Parasites and Hypocrites

The course is a study of the many forms of toadying, groveling, feigning friendship, flattery, ass-kissing, and so on, that were such a large of source of concern — and comedy — in antiquity. The anxieties over hypocrisy in a democracy and parasites in client-patron systems will be explored historically, in literary representations, and in their social, political, and economic contexts. Authors to be read include Aristophanes, Plutarch, Lucian, Plautus, Horace, and Petronius.