History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Four Comedies : The Braggart Soldier, The Brothers Menaechmus, The Haunted House, The Pot of Gold (Oxford World's Classics)

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Interesting...
Four Comedies...

Four Comedies : The Braggart Soldier, The Brothers Menaechmus, The Haunted House, The Pot of Gold (Oxford World's Classics)
Plautus
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192838962

Book Description

Plautus was the single greatest influence on Western comedy. Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors and Moliere's The Miser are two subsequent classics directly based on Plautine originals. Plautus himself borrowed from the Greeks, but his jokes, rapid dialogue, bawdy humour, and irreverent characterizations are the original work of an undisputed genius. The comedies printed here show him at his best, and professor Segal's translations keep their fast, rollicking pace intact, making these the most readable and actable versions available. His introduction considers Plautus' place in ancient comedy, examines his continuing influence, and celebrates his power to entertain.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting..........2003-06-27

This book makes for a good read, though it is not all that funny in today's context. I would recommend this book if you are interested in gaining a deeper understanding the minds of ancient peoples.

Four Comedies..........2000-04-24

a worthwhile read for anyone. but look into it if your taking a college course on roman comedy especially though. it's not a quick read but a good one. the "brothers Menaechmus" stays the truest to roman comedy forn with the five staple characters all in there. not for those wiht short attention spans.

Plautus: Menaechmi (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)

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A generally good source
Plautus: Menaechmi

Plautus: Menaechmi (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)
Plautus
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521349702

Book Description

Plautus' comedy Menaechmi was the main inspiration for Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. In this edition Dr. Gratwick provides a newly constituted text, a commentary for students giving help with language and context, and an introduction that sheds new light on the interpretation of the play and on Plautus' place in the development of European comedy. Central to Dr. Gratwick's treatment is an analysis of the various meters employed by Plautus, which challenges many conventional views but also offers the student practical assistance with the technical problems involved.

Customer Reviews:

A generally good source.......2007-03-13

Having just completed teaching this text in a course, I'd say there is one main difficulty. This looks like an old typescript done in courier font that's been put into book form. It would benefit from a reset of the font and a more readable design. Other than that, maybe an update with more recent articles on the play would be in order. I'll use it again, but hope Bolchazy Carducci will do a remake. Otherwise a very usable book.

Plautus: Menaechmi.......2006-11-03

This is a first class commentary and a must for anyone interested in the history of Roman comedy. The introduction is clear; the explanation of meter is advanced but insightful; the discussion of the Greek origins of the comedy of errors is useful; and the commentary is tailored to the mid- to upper-level Latin student. I used this text for an advanced Latin course and found it quite good. The single drawback is the play itself - its crafting, structure, and sense of humor can appear clumsy and foreign to the tastes of modern students.

Aristotle on Comedy: Towards a Reconstruction of Poetics II

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"Only Man between Animals Can Laugh" (Aristotle)

Aristotle on Comedy: Towards a Reconstruction of Poetics II
Richard Janko
Manufacturer: Duckworth Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0715631691

Book Description

In 1839 the Tractatus Coislinianus, a summarised treatise on comedy, was published from a tenth-century manuscript. Its discoverer suggested that it derived from the lost second book of Aristotle’s "Poetics," which inaugurated the systematic study of comedy, but it was soon condemned as an ignorant compilation verging on forgery, and thus matters stood until the first publication of "Aristotle on Comedy" in 1984. Richard Janko’s edition of the text is accompanied by a facing translation, interpretive essays, reconstruction and commentary. The book is now made available in paperback for the first time, with a new Preface and additional bibliography.

