Aristophanes, for they both represent men
in action and doing things. And that according to some is the reason why they are
called "dramas," because they present people as doing"Drama" being derived from DRA=N "to
do." things. And for this
reason the Dorians claim as their own both tragedy and comedy—comedy is
claimed both by the Megarians here in Greece, who say that it originated in the days of their democracy,
and by the Megarians in Sicily,The inhabitants of Megara Hyblaea. for it was
from there the poet EpicharmusEpicharmus of Cos
wrote in Sicily burlesques and "mimes"
depicting scenes of daily life. He and Phormis were "originators of comedy" in
that they sketched types instead of lampooning individuals (cf. Aristot. Poet. 5.5): of Chionides and Magnes
we only know that they were "early" comedians, i.e., in the first half of the
fifth century B.C. came, who was much earlier than Chionides and Magnes;
and tragedy some of t