Aristophanes - Knowledge

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beacon of light for those who were more gullible than others. One of the main reasons why Aristophanes was so against the sophists came into existence from the requirements listed by the leaders of the organization. Money was essential, which meant that roughly all of the pupils studying with the sophists came from upper-class backgrounds and excluded the rest of the polis. Aristophanes believed that education and knowledge was a public service and that anything that excluded willing minds was nothing but an abomination. He concludes that all politicians that study rhetoric must have "doubtful citizenships, unspeakable morals, and too much arrogance".

584:) yet they are not jingoistic, and they are staunchly opposed to the war with Sparta. The plays are particularly scathing in criticism of war profiteers, among whom populists such as Cleon figure prominently. By the time his last play was produced (around 386 BC) Athens had been defeated in war, its empire had been dismantled and it had undergone a transformation from being the political to the intellectual centre of Greece. Aristophanes was part of this transformation and he shared in the intellectual fashions of the period—the structure of his plays evolves from Old Comedy until, in his last surviving play, 539:, where they were judged and awarded prizes in competition with the works of other comic dramatists. An elaborate series of lotteries, designed to prevent prejudice and corruption, reduced the voting judges at the City Dionysia to just five. These judges probably reflected the mood of the audiences yet there is much uncertainty about the composition of those audiences. The theatres were certainly huge, with seating for at least 10,000 at the Theatre of Dionysus. The day's program at the City Dionysia for example was crowded, with three tragedies and a 5160: 455: 1362:: The numerous surprising developments in an Aristophanic plot, the changes in scene, and the farcical comings and goings of minor characters towards the end of a play, were managed according to theatrical convention with only three principal actors (a fourth actor, often the leader of the chorus, was permitted to deliver short speeches). Songs and addresses to the audience by the Chorus gave the actors hardly enough time off-stage to draw breath and to prepare for changes in scene. 1244: 1231:"art" of flattery, and evidence points towards the fact that many of Aristophanes' plays were actually created with the intent to attack the view of rhetoric. The most noticeable attack can be seen in his play Banqueters, in which two brothers from different educational backgrounds argue over which education is better. One brother comes from a background of "old-fashioned" education while the other brother appears to be a product of the sophistic education 861: 1098:: Almost nothing is known about the music that accompanied Greek lyrics, and the meter is often so varied and complex that it is difficult for modern readers or audiences to get a feel for the intended effects, yet Aristophanes still impresses with the charm and simplicity of his lyrics. Some of the most memorable and haunting lyrics are dignified hymns set free of the comic action. In the example below, taken from 1676: 8357: 58: 5070: 8367: 1461:

the parabasis occurs somewhere in the middle of a play and often there is a second parabasis towards the end. The elements of a parabasis have been defined and named by scholars but it is probable that Aristophanes' own understanding was less formal. The selection of elements can vary from play to play and it varies considerably within plays between first and second parabasis. The early plays (

8377: 5085: 5145: 5097: 815:, even quotes from the play when teasing Socrates over his appearance and yet there is no indication of any ill-feeling between Socrates and Aristophanes. Plato's Aristophanes is in fact a genial character and this has been interpreted as evidence of Plato's own friendship with him (their friendship appears to be corroborated by an epitaph for Aristophanes, 1368:: The action of an Aristophanic play obeyed a crazy logic of its own and yet it always unfolded within a formal, dramatic structure that was repeated with minor variations from one play to another. The different, structural elements are associated with different poetic meters and rhythms and these are generally lost in English translations. 1039:, "to run", as demonstrated for example by choruses who enter at speed, often in aggressive mood) However, even though both these rhythms can seem to "bowl along" Aristophanes often varies them through use of complex syntax and substituted meters, adapting the rhythms to the requirements of serious argument. In an anapestic passage in 509:, where some biographical facts can usually be found. These facts, however, relate almost entirely to his career as a dramatist and the plays contain few clear and unambiguous clues about his personal beliefs or his private life. He was a comic poet in an age when it was conventional for a poet to assume the role of teacher ( 944:(corresponding to the effects achieved by English poets such as Shakespeare using iambic pentameters). His realistic use of the meter makes it ideal for both dialogue and soliloquy, as for instance in the prologue, before the arrival of the Chorus, when the audience is introduced to the main issues in the plot. 5107: 1460:

The parabasis is an address to the audience by the chorus or chorus leader while the actors leave or have left the stage. In this role, the chorus is sometimes out of character, as the author's voice, and sometimes in character, although these capacities are often difficult to distinguish. Generally

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The chorus was mainly used by Aristophanes as a defense against rhetoric and would often talk about topics such as the civic duty of those who were educated in classical teachings. In Aristophanes' opinion it was the job of those educated adults to protect the public from deception and to stand as a

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that wealthy citizens might regard civic responsibilities as punishment imposed on them by demagogues and populists like Cleon. Thus the political conservatism of the plays may reflect the views of the wealthiest section of Athenian society, on whose generosity all dramatists depended for putting on

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Alan H. Sommerstein believes that although there are good translations of Aristophanes' comedies, none could be flawless, "for there is much truth in the paradox that the only really perfect translation is the original." Nevertheless, there are competent, respectable translations in many languages.

