Six Surprising Truths About Ancient Comedy

"A Cultural History of Ancient Comedy" (Comedy Resources #2)

In some ways, largely because of social media clips, comedy seems like a really modern thing. The fact is: it’s ancient, very ancient. You may have never heard of it, but there’s actually an academic work that focuses on ancient comedy titled A Cultural History of Comedy in Antiquity (in fact, this is part of a 6-volume series that traces the history of comedy). Much to my surprise, this volume reveals that even thousands of years ago, comedy was an art form that was politically explosive, psychologically complex, and at times, deeply unsettling. In this “Resource Review,” I’ll offer a reflection on some of the things that stood out to me and helped shape or reshape my perspective on (ancient) comedy.

First, I’ve always assumed that humor, at its core, was/is universal. You know, the whole idea that laughter is a universal language. Well, this work offers a pretty counter-intuitive idea, something that challenges that. Drawing on Umberto Eco, the view is put forth that, unlike ancient tragedy, (ancient) comedy does not travel well across time. This is because humor is/was deeply embedded in the unstated social rules and cultural contexts of the times. Jokes that the original audience simply took for granted become rather opaque to me and you, outsiders thousands of years later.

According to Eco, the tragic journeys of, say, Orestes and Madame Bovary, which have held up through the centuries, may derive from societies differing to some extent from our own, but the rules regarding retribution and adultery are clear and, even more, are similar. In short: we can relate! In contrast, “comic works take the rule for granted, and don’t bother to restate it.” As a Bible Scholar, this sentiment resonates deep within my bones. In Biblical Studies, we have maxims like, “Everything is contextual.” Or: “Everything must be put in context.” Or: “Context is king.” Well, the same is true of ancient jokes. And thinking of ancient jokes/humor along these lines really reframed things for me. Jokes aren’t universal bits of entertainment. They are specific social artifacts, a kind of inside joke shared by an entire society in a specific time and place. (You had to be there!)'

Second, early Greek comedy was far from being light entertainment. It functioned as a powerful political tool, described as “a weapon by which the demos, the common people, could criticize outstanding individuals.” In that regard, while the jokes may change, the mechanism hasn’t! Think of late-night talk shows today. Then, just as now, the jokes are not always gentle satire but full-throated, public critiques of the most powerful people.

Take as an example Aristophanes’ play Knights, which was a “particularly venomous attack on Cleon, a leading politician and general.” Here’s the crazy part, the most incredible detail: prominent figures like Cleon and Socrates were often sitting in the audience, watching themselves being attacked and caricatured on stage. Talk about freedom of speech!

Third: In time, when comedy moved from Greece to Rome, the Romans did more than simply translate the Greek scripts. They remixed them. The Roman playwright Plautus called such remixing vortere barbare, by which he meant turning the Greek plays into a form suitable for their own “barbarian” culture. Along with the translation came a radical reinvention of comedy itself. Plautus, for instance, worked “blue,” that is, he infused the plays with a “vigorous obscenity,” an element often absent from the Greek New Comedy he was adapting for his Roman audience.

Fourth: Another discovery: ancient comedy didn’t always end happily. Many Roman comedies, particularly those by Terence, were really dark. These comedies had disturbing content that questioned the morality of the citizen elite. Terence’s plays often featured unsettling events, some of which forced me to reconsider whether I even know what the word “comedy” means. For instance, in his comedic play, Eunuchus, the plot involves a premeditated rape committed by a “sober young man with deliberate intent simply because he has seen the girl in the street and desires her.” The play concludes with the victim being married off to her rapist and another female character being forced to share her services, while “Neither woman is consulted about these outcomes.” Not a very happy ending! Also…doesn’t seem like comedy.

Fifth: In ancient Roman comedies, actors often evidently wore “grotesque body padding to deform the natural shape of the body.” This created what the book called an “anti-athletic” look, a deliberate contrast to the idealized Greek physique. Even more, male characters wore an ever-visible leather phallus that stuck out from under their short tunics. Ancient shock humor maybe? Evidently it was viewed a symbol of power, impotence, or ridicule depending on the scene. For more on this sorta graphic stuff, you’ll have to read the book for yourself, lol.

Sixth: When it comes to comedy, it might surprise some that towering philosophers like Plato and Aristotle dedicated considerable thought to its purpose and effects. They didn’t dismiss it as frivolous, but treated it as a significant and powerful cultural force. Because of that, it was/is worthy of deep analysis. Plato, for instance, expressed anxiety that watching comedy could have adverse effects on an individual’s character, fearing a spectator might become “a comedian at home.” (I supposed he’d not be a fan of “Dad Jokes”!)

In contrast to Plato, Aristotle offered a more analytical definition of humor: “an error or disgrace that does not involve pain or destruction.” That definition actually aligns pretty well with Jared Volle’s notion that comedy should be “playfully inappropriate.” At the end of the day, to understand the ancient art of humor is to see into a world where comedy could be a political weapon, a disturbing moral question, and/or a raw expression of a society’s deepest anxieties about power, sex, and the rules that held it all together. If you want to know more about the history of comedy in antiquity, pick up this book. There’s lots to consider. And it’s always good to know who you are and where you came from!

JOKE WRITING COURSE: By the way, if you have any interest at all in learning about your persona, how to write some jokes, or doing stand-up comedy, check out my online joke writing course, “The Joke Writer’s Lab,” HERE.