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European Classical Literature Unit 3 Classical Roman Comedy
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Classical Roman Comedy
EUROPEAN CLASSICAL LITERATURE
Question And Answer
Summary
Euclio finds a pot of gold and he is a cheap old man who hides his gold from everyone. In the meantime Lyconides and Phaedra fell in love. Megadorus wants to settle down and he goes to Euclio and asks for his daughter’s hand. Euclio said yes just because Megadorus didn’t ask for dowry.
Euclio went to bury the pot into the woods but Lyconides’ servant Strobilus saw him and stole the pot. Lyconides asked Megadorus to let him have Phaedria. After that the Household Ghost of Euclio’s house tells the story of an old cheap man who also found gold and Phaedria prayed to him every day and in the end he gave the pot of gold to Euclio so he could have dowry for Phaedria.
Euclio yelled at his servant because he thought she was spying on him. Megadorus and Euclio met on the street and Megadorus was rushing the wedding so Euclio got scared about his gold. He said yes to the wedding just because Megadorus didn’t ask for dowry. Everyone arrived at Euclio’s house to prepare for the wedding.
When Euclio heard all of that rumour coming out his house he was convinced that somebody was about to steal his gold. Euclion hit one of the men in his house because he thought he was trying to rob him. He was convinced that Megadorus prepared all of this just so he could get his hands on the pot of gold. Megadorus leads a monologue from which we find out he is a really honest man.
Megador thinks out loud and Euclio ear drops on him. Euclion is still scared of his gold so he goes to hide it in the temple. Strobilus knows that Lyconides loves Phaedria and that he wants to marry her. Strobilus follows Euclio while Lyconides begs his mother to talk his uncle Megadorus out of the wedding.
The pregnant Phaedria goes into labour right when Euclio realises his pot is missing and he goes crazy.
In the end Strobilus appears and tells Lyconides that he found the pot of gold. Lyconides demands that the gold returns to Euclio and the story ends there because the rest of it was lost. It is assumed that Lyconides returns the pot of gold and in return gets Phaedria.
Characters Analysis
Euclio — cheap old man who lived with his servant and his daughter. With the help of his household God he finds the pot of gold and becomes obsessed with keeping it safe. He became selfish and suspicious of everyone. He was scared of marrying his daughter because he didn’t want to give dowry to anyone. He accepted Megadorus
proposal because he didn’t ask for dowry. His gold was more important than anything else.
Phaedria — Euclio’s daughter and she is in love with Lyconides. They have a child together and it is believed that they get married at the end
Lyconides — in love with Phaedria. He doesn’t care that she is poor and that her father will give her away without dowry. He tried everything just to be with her and their child.
Household God — he managed the whole situation and played around with the characters because he wanted to teach them the real values of life
Plautus Biography
Titus Maccius Plautus is the biggest Roman comedy writer. He lived between 254 and 184 BC. He worked as a stage worker, actor in Rome and then he got himself into some debts and became a slave.
Plautus style, filled with folk talk and jokes, became a role model to many other writers. Because many works were written in his tone he is considered to have written over 130 comedies while some believe that he only wrote 21 works that are completely his. The most popular ones are “Aulularia” or “The Pot of Gold” and “Menaechmi”.
In his works, he showed everyday city life scenes but he introduced rough comedy, music parts and elements of burlesque into the Greek comedy.
The. Plautus comedy is recognizable by the clever servant who has the most important role and twists the plot. Plautus is considered to be one of the most skilled descriptors of human characteristics that are worthy of being laughed at.
Question And Answer
1. What is a summary of The Pot of Gold by Plautus?
Ans: The Pot of Gold, a notable work of Roman comic master Plautus, concerns a miser named Euclio. He is consumed by an obsession with concealing his pot of gold from everyone in his social circle and household—even his beloved daughter, Phaedrium. Unbeknownst to anyone except an aged nurse, she is about to to give birth, having been raped by a drunken young neighbor named Lyconides. She is unaware of his identity.
Meanwhile, Lyconides’s mother, Eunomia, is attempt-ing to arrange the marriage of her wealthy brother Megadorus to an elderly, wealthy woman, despite his wish to marry the poor, but lovely Phaedrus. When Megadorus asks Euclio for the hand of his daughter in marriage, Euclio accepts with the condition that no dowry be included—suspicious as Euclio is of the motives of this suitor.