Customer Reviews:

"Only Man between Animals Can Laugh" (Aristotle).......2006-01-18

This is the story of an ancient manuscript of the X century, known as "Coislinianus 120" (now at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris) after the name of his last owner, a French collector of XVII century.
This manuscript, that once belonged to the monastery of Great Lavra on Mounth Athos, was sent to Seguier de Coislin from Cyprus by father Athanasios Rethor in 1643.
It was ignored for almost two centuries, until in 1839 J.A.Cramer, a classical scholar, analyzing its content, a rather haphazard collection of patristic and Aristotelian extracts, found what he believed to be "the words... of a commentator on Aristotle's (lost) treatise on the art of poetry".
*
This is also the tale of a fascination with a book: Aristotle's almost mythical Second Book of Poetics, whose quest has been as enthusiastic as that of the mythical Holy Grail.
*
Readers acquainted with Umberto Eco's "Name of the Rose" will remember the plot of the novel, based on this fabled book.
And yet there is not even certainty that Aristotle did effectively write this second treatise, but for some allusions and scattered, highly debated citations (the philosopher wrote also a book "On Poets" also lost and often confused with the two Poetics).
In any case, unlike Poetics I, this book did not survive the Middle Age.
*
Poetics I was respected but not widely appreciated in the classical times.
It was during the Renaissance that Aristotle's Poetics ended to be one of the emblems of the new culture, being printed, translated, commented, revered and debated for more than two centuries, until the famous "Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes" in late XVII century France.
*
Being so important to the new sensibility, it was almost natural for some scholars to begin wondering what Poetics II could have said: in the XVI century some of them began attempts to reconstruct the lost second book.
It was from one of these attempts Umberto Eco got the inspiration for "The name of the Rose" (see N.A. Basbanes - Patience and Fortitude, pag.222-223).
*
Richard Janko's "Aristotle on Comedy. Towards a Reconstruction of Poetics II" is a very specific book.
*
It is first of all the critical text of the manuscript, presented with in original Greek text with English translation and the usual linguistic comments.
*
It is a scientific and highly interesting attempt of restoration of the original unabridged content, through a collection of passages from other extant works of the Greek philosophers.
*
It is lastly a curious specimen of the amazing tools of classical philology in deepening our knowledge of an ancient text, of its transmission and of the original shape it did have.
Not casually Janko introduce his work with three different citations: the first rather predictably from Aristotle, of the other two one from Eco and one from Conan Doyle - as to remark the investigative dimension of his work.
*
Janko's case is well presented and well defended.
He demonstrates the terms used in the treatise are in quantity (about 90%) and quality consistent with those used in other Aristotle's work.
This excludes the suspect of a later Byzantine forgery.
He demonstrates all the references to ancient comedy are consistent with the period in which Aristotle lived (noteworthy is the absence of Menander, the second most important Greek play-writer after Aristophanes, who began to stage his comedies a few years after the death of the philosopher).
This absence is restricting the time-span of composition of the original source of the Coisliniaus.
He ends up showing that the work is consistent with Aristotelian ideas (specially with regard to ethics and catharsis), as opposed to the theories of Theophrastus, an other likely author of this work.
Language, references, inner consistency: all points to Aristotle.
*
Yet this attribution leaves many other questions open to debate.
Why wasn't this work so widely known as Poetics I ?
When and why was it definitively lost ?
How was made the original source of the Coislinianus?
This is the qualitative part of the analysis, made mostly of guesses and hypotheses.
*
While the First book on Poetics dealt with Tragedy, a genre already established and codified, Poetics II was dealing with a genre that was still changing and far different from the "modern" comedy, the one we today use to associate with the genre and created especially by the plays of Menander.
So while Poetics I was still valid in its interpretation, Poetics II was apparently obsolete soon after its composition.
This situation was crucial in the change from scrolls to parchment since Poetics II was not copied in the new form and soon it was lost for ever.
Janko is also able to deduce from textual errors that the original source of the Coislinianus had to be written in Greek minuscule, this one possibly already a copy from a former scroll in capital letters.
*
I still did not mention the content of Poetics II - and will not mention, since this is the classic case in which shape is more important than content. Besides this review is already growing a bit too long, and I didn't perceive any conspicuous contribution to the study of Aristotelian ideas.
*
As I mentioned earlier, this is a very specific work.
It is best suited to scholars and unfortunately the author doesn't do much to please a lay reader (some Greek citations are even presented with no translation).
No effort is done to introduce the relevant points to a non scholarly reader: the period in which was written, the systems of transmissions, the terms of the Aristotelian debate both in the ancient times and Renaissance, and lastly a panorama of the different opinions on the authenticity of the work.
None the less it remains a hugely interesting work and the author is no doubt worthy of the warmest praise.

