This book investigates the extent and nature of linguistic variation within Classical Attic Greek as evidenced by the comedies of Aristophanes. Andreas Willi, a scholar of classical philology, utilizes a rigorous sociolinguistic framework to analyze how Aristophanes employed diverse registers, sociolects, and idiolects to characterize his figures. By integrating statistical analysis with modern typological comparisons, the author argues that the Attic dialect was far more heterogeneous than traditional scholarship has historically acknowledged.

Experts in the field of classical philology recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of ancient Greek dialectology. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for scholars and advanced students of linguistics and classics.