Lyconides, who also now wishes to be the husband of Phaedra, realises there is no time and no waste. He admits his foul deed to his mother, along with his desire to marry Phaedrus. The newly enlightened Eunomia succeeds in convincing her brother to cancel his wedding plans. In the interim, a slave of Lyconides steals Euclio’s gold while the latter is again attempting to hide it during preparations for the wedding.
Now it is Lyconides who asks Euclio for permission to marry his daughter. After some comic byplay concerning his gold, Euclio agrees. Lyconides’s slave pulls him aside, telling him that it is he who has Euclio’s gold and that he will only return it if his master will set him free. Lyconides agrees, the gold is returned to Euclio, and the young couple are married. Euclio, having finally come to his senses, gives them the gold as a wedding
2. What are the themes of The Pot of Gold by Plautus?
Ans: Plautus’ play, Pot of Gold (Latin: Aulularia) would have sounded like a funny to his Roman readers, too. Aulularia is a diminutive word translating to “little pot.” Like many of Plautus’ plays, it was based on a lost Greek original. The plot is constructed around a household god (Lar familiaris) who exposes a pot of gold in the household of the home’s occupant, Euclio. The existence of a household god would not have been considered unusual; all Roman households had notional gods that they considered spiritual protectors of the home.
The play begins with a statement to the audience of this household god, explaining how the course of events were set in place: The current occupant’s miserly grandfather had a pot of gold that he hid from his son. The son, too, was irritable and unpleasant, and so the household god kept this secret inheritance hidden. However, his son (the home’s current occupant, Euclio, grandson of the gold’s original owner) has a daughter who was very devout, and prayed dutifully to this household god. This inspired the god to reveal the gold to Euclio.
Euclio becomes zealous in guarding his newfound treasure. The gold makes Euclio suspect of everyone with whom he comes into contact, including a suitor of his daughter, Megadorus (whose name is a pun on “great gift” in Greek). Megadorus offers to marry his daughter without a dowry, although Euclio still suspects he is after money.
Meanwhile, Euclio’s daughter is pregnant by another man, Lyconides. Moments of dramatic irony include Euclio’s interpretation of wedding preparations for his daughter and Megadorus as a mass attempt to steal his gold. Meanwhile, a slave of the man who impregnated Eticlio’s daughter witnesses where the gold has been hidden and steals it. Later, when Lyconides prepares to confess to Euclio his violation of Euclio’s daughter, Euclio assumes the confession is on account of having stolen the gold. By this point, Euclio’s daughter has borne a child, and Megadorus has withdrawn his marriage proposal. Lyconides is soon after informed by his slave of the slave’s theft of Euclio’s gold, and Lyconides insists that he return the gold.
The conclusion of the play survives only in epitomised form; however, it is clear that Euclio eventually gives his blessing to the marriage of his daughter and Lyconides, and presents them with his recovered gold as a wedding gift.
Irony and the duplicity of slaves are prominent themes in the play. As often in Plautine comedy, there is constant misunderstanding of intentions (here between Megadorus and Euclio, and Euclio and Lyconides). Also common in Plautus’ works are the duplicity of slaves, who are often featured as cunning characters, not to be trusted. Nevertheless, The Pot of Gold, like Plautus’ other comedies of error, is redeemed by a happy ending.
3. Explain Plautus’ The. Pot of Gold with reference to the context.
Ans: Plautus in this play picks up a number of themes that are of particular interest in his life and times. Firstly, there is the stock character of the miser, shown in Euclio, who is a figure who is ridiculed through his miserly nature. Then, in Megadorus, there is the bachelor who dreams of marrying a much younger, nubile virgin. Finally, there is also the time-honoured inclusion of servants showing themselves to be more intelligent than their masters. In all of these aspects, Plautus was writing this play in his context and creating a hilarious comedy as a result.
It is interesting to note, though, that Plautus is much more gentle in terms of his presentation of Euclio than other playwrights were in their presentation of the stock character of the miser. Euclio on the one hand is shown to be so obsessed with his love of the pot of gold that even when Lyconides tries to confess that he had his wicked way with Euclio’s daughter, Euclio automatically assumes he is confessing to stealing the gold:
Oh, oh,my God! What villainy am I hearing of? However, at the end of the play, when he is able to give his gold to his daughter and son-in-law, he is shown to return to normal. Euclio, Plautus shows to the audience, is only as miserly as he is because of his experience of want and poverty, and is allowed to be restored to normal by the end of the play. The context Plautus was writing in then was a context that already had a tradition of literary stock figures and conventions. Plautus masterfully uses them for his own purposes to create a hilarious comedy in this play
4. In Plautus’ A Pot of Gold, how is family portrayed? What is the nature of love?
Ans: Plautus’ Pot of Gold (Latin: Aulularia) was first written around the 190s BCE. Plautus wrote his play in Latin for a Roman audience, but it was based on a Greek original. The names of the characters in the play are Greek and the play’s setting is Athens.
