ies, and is particularly remarkable for
pathos, so that Aristotle calls him "the most tragic of poets."

Comedy received its full development at Athens from Cratinus, who lived
in the age of Pericles. Cratinus, and his younger contemporaries
Eupolis and Aristophanes, were the three great poets of what is called
the Old Attic Comedy. The comedies of Cratinus and Eupolis are lost;
but of Aristophanes, who was the greatest of the three, we have eleven
dramas extant. ARISTOPHANES was born about 444 B.C. Of his private
life we know positively nothing. He exhibited his first comedy in 427,
and from that time till near his death, which probably happened about
380, he was a frequent contributor to the Attic stage. The OLD ATTIC
COMEDY was a powerful vehicle for the expression of opinion; and most
of the comedies of Aristophanes turned either upon political
occurrences, or upon some subject which excited the interest of the
Athenian public. Their chief object was to excite laughter by the
boldest and most ludicrous caricature; and provided that end was
attained the poet seems to have cared but little about the justice of
the picture. Towards the end of the career of Aristophanes the
unrestricted licence and libellous personality of comedy began
gradually to disappear. The chorus was first curtailed and then
entirely suppressed, and thus made way for what is called the Middle
Comedy, which had no chorus at all. The latter still continued to be
in some degree political; but persons were no longer introduced upon
the stage under their real names, and the office of the chorus was very
much curtailed. It was, in fact, the connecting link between the Old
Comedy and the New, or the Comedy of Manners. The NEW COMEDY arose
after Athens had become subject to the Macedonians. Politics were now
excluded from the stage, and the materials of the dramatic poet were
derived entirely from the fictitious adventures of persons in private
life. The two most distinguished writers of this school were PHILEMON
and MENANDER. Philemon was probably born about the year 360 B.C., and
was either a Cilician or Syracusan, but came at an early age to Athens.
He is considered as the founder of the New Comedy, which was soon
afterwards brought to perfection by his younger contemporary Menander.
The latter was an Athenian, and was born in B.C. 312. He was drowned
at the age of 52, whilst swimming in the harbour of Piraeus. He wrote
upwards of 100 c