Excerpting practices and the interpretation of Greek myth: Melanion and Timon in Aristophanes

This article addresses the topic of excerpts by focusing on modern excerpting practices used in the analysis of Greek myth. It examines the mythological exemplum about Melanion and Timon from Aristophanes’ Lysistrata within the context of Greek myth’s flexibility and potential for innovation. After discussing the innovative details of the exempla, I turn to the use of the Melanion excerpt by two prominent classicists, P. Vidal-Naquet and M. Detienne. This leads to some general remarks on the transmission of knowledge regarding mythological lore, as well as on our modern scholarly practices of excerpting passages out of their original context.