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Menander

(Encyclopedia)Menander mĭnănˈdər [key], 342?–291? b.c., Greek poet, the most famous writer of New Comedy. He wrote ingenious plays using the love plot as his theme; his style is elegant and elaborate and his ...

Philemon, ancient Greek poet

(Encyclopedia)Philemon fīlēˈmən [key], c.360–c.265 b.c., Greek poet of the New Comedy. He was in ancient times considered second only to Menander. Fragments of his plays, originally numbering 97, survive. ...

Terence

(Encyclopedia)Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) tĕrˈəns [key], b. c.185 or c.195 b.c., d. c.159 b.c., Roman writer of comedies, b. Carthage. As a boy he was a slave of Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, who brou...

Bactria

(Encyclopedia)Bactria băkˈtrēə [key], ancient Greek kingdom in central Asia. Its capital was Bactra, present-day Balkh in N Afghanistan. Before the Greek conquest, the region was an eastern province of the Pers...

Pali canon

(Encyclopedia)Pali canon päˈlē [key], sacred literature of Buddhism. The texts in the Pali canon are the earliest Buddhist sources, and for Theravada Buddhists, who claim to conserve the original teachings of th...

comedy

(Encyclopedia)comedy, literary work that aims primarily to provoke laughter. Unlike tragedy, which seeks to engage profound emotions and sympathies, comedy strives to entertain chiefly through criticism and ridicul...

Greek literature, ancient

(Encyclopedia)Greek literature, ancient, the writings of the ancient Greeks. The Greek Isles are recognized as the birthplace of Western intellectual life. The next period of Greek literature reached its zenith i...

drama, Western

(Encyclopedia)drama, Western, plays produced in the Western world. This article discusses the development of Western drama in general; for further information see the various national literature articles. During ...

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