If you kept reading to these last lines, there is a chance you may be interested in other works I had the chance to read about the same topic. Unfortunately, the most interesting is in Italian and still not translated to date into English:
- Luciano Canfora - " Un mestiere Pericoloso. La Vita quotidiana dei filosofi Greci" (Sellerio). Canfora is both an important Greek scholars and an excellent writer. In the chapters dedicated to Aristotle he relays the fascinating story of the transmission of the Corpus Aristotelicum. Actually all the essoteric (from the Greek prefix EXO- "outside") works of the philosopher (those he willingly published during his life) have been totally lost. We have most of the esoteric (from the Greek prefix ESO- "inside") works, those intended for private use and lectures. Aristotle died 322 b.C. and left all these manuscripts to his family and they were completely disregarded and almost forgotten until Sulla included them in the booty after the war against Mitridathes (86 b.c).
Not scholarly but mentioned and/or relevant to this theme:
- Umberto Eco - "The name of the Rose". This is a must read, both for its huge learning and for its almost perfect Borgesian plot. Eco is an uneven writer, but this is undoubtedly his masterpiece. I was amused in comparing the opening lines of the lost book as imagined in this novel and as recreated in the essay.
- Nicholas A. Basbanes - "Patience and Fortitude" Rather average - and sometimes dull: relevant here for the interview with Umberto Eco about the sources of inspiration for his novel.
*
You are most welcome if you can suggest other books about the same theme or just share ideas and comments!
Thanks for reading.

Love Song for the Life of the Mind: An Essay on the Purpose of Comedy

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Love Song for the Life of the Mind: An Essay on the Purpose of Comedy
Gene Fendt
Manufacturer: Catholic University of America Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0813214858

Book Description

Love Song for the Life of the Mind develops the view of comedy that, the author argues, would have been set out in Aristotle's missing second book of Poetics. As such it is both a philosophical and a historical argument about Aristotle; and the theory of comedy it elucidates is meant to be trans-historically and trans-culturally accurate.

After a preface that sets out the primacy and centrality of mimesis for both individual and societal development, the argument about the dramatic arts begins from a crux in Aristotle's extant analysis of tragedy where he seems to contradict himself on the kind of plot that is the best for tragedy. Gene Fendt argues, against a variety of formalist and intellectualist interpretations, that the only way out of the problem is through reference to the final cause of tragedy as a catharsis of pity and fear. This fundamental tenet of Aristotle's theory of tragedy, the author maintains, is the first clue to understanding comedy, which also must be defined not formally but in reference to its final cause. Fendt argues that the final cause of comedy must be a catharsis of eros and sympathy. In the course of his argument he shows how that catharsis is made available to the excessive, the deficient, and the virtuous members of the audience in Aristophanes' Acharnians, Shakespeare's As You Like It and Stoppard's Arcadia.

The book closes by exploring how this Aristotelian argument might underlie the Symposium's claim that the fine artist of tragedy should also create fine comedy. The book will appeal both to those interested in Aristotle and those interested in dramatic theory and criticism.

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Hey, join the party!

hilarious

Comedic

timeless classic comedy

The Comedies (Penguin Classics)
Terence
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Pot of Gold and Other Plays (Classics)

Menander, The Plays and Fragments (Oxford World's Classics)

Four Tragedies and Octavia (Penguin Classics)

Four Comedies : The Braggart Soldier, The Brothers Menaechmus, The Haunted House, The Pot of Gold (Oxford World's Classics)

The Rope and Other Plays

ASIN: 014044324X

Customer Reviews:

Hey, join the party!.......2006-11-22

Terence is the guy who said "I'm human; nothing human is alien to me." I think that's the most concise and eloquent expression ever of humanistic empathy and tolerance (San Francisco values!). But then, Terence was also reputed to be Nero's favorite dramatist. Go figure! At any rate, I'm glad to see so many other reviewers getting a kick out of Latin literature.If you still remember any high school Latin, you'll find P. Terenti Afri in print, ISBN 0-19-814636-1.

hilarious.......2006-11-20

Wow. I've read plenty of dramas, but this was my first ancient comedy. My girlfriend and I read this together, and neither one of us expected to enjoy it very much. But to our surprise, within 2 pages we were laughing constantly. We usually pause to talk frequently when we read something together, but this one we read very quickly because the plots and situations engrossed us so much.