Other than the household god who delivers the play’s prologue, all of the other characters in the play are humans. Half are freeborn citizens and half are slaves. Most of the lines in the play are spoken by male characters. Of the ten human characters in the play who have a speaking part, seven are males.
These statistics hint at the male-dominated family relations in the play. Much of what happens in the play revolves around the marriage of Euclio’s daughter Phaedria, but she never appears before the audience and only has one line in the play (an off-stage cry caused by her labour pains). As was common in ancient marriages in both Greece and Rome, the marriage of Euclio’s daughter is an event whose details are worked out by men (Euclio, Megadorus, and Lyconides). Phaedria has no say in the matter. Lyconides’ mother Eunomia, however, does apparently serve as her son’s confidant (Lyconides, while drunk, had impregnated Phaedria nine months earlier) and also as an intermediary with his uncle Megadorus, who early in the play had arranged to marry Phaedria (much to Lyconides’ dismay).
Thus, given the male-dominated and business-like nature of Phaedra’s marriage, I would say that, at least from the perspective of the elder male citizens in the play (Euclio and Megadorus), the concept of love really does not enter into the equation. Indeed, Euclio is more worried about someone stealing his pot of gold than about his daughter who is about to give birth inside his house. Lyconides may truly love Phaedria (he tells Euclio that he does in a single line), but we are not given a clue as to her feelings about Lyconides or any other male in the play.
In the culture presented in this play, the two families are dominated by elder males and the families become linked through arrangements that must ultimately be “signed off on” by males.
5. What is the transformation of the pot of gold to Phaedra’s dowry?
Ans: In Plautus’ Pot of Gold (Latin: Aulularia), an aged Athenian named Euclio has a pot of gold. In the course of the play, Euclio moves the pot of gold several times because he is afraid that the gold will be stolen. He transfers the pot from his house to the shrine of Faith (Latin: Fides) and from the shrine of Faith to the grove of the woodland divinity Silvanus.
From the grove, the gold is discovered and taken by Strobilus, the slave of a young Athenian gentleman named Lyconides. After Euclio finds that his gold is missing, he accuses Lyconides of the theft. Lyconides, of course, denies the theft. Later, however, Lyconides discovers that his slave Strobilus took Euclio’s gold and begins urging Strobilus to give him the gold so that he can return it to Euclio:
“Yes, hand it over, so that it may be handed over to Euclio.” (Paul Nixon translation)
Unfortunately, the last part of Plautus’ play is lost. We can assume, however, that Lyconides managed to get the gold back and give it to Euclio. We also assume that Euclio was so grateful to Lyconides that Euclio agreed to let Lyconides marry his daughter Phaedria, with whom Lyconides was in love and whom Lyconides had previously impregnated.
Our final assumption is that Euclio gave Phaedria the pot of gold as the dowry for her marriage to Lyconides. In Roman society, it was customary for the father of the bride to give his daughter a dowry (e.g., money, property, or other valuable items) when she was married.
6. What is the role of slaves in The Pot of Gold by Plautus?
Ans: Slaves in Plautus’s The Pot of Gold (called Aulularia in Latin) are far smarter than their masters and often carry out tasks that the masters are not savvy enough to accomplish. For example, Staphyla, Euclio’s slave, is savvier and more intelligent than Euclio. At the beginning of the play, she wonders why her master has become so erratic in his behaviour, and she worries, “Nor can I tell how best I can conceal his daughter’s state.” Staphyla knows that Euclio’s daughter, Phaedria, is pregnant, and Staphyla cares for Phaedria when her father is not aware of his daughter’s condition.
Another slave, Strobilus, who belongs to Lyconides, outwits Euclio, a miser who jealously guards his pot of gold. Strobilus knows that he must do the work for his master, who wants to marry Phaedria (and who has made her pregnant). Strobilus says in Act IV, Scene I, “The slave who wants to serve his master well/Does first his master’s work and then his own.” Strobilus overhears Euclio speaking about where he has hidden the gold, and then Strobilus steals the gold. His efforts allow Lyconides to return the gold to Euclio and to marry Phaedria, so it is Strobilus who manages to get his master what Lyconides wants.
