Symposion 2019, pp. 41-70, 2021/12/14
Vorträge zur griechischen und hellenistischen Rechtsgeschichte (Hamburg, 26.‒28. August 2019)
The aim of this paper is to study legal references in Aristophanes’ Waspsfrom a perspective based on the importance of the bodies and objects involved inlitigation. Since comedy as a genre is pervaded by bodily contact and sensoryexperiences, I am interested in exploring the materiality of subjects and things, theirrelationship and the potentiality of human and non-human contact when legalactivities are performed on stage. All these physical displays suggest that a study ofgestures and expressive actions in the play may contribute to a more comprehensiveunderstanding of the non-verbal dynamics involved in the Athenian judicialmachinery.
Keywords: Aristophanes, Wasps, physicality, performance, material culture