If you are looking to read and enjoy something truly classical, I suppose there's no better place to start than this.

I imagine the translator was not too strict, but she did a good job in the spirit that I imagine Terence would want: not too literal, but very enjoyable.

Comedic.......2003-06-27

This book is one of my favorite textbooks ever. The storylines are interesting, though perhaps not hilarious from a modern standpoint. They do however make excellent fodder for research papers and for a deeper understanding of the ancient world!

timeless classic comedy.......2002-12-21

Terence's character development is superb. He takes stock characters of past Greek plays and turns them around so that the reader sees that people are not black or white. They are rather gray with good and bad qualities. His stories develop around his characters and in each comedy there is a message that is as timesless as the dialogue and interaction between characters in his plays. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised with the mastery with which Terence took Greek plays and adapted them for his Roman audience. The editing was good, and I think that there is a little something for all readers in the comedies of Terence. They are timeless classics that draw a quiet smile from the reader rather than an outright laugh.

Menander: Heros, Theophoroumene, Karchedonios, Kitharistes, Kolax, Koneiazomenai, Leukadia, Misoumenos, Perikeiromene, Perinthia (Loeb Classical Library No. 459)

Average customer rating:

fabula incerta

Menander: Heros, Theophoroumene, Karchedonios, Kitharistes, Kolax, Koneiazomenai, Leukadia, Misoumenos, Perikeiromene, Perinthia (Loeb Classical Library No. 459)
Menander
Manufacturer: Loeb Classical Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0674995066

Book Description

Spectacular new finds, many of them in Egypt at Oxyrhynchus, have dramatically expanded the extant work of Menander since Allinson's one volume Loeb edition was published in 1921. This new Loeb Menander is three times the size of the Allinson volume. W. G. Arnott, internationally recognized Menander expert, brings us all of the work of the great Hellenistic comic playwright that is now available. A Greek text based on careful study of the discovered papyri faces a skillful translation that fits today's tastes, with full explanatory notes.

Volume II contains the surviving portions of ten Menander plays. Among these are the recently published fragments of Misoumenos ("The Man She Hated"), which sympathetically presents the flawed relationship of a soldier and a captive girl; and the surviving half of Perikeiromene ("The Girl with Her Hair Cut Short"), a comedy of mistaken identity and lovers' quarrel.

So influential in antiquity--his plays were adapted for the Roman stage by Plautus and Terence--Menander's comic art can at last be fully known and enjoyed again. It is a comedy that focuses on the hazards of love and trials of family life--as is typical of New Comedy, a style of which Menander is the leading writer.

Customer Reviews:

fabula incerta.......1999-02-16

I do not write in englis

The Greek Classics: Aristophanes - Eleven Plays (The Greek Classics)

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Great Book!
The Ancient Greeks were Real People
Funny Stuff Across the Ages

The Greek Classics: Aristophanes - Eleven Plays (The Greek Classics)
Aristophanes
Manufacturer: El Paso Norte Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0977340031

Book Description

Aristophanes, the great Greek Comedian, wrote perhaps forty comedies of which only the eleven presented here have survived. Renowned in his own time as a master of wit and satire, Aristophanes' comedies are almost modern in their irreverent look at, what was then, contemporary society. No subject was too elevated for Aristophanes' critical insight and sharp barbs. He poked fun at pomposity and posturing wherever he found it. These eleven comedies are a treasury of bawdy humor that still irks straight-laced moralists.