7. How does Plautus’s play, The Pot of Gold, reflect the role of women in Greek society?
Ans: The play is set in Athens but illustrates the role of women in Roman society just as well. Indeed, in all his comedies Plautus avails himself of a number of stock female characters familiar to patrons of the Roman theatre, two of which he uses here.
The unseen Phaedria is a puella, a young, beautiful woman, who is not only the object of both Lyconides and Megadorus’s romantic affections, but also a key element in the wily machinations of Lyconides’s crafty slave. (Another stock character in a Roman comedy.) Immediately, we can see that Phaedria represents the generally submissive role of women in Greek (and also Roman) society. She is little more than an object, not just a sex object but a piece of property belonging’to her father which can be alienated entirely at his behest. Phaedria has no voice in the play, but we do hear her screams of pain off stage when she gives birth. Her gender role in society is reinforced by the action. Women should neither be seen nor heard when important marital transactions are taking place and should confine themselves to being mothers, their most important duty to the state.
Staphyla is an ancilla, or handmaid. Her role in the comedy is much the same as Lyconides’ slave: that of intelligent servant. Plautus uses this stock character to provide a sort of commentary on the play, much like a Greek chorus, and also to act as a foil to the absurdity and stupidity of the central characters. For instance, it is Staphyla who informs the audience of Phaedra’s pregnancy. Staphyla is shown to be bright, witty and compassionate. She’s certainly a good deal more intelligent than her miserly master, Euclio. Despite this, her role in the comedy is somewhat limited, reflecting her position in Roman and Greek society. She can enter the world of men and enrich it with her presence, but she cannot fully live there on equal terms. Ultimately, her wit and intelligence are as much of an adornment as Phaedra’s beauty.
8. In Plautus’ A Pot of Gold, how is the family portrayed? What is the nature of love?
Ans: Plautus’ Pot of Gold (Latin: Aulularia) was first written around the 190s BCE. Plautus wrote his play in Latin for a Roman audience, but it was based on a Greek original. The names of the characters in the play are Greek and the play’s setting is Athens.
Other than the household god who delivers the play’s prologue, all of the other characters in the play are humans. Half are freeborn citizens and half are slaves. Most of the lines in the play are spoken by male characters. Of the ten human characters in the play who have a speaking part, seven are males.
These statistics hint at the male-dominated family relations in the play. Much of what happens in the play revolves around the marriage of Euclio’s daughter Phaedria, but she never appears before the audience and only has one line in the play (an off-stage cry caused by her labour pains). As was common in ancient marriages in both Greece and Rome, the marriage of Euclio’s daughter is an event whose details are worked out by men (Euclio, Megadorus, and Lyconides). Phaedria has no say in the matter. Lyconides’ mother Eunomia, however, does apparently serve as her son’s confidant (Lyconides, while drunk, had impregnated Phaedria nine months earlier) and also as an intermediary with his uncle Megadorus, who early in the play had arranged to marry Phaedria (much to Lyconides’ dismay).
Thus, given the male-dominated and business-like nature of Phaedra’s marriage, I would say that, at least from the perspective of the elder male citizens in the play (Euclio and Megadorus), the concept of love really does not enter into the equation. Indeed, Euclio is more worried about someone stealing his pot of gold than about his daughter who is about to give birth inside his house. Lyconides may truly love Phaedria (he tells Euclio that he does in a single line), but we are not given a clue as to her feelings about Lyconides or any other male in the play.
In the culture presented in this play, the two families are dominated by elder males and the families become linked through arrangements that must ultimately be “signed off on” by males.
9. What is the role of slave?
Ans: In The Pot of Gold the various slaves and servants are used as what is called stock characters. A stock character is an archetype, there to fulfil a particular dramatic purpose. Examples in countless plays, movies, and films would include the absent-minded professor, the mad scientist, the high school geek, and the girl next door.
In the works of Plautus and other playwrights of the ancient world, we’re often introduced to the stock character of the wily, intelligent servant. He or she is there to act as a kind of chorus, providing a running commentary on the action. In satires such as The Pot of Gold this is an especially important function as it allows Plautus to poke fun at the habits and social conventions of the Roman upper classes.
