The Political Context

About the lecture

In this module, we think about the various political contexts that pertained for each of Aristophanes, Menander, and Plautus and Terence, and how this impacted the kind of comedies that each wrote.

About the lecturer

John Wilkins is a Professor in Classics at the University of Exeter. He is a specialist in the history of food and medicine in Greco-Roman culture, with current interests in literature (eg comic drama) and medicine (especially nutrition). The texts he is currently working on are the Deipnosophistae (Philosophers at Dinner) of Athenaeus and On Maintaining Good Health of Galen, both written in the last 2nd/early 3rd centuries AD, at a time when Greek authors were reviewing the previous millennium of Greek culture.