HIST 4003 Democratic Athens Paper 2 (3200 Words) Due December 3 by 10:45 am

We read three “old comedies” of Aristophanes for class, all of which were written in the late 5th century. Attic comedy continued to evolve over the course of the fourth century, eventually developing into “new comedy.” Te greatest poet of new comedy was Menander, although only one of his works survives substantially complete, the Dyskolos (Bad-Tempered Man), from the late 4th century, or 100 years afer Aristophanes. For this paper you will read the Dyskolos (attached) and examine how it differs from the plays of Aristophanes and what that shows about the developments in Athenian society over the course of the fourth century. Some points of comparison between Aristophanes and Menander you may want to consider include, but are not limited, to:

• Te hero • Te types of characters in the plays and their social status • Te driving motivations of the characters and the plot, and how they are resolved • Te antagonists and how they are defeated • Te actual setting of the plays and the role that plays in the action • Te depiction of the city and city life, the countryside and country life • Te relationships of parents and children • Te portrayal of and role of women • Te portrayal of and role of slaves • Te role of politics • Te role of money and wealth

Based on your comparisons, explain how comedy has changed across the fourth century, and what this might show about the changes in Athenian tastes, Athenian values, Athenian concerns, and Athenian society. You can consider material on the fourth century covered in class lectures as well, but otherwise you are to limit your analysis to the four comedies themselves - do not look at modern scholarship or other sources. I want to read what you have to say, not what someone else has to say. Looking at outside sources will result in an automatic F on the assignment.

Use direct quotes sparingly and when they will directly illustrate your arguments. Otherwise, paraphrase and summarize as necessary. Whenever you are quoting, paraphrasing, or simply referring to something an author says, cite the particular passage in you paper. Cite the texts with the following abbreviations: Acharnians: Ach, Clouds: Cl, Lysistrata: Lys, Dyskolos: Dys. Cite parenthetically by line numbers, eg: (Ach. 540-550). Use Times New Roman or a similar serif font, double-spaced, with 1” margins all around. Don’t forget to put a page number at the bottom of each page and your name at the top of the first page. Papers are due on December 3 before the start of class. Send your paper as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment to [email protected]. Late papers will not be accepted except in cases of documented emergencies.