In this article, I argue that Euripides’ fragmentary Andromeda is an important intertext for Menander’s Dyscolus. There are six points that, in combination, could have made Menander’s audience think of theEuripidean drama and compare Sostratus with Perseus, and Knemon’s daughter with the Ethiopian princess, Andromeda: (1) both male characters fall in love at first sight, (2) both beautiful girls are compared to wonderful statues by their enamoured admirers, (3) both maidens are kept hostage by a monster-figure (in one case literal, in the other figurative), (4) a human observer (in one case the female Chorus, in the other the slave Daos) notes that the girls are not receiving the treatment they deserve from their fathers, and (5) both male characters experience strong desire, yet they treat the women respectfully and pursue marriage. This “play of allusion” commences early in Dyscolus, as Knemon’s first words on stage (point 6) directly reference Perseus and his two superpowers (i.e. flight and petrification of enemies), which both played a significant role in Euripides’ tragedy. I conclude this article by discussing the implications of this intertextual allusion.