The various servants in The Pot of Gold tend to be much more sympathetic, more recognizably human, than the aristocrats they serve. This helps to provide the audience with a way into the story, as we’re introduced to characters with whom we can more readily identify. Naturally, the servants are more down-to-earth, allowing them to highlight the greed, folly, and stupidity of their masters. For example, Staphyla, Euclio’s maid, appears to be the only one who cares about Phaedria’s state of health during her pregnancy. She is also concerned by her master’s increasingly disturbed state of mind.
Then we have Strobilus, slave of Lyconides. Phaedra’s lover and potential suitor. He spies Euclio hiding his pot of gold before eventually stealing it. Euclio thinks he’s being very cunning and clever in hiding his treasure, but he is easily outsmarted by a humble slave. Again, we see the use of the common dramatic trope of the wily servant getting one over on a member of the social elite.
Yet we also see another kind of use for slave characters by Plautus. For as well as being cunning and devious, Strobilus is also a loyal servant to his master. Lyconides. He demonstrates this by returning the pot of gold to Euclio, thus paving the way for his master to be married to Phaedria.
10. What are some quotes from The Pot of Gold by Plautus?
Ans: 1) “‘He means well’ is useless unless he does well. This quote discusses the value of integrity. For many, good intentions are enough to define a person’s character. Plautus argues that good intentions that result in no positive change have no value.
2) “Let deeds match words.”
This quote is very similar to the first, in that Plautus argues that a person must act on their words. Plautus valued those that followed up statements with actions. as words themselves mean nothing unless they result in change.
3) “After all, what is money apart from what it can buy?”
Here, Plautus references the human desire for financial and material gains and calls attention to the false value human society has applied to currency. True value lies in what money cannot buy.
4) “No man is wise enough by himself.”
Plautus argues that it is exposure and diversity that makes a person wise. Exposure allows a person to learn from experience and ponder new-ideas, and diversity grants a person different perspectives. Without the influence of others, one cannot be truly wise.
5) “Practice yourself what you preach.”
Plautus, again, discusses integrity with this quote, which has become a popular saying in modern culture. If a person advocates for a certain behaviour or moral principle, they, too, must follow it, or risk hypocrisy.
11. Compare Plautus A Pot of Gold and Plautus The Haunted House are they similar or different?
Ans: Plautus, as well as almost every other writer who has ever penned a word, produces work that is then categorised by other people in the world of literature. The same is true of Homer, Pliny, Milton, Shakespeare and others.
In the process of this categorization, or sorting, one runs across examples such as the two about which you have enquired: The Pot of Gold, and The Haunted House.
After an initial reading of the two they seem to be similar in some ways. The element of subterfuge, the potential for trouble, the potential for good, the confusion of the characters are all examples of these similarities.
The main difference is the mood and the subject. They have a different “feel” that makes the reader assume that they are totally different types of writing. The Pot of Gold contains one of the most hilarious scenes in ancient writing, while The Haunted House has a different atmosphere.
So that when the main similarity that they are both categorised as “Comedies” is seen, it can be a bit confusing.
My advice would be to look more deeply into the literary and theatrical definitions of “Comedy” to continue your comparison. I believe it will help
12. Study The Pot of Gold in its context.
Ans: It is important to recognise the way in which Plautus, in this comedy, is using stock characters from ancient Greek comedy in his presentation of this immensely funny play. This is evidenced in the rather stereotypical stock character of the miser. Euclio, who the audience laughs at because of the extent of his avarice. Megadorus is likewise another stock character, a much older bachelor who hopes to marry much younger. beautiful girl. Also, a common theme of such comedies at the time was the role of servants showing themselves to be more intelligent than the people they serve, and this is certainly something that this play demonstrates.
However, at the same time, as much as Plautus was a playwright writing this play in his historical context and reflecting the main themes and ideas of literature at the time, it is also possible to see that he did choose to differ in his plot and character in some important ways. In this play, for example, Euclio, although he is so obsessed with his gold that when Lyconides confesses to him that he has already slept with his daughter, only chooses to hear about his gold, showing a lack of sensitivity towards his daughter that is chilling:
Oh, my life is wrecked, wrecked! The way calamities swarm down and settle on me one after another! Go in I will, and have the truth of it!
However, in spite of this, Plautus does allow him to experience a change of heart, and in the fragment of this play that has been lost, we know that Euclio gives his money to Lyconides and his daughter and learns the error of his ways, seeing that he is better off without the pot of gold that distorted his vision so greatly in the play. The context of this play is therefore the tropes and themes of literature that Plautus both followed but also altered in certain ways.
