ABSTRACT
Menander is renowned as an author, perhaps even the inventor, of romantic comedy; and love triumphing over obstacles is a common feature of his plays. This chapter examines the story of Aspis in relation to Athenian family law, and considers what reaction Menander expected of his audience. The discovery is interesting, because Athenian law did not otherwise recognize a right of primogeniture; brothers inherited equal shares of their father's property, and there was no advantage in being the eldest. The implication, that it is wrong to act in accordance with the law, is astonishing. Menander has set up a confrontation between this law and love. He has drawn his characters in such a way as to make the audience side with love and against the law, and he makes love victorious in the end. He wants the audience to regard the law as stupid and wrong; love is a better reason for making a marriage.
