Classics Theses and Dissertations

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The Influence of New Comedy on the Narrative of Longus’s Daphnis and Chloe
(University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Rutherford, Kyle; Eckerman, Christopher
Much effort has been spent on interrogating the origins of the Ancient Greek Romance novel, focusing primarily on genres from which the novel may have arisen. Scholars such as Thomas Hägg, B.P. Rearden, and Kathryn Chew have explored the general influence of New Comedy on the development of the novel. I argue that, beyond the general influence of New Comedy in Daphnis and Chloe that has been well attested, specific Menandrean plays, namely Dyskolos, Epitrepontes, and Perikeiromene, can be said to be the likely origin of Longus’s treatment of specific new comedic tropes. Some of these allusions have been discussed in prior scholarship examining the influence of New Comedy on the Ancient Novel, but some have seen little scholarly attention. I suggest that the preponderance of specific Menandrean influence in Daphnis and Chloe comports with Hägg’s conjecture that the Greek romance novel arose as a more accessible replacement for the romantic drama of increasingly inaccessible new comedic plays.