Mercator; The Merchant

A lustful old man, a hidden mistress, and a household about to implode. Demipho, an elderly Athenian merchant, has fallen desperately for Pasicompsa, a beautiful young woman he believes he acquired through honest trade. There's just one problem: she's already his son Charinus's lover, smuggled into the neighborhood under the pretense of being a household servant. Desperate to keep his wife ignorant of his passion, Demipho stashes his prize at a neighbor's house. But the neighbor's wife returns unexpectedly, the son discovers where his beloved has been hidden, and suddenly every lie threatens to surface. Plautus, Rome's master of farce, constructs a brilliantly chaotic comedy of errors where lustful fathers scheme against vigilant wives, sons rival their parents for the same affection, and servants are the only ones with any sense. The comedy crackles with mischievous energy and sharp social observation, skewering the hypocrisy of respectable citizens whose propriety crumbles the moment desire enters the room. Here is ancient Roman comedy at its most irreverent and hilariously self-aware.