Greek customs in the jokes of the Philogelos

There is no doubt that humor is a cultural phenomenon, but existing on the margins of culture. Jokes fall into the category of folklore along with proverbs, nursery rhymes, riddles etc., but we can not think of them as a cultural constant; they come and go with the social and political changes. The Philogelos is the single jokebook written in Greek that survives from ancient times. It contains about 265 items. This collection was probably put together in the fourth or fifth century A.D. Jokes of Philogelos provide us with glimpses into a very different cultural world than our own. The collection deserves not less attention than more serious literary works, because it reflects various aspects of ancient society and daily life of any Greek polis from the third or fourth century A.D.De moribus Graecorum iocis in Philogelo libello insertis Argumentum: Facetiae phaenomenon ad culturam humanitatemque pertinens ducendae sunt, quamquam in marginibus cultus humani manent. In iocis permultae revocationes ad vitam cotidianam inveniri possunt, sed eas conspicere non solemus. Vita iocorum non est longa, cum ii tempore labente et situ civili, sociali, religioso mutante actualia perdant. Scimus sane syllogen iocorum antiquorum, quae Philogelos inscribitur, unam solamque ad nostra tempora exstare. In his iocis, qui quarto sive quinto aetate post Christum conscripti fuisse mihi videntur, vita Graecorum, qui in qualibet polis tertio sive quarto aevo viverant, monstrata est. Una cum personis in iocis descriptis quodlibet oppidum Graecum ambulare et Graecorum vitam cotidianam spectare quemus. Videmus agoram atque varias tabernas fabrorum, viatores et eorum modos vivendi ritusque observamus. Ridemus stultitiam et inscitiam medicorum, virorum, qui in re publica versantur aliusque generis scholasticorum. Ridemus, sed cognoscere Graecorum mores possumus. Qua de causa ioci, qui in Philogelo inveniuntur, magnae auctoritatis ad Graecoum mores cognoscendum aestimandi sunt