The comedies of the Athenian theatre not only lie at the root of Western drama, they also offer a unique insight into everyday life in ancient Greece. This selection of six wide ranging plays includes the comic fantasies of Aristophanes, which combine the ridiculous with serious satirical comment (Birds, Frogs, Women in Power); Menander's The Woman from Samos, a recognisable forebear of today's situation comedy; Euripides ribald satyr play, Cyclops, the only surviving example of the genre, and his Alkestis, a complex romance which gave a new face to comedy.

The volume is edited and introduced by J. Michael Walton, Professor of Drama at the University of Hull and founder/director of the Performance Translation Centre there.