Due to the scarcity of surviving texts by other poets, it is easy to forget that Aristophanes wrote for competition and that rivalry was an important component in the rhetoric of his comedies, especially Clouds and Knights . This important study, comprising 26 essays by leading international scholars presented at a conference held at the Institute of Classical Studies in London in 1996, aims to promote a better understanding of Aristophanes' work by assessing that of his many rivals, including Cratinus, Hermippus and Eupolis, who regularly triumphed over Aristophanes at major civic festivals. The papers also consider the evidence for Aristophanes' rival poets in other sources, notably painted vases. The chapters are divided into five sections: editing comic fragments, poets of Old Comedy, the transition to Middle Comedy, literary themes and social themes. Contributors: Kenneth Dover, W Geoffrey Arnott, Wolfgang Luppe, Ralph M Rosen, James Davidson, S Douglas Olson, Dwora Gilula, David Harvey, Jeffrey Henderson, David Braund, Giorgos Kavvadias, Ian C Storey, Thomas Braun, Heinz-Guenther Nesselrath, Keith Sidwell, N J Lowe, Bernhard Zimmermann, Stephen Colvin, Michael Silk, Angus Bowie, John Wilkins, Nick Fisher, Andrew Dalby, Edith Hall, Christopher Carey, Alan H Sommerstein, Paola Ceccarelli, Ian Ruffell.