Abstract/Summary

The present study focuses on the development of Attic comedy as it is evidenced in four fragmentary plays by Aristophanes. The plays that are discussed and analysed are parodies of tragedies and present characteristics that are not prominent in the extant plays. The aim of this study is twofold: to demonstrate how Aristophanes composed plays as parodies, heavily relying on a tragic model, and, through these plays, to show how he contributed to the development of Attic comedy after the 5th c. BC. The fragmentary corpus of Aristophanes contains elements such as the use and re-use of myths, which are already exploited by other authors, as well as the production of a large-scale burlesque, that is whole plays which appear to have been composed as parodies of tragedies. Polyidus, Daedalus, Aeolosicon, and Cocalus belong to this branch of the Aristophanic oeuvre and are excellent case-studies that evidence the inner development and evolution of Aristophanic comedy. This study thus revisits Old Comedy and enriches the scholarship with new insights and new discoveries regarding Aristophanes, his literary interactions, as well as his innovating and influential work.