Mostellaria

Mostellaria is a play by the Roman author Plautus. Its name translates from Latin as [The] Little Ghost, and often appears in translations as The Haunted House. It is a comedy with a very linear plot. It is set in the city of Athens, on a street in front of the houses of Theopropides and Simo.

Characters

Main characters

• Theopropides - an Athenian merchant
• Philolaches - Theopropides' son
• Tranio - Slave owned by Theopropides
• Philematium - A courtesan who has been set free by Philolaches
• Callidamates - Friend of Philolaches
• Simo - Theopropides' neighbour
• Misargyrides - A moneylender

Minor characters

• Grumio - Country slave, owned by Theopropides
• Sphaerio - Slave owned by Theopropides
• Scapha - Philematium's attendant
• Delphium - Callidamates' girlfriend

Plot

A young man called Philolaches is having a great time while his father is away on business. Philolaches has also borrowed a lot of money to buy the freedom of the slave-girl he loves. One day he is having a house party with many friends, when his slave Tranio interrupts the merry-making to announce that Philolaches' father has returned unexpectedly and will arrive from the harbour at any minute. Amid the general panic, Tranio has an idea. He hustles Philolaches and his friends into the house and locks the door. The father now arrives. Tranio greets him respectfully but pretends that it is dangerous to enter the house because it is haunted.

Unfortunately, at this moment a money-lender turns up to claim the money that Philolaches borrowed. Tranio thinks quickly and pretends that the money was borrowed to buy the house next door. Even when Philolaches' father meets the real owner of the house, Tranio manages to hide the truth for some time, but he is found out at last and jumps onto the top of an altar to escape punishment. All ends happily, however, when one of Philolaches' friends offers to repay the debt, thus allowing the father to forgive his son. Even Tranio is forgiven.

References

• Plautus, The Rope and Other Plays, translated by E. F. Watling, Penguin, London, 1964, ISBN 0-14-044136-0.

This article on a play is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Play stubs Plays by Plautus Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Herencia Vallenata (album) Valley Ranch Look at other dictionaries: Mostellaria — ( Gespensterkomödie ) ist der Titel einer in lateinischer Sprache verfassten Komödie des römischen Dichters Titus Maccius Plautus. Die Komödie entstand ca. 200 v. Christus. Vorlage für die Mostellaria war eine unbekannte griechische Komödie, die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Mostellarĭa — od. das Hausgespenst, Komödie des Plautus …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon Mostellaria — Portrait de Plaute. Mostellaria, ou le Revenant est une comédie écrite par Plaute. Le thème de cette comédie a été repris notamment par Regnard en 1700, dans sa pièce, Le Retour imprévu[1]. Résumé …   Wikipédia en Français Mostellaria (Plautus) — Mostellaria („Gespensterkomödie“) ist der Titel einer in lateinischer Sprache verfassten Komödie des römischen Dichters Titus Maccius Plautus. Die Komödie entstand ca. 200 v. Christus. Vorlage für die Mostellaria war eine unbekannte griechische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Плавт — Тит Макций (Plautus) гениальный поэт, важнейший представитель римской комедии. Род. в 254 г. до Р. Хр. (500 по основании Рима), в умбрской деревне Сарсине. Приехав в молодые годы в Рим, он поступил служителем в труппу актеров, где и получил, так… …   Энциклопедический словарь Ф.А. Брокгауза и И.А. Ефрона A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel: Toll trieben es die alten Römer Originaltitel: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Produktionsland: USA / CH Erscheinungsjahr: 1966 Länge: 92 Minuten Originalsprache …   Deutsch Wikipedia Kosmetik — im Alten Ägypten, Darstellung im Royal Ontario Museum Der Ausdruck Kosmetik (vom altgriechischen Adjektiv κοσμετικός kosmetikós, aus dem Verb …   Deutsch Wikipedia Titus Maccius Plautus — (* um 254 v. Chr. in Sarsina, Romagna, Italien; † um 184 v. Chr.) war einer der ersten und produktivsten Komödiendichter im alten Rom. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Sonstiges 3 Werke 4 Literatur 5 …   Deutsch Wikipedia Toll trieben es die alten Römer (Film) — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel: Toll trieben es die alten Römer Originaltitel: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Produktionsland: USA / CH Erscheinungsjahr: 1966 Länge: 92 Minuten Originalsprache …   Deutsch Wikipedia Plaute — Nom de naissance Titus Maccius Plautus en latin Activités Écrivain Dramaturge Naissance c. 254 Sarsina Décès 184 …   Wikipédia en Français 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”