Norma Miller really loves her some Menander. Yes, I've started into her collection of plays and fragments by Menander (which I'll title Menander: Plays and Fragments for convenience sake).
A little outside of my usual practice, I decided to read the introduction to this collection. It's quite animated for something about ancient history. Moreso, it's something that's working in tandem with A History of Education in Antiquity. Menander's era (341/2-291 B.C.) is just a slice of what Marrou has written of, but the trends that he tracks are visible in Miller's history, too. Most notably that the middle class and its immersion in Greek literature made for a shift in the nature of Greek comedy.
While Menander was writing, comedy was no longer as broad as it was in Aristophanes and its focus had moved from general situations to more private affairs. These two changes reflect an increasingly middle class audience, a group concerned with and aware of their social lives and literature.
All of this context for what's coming next is great. Actually, I'm rather glad that I read this introduction since it'll bring what's left of Menander's work into a sharper focus.
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