The History of Menander in Athens

Menander's comedies followed a routine pattern. Each play is five acts in length, preceded by a prologue which often has some sort of divine character setting the stage. Women were not permitted as actors, so all roles would have been played by male actors who would wear feminine clothes, wigs, and masks to disguise their voices. One notable change with Menandrian comedies was the reduced presence of the chorus. For playwrights like Euripides and Escalists, the chorus was a group of vocalists who would function akin to a narrator of sorts.

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