Included in this volume are all eleven of Aristophanes existing plays:

The Knights: 424 B.C. Attacks the political leader Cleon and his war policy.
The Acharnians: 426 B.C. Satirizes the war and makes fun of Euripides.
Peace: 422 B.C. The same theme which enlarges on the blessings of Peace
Lysistrata: 411 B.C. A burlesque conspiracy by the women to force a peace.
The Clouds: 423 B.C. Satirizes Socrates, the Sophists and the New Education.
The Wasps: 422 B.C. Makes fun of the Athenian passion for litigation.
The Birds: 414 B.C. Describes a new and improved city, Cloud-cuckoo-town.
The Frogs: 405 B.C. A satire on Euripides and the New Tragedy.
The Thesmophoriazusae: 412 B.C. Another literary satire of Euripides.
The Ecclesiazusae: 392 B.C. Pokes fun at ideal Utopias, like Plato's Republic.
Plutus: 408 and 388 B.C. A whimsical allegory more than a regular comedy.

These plays formed the foundation of the art form of the satire; using humor to make a political or philosophical point at the expense of those persons and institutions too powerful to be directly attacked. They stand as an amusing monument to the ingenuity and wit of the Ancient Greeks.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......2007-03-25

The Greek Classics: Aristophanes - Eleven Plays is a great book. It is considered to be a classic for good reasons: it is a good read, it deals with really important matters, it is superb literature and it is a landmark in the history of civilization.

For about two thousand years, it has been on the reading list of most educated people in the Western Hemisphere. Undoubtedly, it will still be part of the curriculum at most of the world's colleges and universities two thousand years from now. You just can't consider yourself to have received a proper education without having read this great Greek classic.

While you are at it, you should also read:
The Greek Classics: Aeschylus - Seven Plays
The Greek Classics: Euripides - Nineteen Plays
and
The Greek Classics: Sophocles - Seven Plays

Classics like these are not stuffy, pompous, overblown literature as some ignorant anti-intellectuals might think. They are genuine looks at life by excellent writers who had something important to say - and said it well.

The Ancient Greeks were Real People.......2006-11-15

Aristophanes is intelligent, bawdy, rude and outright funny. I had no idea that the ancient Greeks were really Real People until I read this book.

Just a few months ago, I received the set of Greek Classics: Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides and Sophocles; as a present, and I have been astounded at how relevant they are to this age. I have also been struck by the fact that these four volumes contain all of the surviving works of these great Greek Playwrights.

I have just finished reading the entire set and I am already looking forward to re-reading them. For me, reading these ancient works is a way of touching the past that creates a bond to all of humanity across the ages.

Funny Stuff Across the Ages.......2006-09-02

This collection of the surviving works of Aristophanes is a time capsule that shows quite clearly that humor and a sense of fun were present even in ancient Greece. The sometimes crude and crass jocularity had a point - to skewer the opposition. It has succeeded wildly throughout the ages. Parody and ridicule are as effective as they are timeless, particularly when really funny.

As you read Aristophanes, and find yourself laughing time and again, you can't help but recognize some of the jokes and ask yourself how many times in the history of the world have these jibes been reused. Some of them have been so overworked that they have lost much of their zing - but it is marvelous to recognize that they were probably used first, and best, by Aristophanes.

It is important to note that humor is just as important a part of a classical education as is drama or science. This book is one of the very best examples.

The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy

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How to talk dirty in classical Greek!

The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy
Jeffrey Henderson
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195066855

Book Description

The pervasive and unrestrained use of obscenity has long been acknowledged as a major feature of fifth-century Attic Comedy; no other Western art form relies so heavily on the sexual and scatological dimensions of language. This acclaimed book, now in a new edition, offers both a comprehensive discussion of the dynamics of Greek obscenity and a detailed commentary on the terminology itself. After contrasting the peculiar characteristics of the Greek notion of obscenity to modern-day ideas, Henderson discusses obscenity's role in the development of Attic Comedy, its historical origins, varieties, and dramatic function. His analysis of obscene terminology sheds new light on Greek culture, and his discussion of Greek homosexuality offers a refreshing corrective to the idealized Platonic view. He also looks in detail at the part obscenity plays in each of Aristophanes' eleven surviving plays. The latter part of the book identifies all the obscene terminology found in the extant examples of Attic Comedy, both complete plays and fragments. Although these terminological entries are arranged in numbered paragraphs resembling a glossary, they can also be read as independent essays on the various aspects of comic obscenity. Terms are explained as they occur in each individual context and in relation to typologically similar terminology. With newly corrected and updated philological material, this second edition of Maculate Muse will serve as an invaluable reference work for the study of Greek drama.

