Classical Comedy

The ideal single-volume introduction to the greatest masterpieces of ancient comedy From the fifth to the second century B.C., theatrical comedy flourished in Greece and Rome. This new anthology brings together four essential masterworks of the genre: Aristophanes’ bold, imaginative The Birds; Menander’s The Girl from Samos, which explores popular contemporary themes of mistaken identity and sexual misbehavior; and two later Roman comic plays—Plautus’s The Brothers Menaechmus, the inspiration for Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors; and Terence’s bawdy yet sophisticated double love plot, The Eunuch. Together, these four plays capture the genius of classical comedy for students, theatergoers, actors, lovers of satire, and anyone interested in the ancient world.

Erich Segal has taught classics at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton and is currently an honorary fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. The author, most recently, of The Death of Comedy, he has also written nine bestselling novels.