“Modus Vivendi” of an Athenian (Attic) Citizen (on Aristophanes’ Comedies)

Abstract

The paper shows how, based on selected texts by Aristophanes (5th — 4th centuries BC), a prominent representative of the ancient Attic comedy, it is possible to recreate the lifestyle (“modus vivendi”) of an Athenian (Attic) citizen. It is discussed that when solving the task, it is necessary to take into account what material to use, as well as how to build a narrative. It is noted that the proposed technique can also be applied to other comedies by Aristophanes (or the texts of other authors of the distant past — whether it be Antiquity, the Middle Ages or Modern Times), studied, for instance, in order to identify the characteristic features of one person or group of ones of a different social circle, to reconstruct individual or collective biographies.