Social Class

Discussion of class structure in fifth-century Athens, historical constitution of theater audiences, and the changes in the comic representation of class antagonism from Aristophanes to Menander

Aristophanes and De Ste. Croix: The value of old comedy as evidence for Athenian popular culture

De Ste. Croix famously argued that Aristophanes had a conservative political outlook and attempted to use his comedies to win over lower-class audiences to this minority point of view. The ongoing influence of his interpretation has meant that old comedy has been largely ignored in the historiography of Athenian popular culture. This article extends earlier critiques of de Ste. Croix by systematically comparing how Aristophanes and the indisputably popular genre of fourth-century oratory represented the social classes of the Athenians and political leaders. The striking parallels between the two suggest that Aristophanes, far from advocating a minority position, exploited the rich and, at times, contradictory views of lower-class citizens for comic and ultimately competitive ends. As a consequence his plays are valuable evidence for Athenian popular culture and help to correct the markedly fourth-century bias in the writing of Athenian cultural history

‘The hot-house of decadent chronicle’: Michael Field and the dance of modern verse-drama

This article examines Michael Field's avant-guard poetic dramas post 1895, in particular the Roman Trilogy (The World at Auction, The Race of Leaves, and Julia Domna), to suggest they should be read for their extraordinary poetic experimentation, which precedes, prefigures and is at the heart of modernism's innovations in the genre. It argues that influenced by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, particularly The Birth of Tragedy, Michael Field turned to Latin decadence and to contemporary German philology to re-energise the genre. The essay also suggests that the Trilogy's emphasis on dance foreshadows the impact of Ballet Russes on modern aesthetics

Generic and family transfers, and numina dubia for orb-weaving spiders (Araneae, Araneidae) in the Australasian, Oriental and Pacific regions

As part of a current revision of the Australasian and Pacific orb-weaving spider fauna (family Araneidae Clerck, 1757), a number new combinations are proposed in the genera Acroaspis Karsch, 1878 (3 species), Carepalxis L. Koch, 1872 (1 species), Cyclosa Menge, 1866 (5 species), and Neoscona Simon, 1864 (7 species): Acroaspis lancearia (Keyserling, 1887), comb. n., A. mamillana (Keyserling, 1887), comb. n., A. scutifer (Keyserling, 1886), comb. n., Carepalxis furcifera (Keyserling, 1886), comb. n.; Cyclosa anatipes (Keyserling, 1887), comb. n.; Cyclosa apoblepta (Rainbow, 1916), comb. n.; Cyclosa argentaria (Rainbow, 1916), comb. n.; Cyclosa lichensis (Rainbow, 1916), comb. n.; Cyclosa poweri (Rainbow, 1916), comb. n.; Neoscona decolor (L. Koch, 1871), comb. n.; Neoscona enucleata (Karsch, 1879), comb. n.; Neoscona flavopunctata (L. Koch, 1871), comb. n.; Neoscona floriata (Hogg, 1914), comb. n.; Neoscona granti (Hogg, 1914), comb. n.; Neoscona inusta (L. Koch, 1871), comb. n.; and Neoscona notanda (Rainbow, 1912), comb. n. The following two Australian species, currently placed in Araneus, are not Araneidae but comb-footed spiders (family Theridiidae Sundevall, 1833): Anelosimus dianiphus (Rainbow, 1916), comb. n. and Theridion xanthostichus (Rainbow, 1916), stat. and comb. n. The following six species are considered numina dubia as their type material is immature or otherwise unidentifiable (e.g. partly destroyed): Araneus acachmenus Rainbow, 1916; Araneus agastus Rainbow, 1916; Araneus exsertus Rainbow, 1904; Araneus suavis Rainbow, 1899; Carepalxis coronata (Rainbow, 1896); and Heurodes turritus Keyserling, 1886. Heurodes fratellus (Chamberlin, 1924) is considered a nomen dubium and Heurodes porcula (Simon, 1877) is returned to Eriovixia Archer, 1951, Eriovixia porcula (Simon, 1877). Type material of predominantly Australian species described by E. v. Keyserling (1 species), W. J. Rainbow (10 species), A. T. Urquhart (8 species), and C. A. Walckenaer (2 species) is here considered destroyed or otherwise lost. As it is impossible to identify these species from their original descriptions and considering the known spider fauna from their respective type localities, they are all considered numina dubia: Anepsia crinita Rainbow, 1893; Epeira diabrosis (Walckenaer, 1841); Epeira diversicolor Rainbow, 1893; Epeira ficta Rainbow, 1896; Epeira hamiltoni Rainbow, 1893; Epeira lacrymosa (Walckenaer, 1841); Epeira leai Rainbow, 1894; Epeira mortoni Urquhart, 1891; Epeira notacephala Urquhart, 1891; Epeira obscurta Urquhart, 1893; Epeira phalerata Urquhart, 1893; Epeira pronuba Rainbow, 1894; Epeira rara Keyserling, 1887; Epeira singulara Urquhart, 1891; Epeira sub-flavida Urquhart, 1893; Epeira similaris Rainbow, 1896 (= Araneus urquharti Roewer, 1942 replacement name); Epeira ventriosa Urquhart, 1891; and Epeira viridula Urquhart, 1891