Short answers, pulled from the story.
Ancient Greek comedy was one of three principal dramatic forms in classical Greek theatre, alongside tragedy and the satyr play. Athenian comedy is divided into three periods: Old Comedy, represented mainly by the eleven surviving plays of Aristophanes; Middle Comedy, largely lost and preserved in short fragments; and New Comedy, known primarily through papyrus fragments of Menander and lasting from around 323 BC to about 260 BC.
Aristophanes, born around 446 BC, is the most important playwright of Old Comedy and the primary reason the genre survives at all. He won more than twelve victories in comic competitions between 427 BC and 388 BC. His plays, including The Clouds and Lysistrata, defined Old Comedy through pungent political satire and the technique of disguising political attacks as buffoonery.
Dyskolos, meaning "Difficult Man" or "Grouch," is a comedy by Menander and the most substantially preserved text of New Comedy. It was discovered on a papyrus and first published in 1958. The play features a misanthrope named Cnemon whose resistance to others softens after he is rescued from a well.
New Comedy shifted focus from political satire and named public figures to the everyday lives, family relationships, and social mishaps of ordinary people. The chorus was diminished, grotesque humor was reduced, and recurring stock characters such as the stern father, the young lover, and the cunning servant became central. The form is comparable to situation comedy and comedy of manners.
Ancient Greek comedy, particularly New Comedy, influenced Western European literature primarily through the Latin adaptations of Plautus and Terence. Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Congreve, Wycherley, and Molière all drew on its conventions. The 5-act dramatic structure can first be observed in Menander's comedies, and much of contemporary romantic and situational comedy descends from the New Comedy tradition.
The three best-known New Comedy playwrights were Menander, Philemon, and Diphilus. Philemon of Soli or Syracuse, who lived from around 362 to 262 BC, regularly beat Menander in competitions during their own era. Menander, born around 342 BC, was more highly esteemed by later generations. Diphilus of Sinope, who lived from around 340 to 290 BC, was notable for using mythological themes alongside everyday subjects.