Menander

Greco-Bactrian king of India (r. c. i55-c. 135 b. c.e.)

Born: c. 210 b. c.e.; Kalasi, near Alexandria, probably Alexandria-in-Caucaso (now Begram, Afghanistan)

Died: c. 135 b. c.e.; Bactria (now in Afghanistan)

Also known as: Milinda Category: Government and politics

Life Menander (meh-NAN-dur) was one of the most important of the Greco-Bactrian kings. He is the only Indo-Greek king to be named in classical Indian sources. He is best known as the Milinda of the Milinda-panha (first century b. c.e., some material added later, date uncertain; The Questions of King Milinda, 1890-1894), a Buddhist work in the form of a dialogue between Milinda and the Buddhist sage Nagasena. His early career is obscure.

He rose to the kingship circa 155 b. c.e. His kingdom covered much of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to the historian Strabo, Apollodorus of Artemita reported that Menander advanced beyond the Hypanis (modern Gharra, a tributary of the Indus River) as far as the Imaus (either the Yamuna or Sun Rivers). Indian sources describe a Greek advance into India at this time. Patanjali (fl. c. 140 b. c.e.) in his Mahabhasya (second century b. c.e.; English translation, 1856) cites references to the Greek conquest of Saketa (Ayodhya) and Madhyamika. Kalidasa in his play Malavikagnimitra (traditionally c. 70 b. c.e., probably c. 370 c. e.; English translation, 1875) refers to the defeat of Greek forces at the Indus River by Vasumitra during the reign of his grandfather Pusyamitra (d. 148 b. c.e.). The Yuga Purana (n. d.; The Yuga Purana, 1986) in the Gargi Samhita (n. d.; a work on astrology), describes the Greek advance into India, culminating in the capture of Pataliputra (Patna).

Menander, however, was unable to consolidate his conquests and left India without annexing any territory. The Milinda-panha reports that Menander withdrew from the world and left his kingdom to his son. However, Plutarch in Ethika (after c. 100 c. e.; Moralia, 1603) says that Menan-

Menander (Greco-Bactrian king)

Der died in camp and that his ashes were equally divided among the cities of his kingdom, where monuments were dedicated to him. Plutarch’s account is reminiscent of descriptions of the dispersal of the Buddha’s remains. At the time of his death, Agathocleia, his wife (probably the daughter of King Agathocles), served as regent for Strato, their son, who was not of age to assume the kingship. The coins of Menander were bilingual (in Greek and Kharoshti). Pallas was most frequently on the reverse. His titles were “soter” (savior) and “dikaios” (just).

Influence With Menander, the influence of the Greco-Bactrian kings reached its zenith. His successors were unable to stay in power. In the century after Menander’s death, more than twenty rulers are recorded. By the middle of the first century b. c.e., the Yuezhi-Kushan, Saka, and Scytho-Parthian ethnic groups had taken over the region. In addition to his exploits, Menander’s fame is assured in the portrayal of Milinda in the Milinda-panha.

Further Reading

Menander. Menander. Edited by David R. Slavitt. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998.

Narain, A. K. Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. 8. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Seldeslachts, Erik. “The End of the Road for the Indo-Greeks?” Iranica Antiqua 39 (2004): 249-296.

Albert T. Watanabe

See also: Hellenistic Greece.

Born: c. 342 b. c.e.; Athens, Greece Died: c. 291 b. c.e.; Piraeus, Greece Category: Theater and drama

Life Menander (meh-NAN-dur) came of age in Athens just as the democracy fell. He reportedly belonged to the circle of Demetrius Phalereus, who ruled Athens for Macedonia from 317 to 307 b. c.e. In thirty years, Menander wrote more than one hundred plays, winning in dramatic com-

The playwright Menander.

(F. R. Niglutsch)

Principal Works of Menander

Orge, 321 b. c.e. (Anger, 1921)

Samia, 321-316 b. c.e. (The Girl from Samos, 1909) Dyskolos, 317 b. c.e. (The Bad-Tempered Man, 1921; also known as The Grouch) PerikeiromenT, 314-310 b. c.e. (The Girl Who Was Shorn, 1909)

Aspis, c. 314 b. c.e. (The Shield, 1921) Epitrepontes, after 304 b. c.e. (The Arbitration, 1909)

Comedies, pb. 1921

The Plays of Menander, pb. 1971

Petition eight times. His plays set the standard for refined domestic “situation” comedies. Although he was extremely popular in antiquity, his writings were lost for centuries until some were recovered at the beginning of the twentieth century. Only Dyskolos (317 b. c.e.; The Bad-Tempered Man, 1921, also known as The Grouch) survives complete, but it is not as good as his reputation suggests. Better are the nearly complete Samia (321-316 b. c.e.; The Girl from Samos, 1909) and partial Epitrepontes (after 304 b. c.e.; The Arbitration, 1909), which display the complex plots and subtle characters that are Menander’s hallmark. Menander writes smooth, witty Greek that lends itself easily to being quoted for philosophical maxims.

Influence Menander became the model for virtually all situation comedy in the Western tradition, primarily through the Roman adaptations of his plays by Plautus and Terence. The comedies of the English playwright William Shakespeare and the French playwright Moliere and even modern television situation comedies ultimately go back to Menander’s legacy. Famous quotes of Menander were popular in antiquity in their own right, and he is the only pagan author to be quoted in the New Testament.

Further Reading

Frost, K. B. Exits and Entrances in Menander. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Henry, Madeleine. Menander’s Courtesans and the Greek Comic Tradition. New York: P. Lang, 1985.

Lape, Susan. Reproducing Athens: Menander’s Comedy, Democratic Culture, and the Hellenistic City. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 2004.

Segal, Erich, ed. Oxford Readings in Menander, Plautus, and Terence. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Sutton, Dana Ferrin. Ancient Comedy: The War of the Generations. New York: Twayne, 1993.

Webster, T. B. L. The Birth of Modern Comedy of Manners. Folcroft, Pa.: Folcroft Library Editions, 1974.

Wiles, David. The Masks of Menander: Sign and Meaning in Greek and Roman Performance. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Zagagi, Netta. The Comedy of Menander: Convention, Variation, and Originality. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.

Wilfred E. Major

See also: Athens; Demetrius Phalereus; Literature; Performing Arts; Sports

And Entertainment.