ATTITUDES TO THE LAW IN MENANDER: PAROCHIAL PANHELLENISM AND RADICAL CONSERVATISM

Abstract This article examines attitudes to the law in Menander. It argues that the law is given a specifically Athenian context and that it can give us an insight into the concerns and values of the playwright and his society. By analysing the ways in which characters perceive issues of legality, the article stresses the importance of humanity and personal character in the plays’ dramatization of the interface between private lives and public institutions in early Hellenistic Athens. The article highlights how the ambivalence and the multivocality which are inherent in Menander’s dramatic technique allow for varying responses and for the presentation of radical views.