Monday, 12 October 2026 | Scouring the Pnyx (and the σκηνάς): An Ancient Scholion to Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriazusae

Sergio Traversa | PhD Candidate | Università degli Studi Roma Tre

Seminar Chair: Dr. Pietro Berardi (Università degli Studi di Bari ‘Aldo Moro’)

This talk proposes a new interpretation of Schol. Ar. Th. 658c. Through a critical re-examination of the scholion’s text, it argues that the Aristophanic parallel adduced by the ancient exegete is not Pax 731, as generally assumed, but Th. 624. Drawing on an extensive comparison with scholia on the dramatic poets and rhetorical treatises, it also seeks to elucidate the meaning and function of the technical expression διὰ  μέσου. The analysis sheds light both on the sense of the scholion and on the significance of an expression recurrent in the scholiastic tradition, contributing to a fuller understanding of the language of ancient commentators.