To what extent is Roman comedy dependent on the Greek? The author pursues this old controversy using a comprehensive study of the figure of the Parasite. The Parasite, stemming from the Greek socio-historical context and at first an alien phenomenon for Roman society, itself reflects the historical literary relationship of Roman comedy (located in a Greek milieu) to its Attic precursors.
By investigating the development of the figure of the Parasite on the Roman stage, Andrea Antonsen-Resch gains new insights into the degree to which the relevant plays are dependent on Greek models. One result is to demonstrate that Plautus and Terence follow Greek comedy to a far greater extent than has often been thought.