Source edition
Plautus. Plauti Comoediae, Volume 1. Leo, Friedrich, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1895.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This Roman comedy centers on the love affairs of two young men and the brilliant schemes of a clever slave, revolving around two courtesan sisters both named Bacchis. The youths, Pistoclerus and Mnesilochus, fall in love with the respective sisters, but they desperately need money to secure their love. To help them, Mnesilochus's cunning slave, Chrysalus, takes charge and devises elaborate schemes to trick Mnesilochus’s strict father, Nicobulus, out of his wealth. Although a misunderstanding temporarily ruins the plan, Chrysalus proudly orchestrates another grand deception, comparing his intellectual triumph to the conquest of Troy. In the end, the outraged fathers discover the deceit and storm the sisters' house, only to succumb to the courtesans' charms themselves. The play concludes with a humorous and ironic banquet where the fathers forgive their sons and join the revelry.