Trouble in the Early Career of Plato Comicus: Another Look at P. Oxy. 2737

It has been nearly twenty years since the publication of P.Oxy. 2737, and the interpretation of lines 44-51 in particular still remains in dispute. These lines are especially vexing because they touch upon a wide range of issues, among them the early career of Plato Comicus and aspects of dramatic competition in fifth-century Athens. Four articles concerned with these lines have appeared in this journal alone over the past decade, and by now the central problems are familiar.1