cast of characters—from Diogenes in the fourth century BCE to the column-stander Symeon Stylites in late antiquity. With their “less is more” approach to life, the Cynics speak urgently to our world of climate change, economic uncertainty, and psychic malaise. Although the Cynics weren’t writers, their memorable utterances and behavior were recorded by their admirers and detractors, and M. D. Usher offers fresh new translations of appealing selections from this body of writing—ranging from street sermons and repartee to biography and snapshots of Cynics in action. Complete with introductions to the volume and each selection as well as the original Greek and Latin on facing pages, this lively book demonstrates why the Cynics still retain their power to surprise us and make us laugh—and to make us think and question how we live.