SexViolHist Bib: Representations: Literary Texts: Menander

»Menander (/məˈnændər/; Ancient Greek: Μένανδρος, romanized: Ménandros; c. 342/341 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek scriptwriter and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the City Dionysia is unknown.« (Extract from: Wikipedia)

K e y w o r d s

I. Chronological Index: Ancient History: Ancient Greece

II. Geographical Index: European History: Greek History

III. Topical Index: Types: General: Rape

B i b l i o g r a p h y

I. Author Index

[Info] Brown, Peter G. McC. »Athenian attitudes to rape and seduction. The evidence of Menander, Dyskolos 289-293.« Classical quarterly 41 (1991): 533-534.

[Info] James, Sharon L. »Reconsidering Rape in Menander's Comedy and Athenian Life: Modern Comparative Evidence.« Menander in Context. Edited by Alan H. Sommerstein. New York 2014: 24-39.

[Info] Lape, Susan. »Democratic ideology and the poetics of rape in Menandrian comedy.« Classical antiquity 20 (2001): 79-119.

[Info] Marshall, C.W. »Sex slaves in New Comedy.« Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greek Comic Drama. Edited by Ben Akrigg et al. Cambridge 2013: 173-196.

[Info] Omitowoju, Rosanna. Rape and the Politics of Consent in Classical Athens. Cambridge 2002.

II. Speaker Index

[Info] James, Sharon L. »Rethinking Rape in Menander's Comedy and Athenian Life: Modern Comparative Evidence.« Menander in Contexts. Nottingham 2012.

Ἐπιτρέποντεϲ (Epitrepontes)

I n f o r m a t i o n

»Epitrepontes (Greek: Ἐπιτρέποντεϲ, translated as The Arbitration or The Litigants) is an Ancient Greek comedy, written c. 300 BCE by Menander. Only fragments of the play have been found, primarily on papyrus, yet it is one of Menander's best-preserved plays. (...)
Epitrepontes (Greek: "arbitration") features a conflict - and attempts to resolve that conflict - between two Athenian households, as well as depicting conflicts in a marriage. The play's most famous incident features a comical scene of legal arbitration. Two parties want the court to decide who should take ownership of goods found alongside an abandoned baby. The play gradually reveals the baby's history, and the identity of its parents, in the process of a complex exploration of marriage and family. The play also features sexual assault.« (Extract from: Wikipedia)

K e y w o r d s

I. Chronological Index: Ancient History: Ancient Greece

II. Geographical Index: European History: Greek History

III. Topical Index: Cases: Fictional Offenders: Charisios; Fictional Victims: Pamphile | Types: General: Rape

B i b l i o g r a p h y

I. Author Index

[Info] Bathrellou, Eftychia. »Menander's Epitrepontes and the Festival of the Tauropolia.« Classical Antiquity 31 (2012): 151-192.

[Info] Gardner, Hunter H. »Ventriloquizing Rape in Menander's Epitrepontes.« Helios 39 (2012): 12-143.

[Info] Glazebrook, Allison. »A Hierarchy of Violence? Sex Slaves, Parthenoi, and Rape in Menander’s Epitrepontes.« Helios 42 (2015): 81-101.

II. Speaker Index

Σαμία (Samia)

I n f o r m a t i o n

»Samia (Ancient Greek: Σαμία), translated as The Girl From Samos, or The Marriage Connection, is an Ancient Greek comedy by Menander, who lived from c. 341/2 - 290 BC. It is the dramatist's second most extant play with up to 116 lines missing compared to Dyskolos’s 39. The date of its first performance is unknown, with 315 BC and 309 BC being two suggested dates.
Samia takes place in a street in Athens, outside the houses of Demeas, a wealthy bachelor, and Nikeratos, his less wealthy business partner. Prior to the events in the play Demeas had taken in a Samian girl, Chrysis, as his mistress despite misgivings. Chrysis becomes pregnant and was under orders from Demeas to dispose of the illegitimate child. At the same time Moschion, the adopted son of Demeas, seduced the daughter of Nikeratos, Plangon, and she too is pregnant. Both babies are born around the same time. Unfortunately, Chrysis' baby dies and she takes Plangon's to nurse instead.« (Extract from: Wikipedia)

K e y w o r d s

I. Chronological Index: Ancient History: Ancient Greece

II. Geographical Index: European History: Greek History

III. Topical Index: Cases: Fictional Offenders: Moschion; Fictional Victims: Plangon | Types: General: Rape

B i b l i o g r a p h y

I. Author Index

II. Speaker Index

[Info] McConnell, Thomas. »Rape, seduction, and New Comedy: A re-examination of the evidence of Menander's Samia.« Rape in Antiquity: 20 years on. London 2017.