13. What is a character sketch of Megadorus?
Ans: As in many ancient writings, the plot in “The Pot of Gold” centres around the clash between the rich and the poor. The classes were strictly divided and harboured deep mistrust toward each other.
Euclio, a miserly old man whose ancestors as well as he had angered the family god, was among the poor class. Ironically, their displeasing the god had caused him to not reveal to any of them a pot of gold that had been hidden by other ancestors more pleasing to him.
His daughter, Phaedria, on the other hand had become extremely endeared by the god. Therefore the location of the gold is revealed. Phaedria, in the meantime, has been seduced and become pregnant by Lyconides.
Now enters Megadorus, the uncle of Lycondies, who himself has been enamoured by the young Phaedria and offers to marry her himself, not knowing of the connection between her and his nephew. He offers to do so without a dowry of any kind, and even to pay for the wedding himself. Euclio sees this generous offer as simply a plot by a rich man to take his newfound fortune.
After many twists and turns there is indeed a wed-ding, but not between Megadorus and Phaedria.
14. Compare Plautus’ The Pot of Gold and Menander’s Dyskolos.
Ans: The two plots of these plays are very clearly interlinked, and Plautus took various elements of Meander’s work in order to help him write his own play. Both plays feature an old man who is very curmudgeonly and grumpy. In Meander’s work, this old man is called Knemon, and Sostratos has to try and convince Knemon to let him marry his daughter. Although Knemon is initially opposed to the match, an accident that Sostratos unwittingly is part of makes him see life differently and Knemon becomes a reformed individual, permitting the marriage. Sostratos then is able to many Lemon’s daughter, and encourages his father to let Lemon’s son, Gorgias, marry his own sister. When his own father does not support this idea because he would be allowing two paupers to enter the family, Sostratos upbraids him and reminds him about the true purpose of having wealth, which is to “make rich as many people as you can by your own efforts. For this act never dies.” Sostratos’s father needs to realise that it is better to have “a visible friend than invisible wealth that you keep buried away.” If you help others out, they will return the favour when you are in need, whereas this would not be the case if you were a miser.
In the same way, in The Pot of Gold, it is Euclio who is both the curmudgeonly old man and the miser, and it is clear from the outset that he is so obsessed with his pot of gold that he has hidden somewhere that he is paranoid about somebody stealing it, even suspecting his old slave:
Oh, but how horribly scared I am she’ll come some sly dodge on me when I’m not expecting it, and smell out the place where the gold is hidden. She has eyes in the very back of her head, the hellcat. Now I’ll just go see if the gold is where I hid it. Dear, dear, it worries the life out of me!
Note how Euclio is so concerned about the gold that it dominates his life and worry consumes him. Just as the father of Sostratos and Knemon learn the error of both of their ways in Meander’s work, so too does Euclio go through an experience where he has a change of heart, and realises how much of a problem his wealth has become for him. He ends up by giving the wealth to his daughter and newly-married son-in-law and being much happier as a result. Both plays therefore contain very similar ideas and storylines, and are used to comment on the dangers of greed and how money should be used.
15. Who are the characters of The Pot of Gold by Plautus?
Ans: The “Pot of Gold” by Plautus is a story about a pot of gold that was entrusted by Euclio’s grandfather to his deity by burying it in the ground..The pot is kept hidden from all until Euclio’s daughter, Phaedria, endears herself to the god. The story has many characters who in one way or another contribute to the plot development, and they include:
The guardian spirit — The guardian spirit speaks in the prologue and does not appear thereafter.
Staphyla — She is an old lady who acts as Euclio’s housekeeper.
Megadorus — He is a wealthy old man who is also Eunomia’s brother.
Euclio — He is the main character in the play. He is an old man and father to Phaedrus.
Eunomia — She is a woman of high status and a sister to Megadorus.
Lycomedes — Lycomedes is a young man and also Eunomia’s son.
Congrio — He is a cook who is hired for Phaedria’s wedding and is perceived to be rather slow.
Strobilus — Strobilus is a slave who works for megadorus.
Lyconides’ servant — No name is given in the play, but they act as a servant to Lyconides.
Anthrax — Anthrax is a cook who is portrayed as witty and clever.
Elysium — She is a girl who plays the flute. She is depicted as slim and very attractive.
Phrygia — She is also a girl who plays the flute. Unlike Elysium, she is portrayed as ugly and overweight.
Phaedra — She is Euclio’s daughter. She is also a devoted servant to her household god.
