This blog post looks at Dionysalexandros by Cratinus. For my post providing background info on ancient Greek comedies click here: https://glitternight.com/2011/09/22/at-long-last-my-ancient-greek-comedy-posts-begin/
Cratinus was one of the Big 3 in Attic Old Comedy along with Aristophanes and Eupolis, both of whom were much younger than he was. From the fragmentary evidence available on Dionysalexandros, it appears to be a possibly unique hybrid of Attic Old Comedy and traditional Satyr Plays.
THE PLAY
In Dionysalexandros Cratinus pushed the envelope by blurring the line between comedy and Satyr Plays, which were the traditional mythical burlesques that the ancient Greek tragedians wrote as a comical piece after each of their tragic trilogies.
Satyr plays always featured Dionysus’ followers the satyrs, the drunken Silenus and often Dionysus himself. As in the comedies Dionysus would be depicted in Satyr Plays as a bumbler and a coward, because though the tragedies and comedies were part of the festivals devoted to that god he was able to laugh at himself.
At any rate the tragedians would write the satyrs and their divine leader into traditional myths for comic effect. Think of Simpsons episodes where the characters were written into classical stories or movies. Satyr Plays were, according to some scholars, the origin of the word satire, but others dispute this. (Scholars arguing over something? Big surprise!) Continue reading
POLEIS – In this post I’m looking at Poleis (Cities), written by Eupolis, one of the Big Three of Ancient Greek Comedy along with Aristophanes and Cratinus. This satirical comedy is dated from approximately 422 B.C. to 419 B.C. Like so many other such comedies it has survived only in fragmentary form. 
Merchant Ships was written and publicly staged in approximately 424 B.C. to 421 B.C. according to the available data. It was another of Aristophanes’ comedies protesting the pointlessness of the Greek city-states warring among themselves instead of uniting against the encroachments of the Persian Empire.
Welcome to another one of Balladeer’s Blog’s posts about ancient Greek comedies, this one written by Cratinus, who was one of the Big Three of Attic Old Comedy with Aristophanes and Eupolis the other two. 
What Meet the Beatles was to the British Invasion, The Banqueters was to Attic Old Comedy. (Yes, I love silly comparisons) This play was the first comedy written by Aristophanes, the leading light of ancient Greek comedy, and was performed at the Lenaea festival of 427 BC when Aristophanes was nineteen years old. The Banqueters won second prize, making it a very auspicious debut for the man often considered the greatest political satirist of the ancient world. 
For some prep as I at last get back into reviewing the surviving fragments of ancient Greek comedy every now and then, here’s my 2011 review of Demoi by Eupolis. Along with Aristophanes and Cratinus, Eupolis was one of the Big Three of Attic Old Comedy. Background info is 
AUTOLYCUS (420s B.C.) – Balladeer’s Blog examines the ancient Greek comedy Autolycus. This play was written by Eupolis who, along with Aristophanes and Cratinus, constituted the Big Three of Attic Old Comedy. As with so many comedies of the time period Autolycus has survived only in fragmentary form, unfortunately. 
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