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How to talk dirty in classical Greek!.......2005-03-18

I really enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it for the neophyte student in classical theater studies. Jeffrey Henderson repeats the actual Greek characters for common sexual body parts so often that even the casual reader soon begins to feel like a real classical scholar (or an ancient sailor)!

Scholars have traditionally declined to elucidate, evaluate or even discuss the nature and function of sexual and body function language in Attic Comedy (Attican, or Athenian, new comedy, that lasted throughout the reign of the Macedonian rulers, ending about 260 B.C.) This despite the fact that Aristophanes and his contemporaries wove rich, ribald tapestries of obscene words, allusions, double entendres and bawdy sight gags throughout their works. Classical researcher Jeffrey Henderson, in his The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy, attributes this to a notion that obscenity has only peripheral relevance to the actual meaning and value of the plays (they were "attention getters" to win the favor of restless audiences or, conversely, such things were not considered obscene by the Greeks). Fallacious assumptions, says Henderson. The academy's recent embrace of the undeniable accomplishments of solid gay and feminist scholarship in the areas of human sexuality and its expressions has freed researchers in the area of Classic (Old and Middle) comedy to finally acknowledge the integral connection of obscenity to the main themes of the plays, the stage actions, the development of plot and the characterization of personae. To this end, Henderson gives, in The Maculate Muse, what may be the foremost comprehensive attempt to identify and discuss all the extant obscene terminology of Attic comedy and to assess the historical, cultural and literary factors which led to obscenity's focal position in the plays of Aristophanes and others of his day.

The author modestly admits that much more needs to be done. Henderson makes a case for the need for further investigation of, not merely group behavior and relative behavior to societal institutions (like marriage and public events) but also exact sexual behavior (note: this will be difficult if not impossible due to lack of objective documentation...people in every society censor/idealize their private behaviors when representing them). This reprint of Jeffrey Henderson's original 1971 dissertation, with new preface, addenda, corrigenda and retractanda, is a "starting point" and a valuable tool for a deeper appreciation of the social context of the Attic comedies.

Despite the current climate of sexual conservatism in America, contemporary theater is still a glorious window into the secular and profane organic and psychosexual forces, hand in hand with intellect and society, which coshape our lives. A sensitive reevaluation of the realistic framework of the 5th century Greek comic writers reveals that the vagaries of sexuality and our attitudes toward it in the arts is an amorphous constant, alternately suppressed and celebrated, but never absent in the text and/or subtext of the theatrical tradition.

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Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus
Erich Segal
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195041666

Book Description

"Mr. Segal has performed the by no means trifling task of making [Plautus's] achievement credible and understandable."--Times Literary Supplement. "It is refreshing to find Plautus examined for what he undeniably was--a theatrical phenomenon."--Classical World. "We certainly need in English a book devoted to Plautus alone and here we have it."--Phoenix. "Many readers will do as I have done: read Roman Laughter with enjoyment and profit."--Classical Philology. "Of all the Greek and Roman playwrights," Erich Segal writes, "Titus Maccius Plautus is the least admired and the most imitated." In Roman Laughter, the first book-length study of Plautus, Segal argues that this neglected writer, often denounced by scholars for such crimes as "barbarous clownery," merits our serious attention precisely because he was the most successful poet of the ancient world. He analyzes the reasons behind this success, placing the author in his social and historical context and observing that Plautus's wildly comedic flouting of Roman law and custom had a cathartic effect upon a people bound by rule in every aspect of their lives. This expanded edition contains a new preface that reconsiders the work of Plautus in light of recent scholarship and also contains essays on the Amphitryon and the Captivi.

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