Philemon And Menander: A New Greek Comedy

New Greek Comedy was and will be remembered as the well known and influential form of theatrical performances across ancient Greece in in early 3rd to mid 2nd century BCE. New Greek Comedy came about after the death of Alexander the Great in 323, until around 260 BC, when the reign of the Macedonian rulers in Greece became in effect. It offers a mildly satiric view of contemporary Athenian society, especially in its familiar and domestic aspects. Unlike Old Comedy, which parodied public figures and events, New Comedy showcased countless average fictitious civilian that have no supernatural or heroic implications.

There were many famous playwrights of this genre, such as Philemon, and Diphilus. Philemon and Diphilus who also had many other important factors that helped New Greek Comedy become such an influential component to comedy. Philemon was a comedian that plotted his comedies around the philosophical issues going on around him. While Diphilus was the type of comedian whose comedies were known for broad

Menander’s plays were held to the same standards of literary works of western Europe for over 800 years after his death, but tragically at some point his manuscript plays and poems were both lost and/or destroyed, until the end of the 19th Century, all the information that was known of Menander were fragments quoted by other authors who pieced facts together. It is rumored that Menander's work were in the Library of Alexandria at the time during the infamous burning of the library during Caesar's Civil War. Julius Caesar was surrounded at Alexandria in 48 BCE. Many ancient sources describe in detail Caesar setting his own on fire ships and it was stated that the fire that Caesar started spread to all throughout the library, destroying it. Dyskolos, Menander’s only play survived in almost in