342 B.C.E.–c. 292 B.C.E.

Comic playwright

The Master of New Comedy.

Menander was born in 342 B.C.E., a native Athenian who may have had family connections to the Greek theater of which he became such an integral part. Some sources relay that he was the nephew of the well-known Middle Comedy playwright Alexis, none of whose works survive. Ancient references also tell that Menander studied with the philosopher Theophrastus, Aristotle's successor as the head of the Peripatetic school of philosophy at Athens. He served in the military with Epicurus, another philosopher whose doctrine, Epicureanism, involved the pursuit of wisdom and happiness by relying on human perception rather than religious belief. These associations may account for much of the philosophical content of Menander's plays. Nearly 100 titles of plays are attributed to Menander, but very little of his writing survives today. Most of the manuscripts of...