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was awarded third (i.e. last) place after its original performance and the text that has come down to the modern age was a subsequent draft that Aristophanes intended to be read rather than acted. The circulation of his plays in manuscript extended their influence beyond the original audience, over

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The plays of Aristophanes are among the defining examples of Old Comedy. Aristophanes' plays are also the only full-length Old Comedy plays that have survived from antiquity. Thus making them literally among the most defining elements, for defining Old Comedy... For this reason, an understanding of

1181:, "destitute". Many of the puns in the plays are based on words that are similar rather than identical, and it has been observed that there could be more of them than scholars have yet been able to identify. Others are based on double meanings. Sometimes entire scenes are constructed on puns, as in 827:

are supposed to have occurred and it is possible that his Aristophanes is in fact based on a reading of the plays. For example, conversation among the guests turns to the subject of Love and Aristophanes explains his notion of it in terms of an amusing allegory, a device he often uses in his plays.

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lines 971–999 can be considered a hybrid parabasis/song (i.e. the declaimed sections are merely continuations of the strophe and antistrophe) and, unlike the typical parabasis, it seems to comment on actions that occur on stage during the address. An understanding of Old Comedy conventions such as

1102:, the lyric is merely a comic interlude and the rhythm is steadily trochaic. The syntax in the original Greek is natural and unforced and it was probably accompanied by brisk and cheerful music, gliding to a concluding pun at the expense of Amynias, who is thought to have lost his fortune gambling. 888:

formed the cornerstones of Hellenic history and culture. Thus poetry had a moral and social significance that made it an inevitable topic of comic satire. Aristophanes was very conscious of literary fashions and traditions and his plays feature numerous references to other poets. These include not

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believed that the charm and grandeur of the Attic dialect made Old Comedy an example for orators to study and follow, and he considered it inferior in these respects only to the works of Homer. A revival of interest in the Attic dialect may have been responsible for the recovery and circulation of

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died near the end of the Peloponnesian War, and the art of tragedy thereafter ceased to develop, yet comedy continued to evolve after the defeat of Athens, and it is possible that it did so because, in Aristophanes, it had a master craftsman who lived long enough to help usher it into a new age.

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It is widely believed that Aristophanes condemned rhetoric on both moral and political grounds. He states, "a speaker trained in the new rhetoric may use his talents to deceive the jury and bewilder his opponents so thoroughly that the trial loses all semblance of fairness" He is speaking to the

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The rhythm begins at a typical anapestic gallop, slows down to consider the revered poets Hesiod and Homer, then gallops off again to its comic conclusion at the expense of the unfortunate Pantocles. Such subtle variations in rhythm are common in the plays, allowing for serious points to be made

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for instance, Cleon's corrupt service to the people of Athens is originally depicted as a household relationship in which the slave dupes his master. The introduction of a rival, who is not a member of the household, leads to an absurd shift in the metaphor, so that Cleon and his rival become

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Aristophanes claimed to be writing for a clever and discerning audience, yet he also declared that "other times" would judge the audience according to its reception of his plays. He sometimes boasts of his originality as a dramatist yet his plays consistently espouse opposition to radical new

696:, that Aristophanes' first three plays were not directed by him; they were instead directed by Callistratus and Philoneides, an arrangement that seemed to suit Aristophanes since he appears to have used these same directors in many later plays as well (Philoneides for example later directed 1984:

is a comedy radio show for the BBC set in Ancient Greece. It features Aristophanes, Socrates and many other famous Greeks. (Not to be confused with the Australian sitcom of the same name.) Aristophanes is characterised as a celebrity playwright, and most of his plays have the title formula:

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is typical of an absurd result obtained on logical grounds—he wears a woman's saffron-coloured tunic because effeminacy is an aspect of his divinity, buskin boots because he is interested in reviving the art of tragedy, and a lion skin cape because, like Heracles, his mission leads him into

1778:, first Commissar of Enlightenment for the USSR in 1917, declared that the ancient dramatist would have a permanent place in proletarian theatre and yet conservative, Prussian intellectuals interpreted Aristophanes as a satirical opponent of social reform. The avant-gardist stage-director 1276:: Old Comedy provided a variety of entertainments for a diverse audience. It accommodated a serious purpose, light entertainment, hauntingly beautiful lyrics, the buffoonery of puns and invented words, obscenities, disciplined verse, wildly absurd plots and a formal, dramatic structure. 1494:: Sometimes known as 'a choker', it comprises a few short lines appended to the parabasis proper as a kind of rapid patter (it has been suggested that some of the effects achieved in a pnigos can be heard in "The Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Song", in act 2 of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1430:('strophes'/'antistrophes' or 'odes'/'antodes') – often in symmetrical pairs where each half has the same meter and number of lines as the other, used as transitions between other structural elements, or between scenes while actors change costume, and often commenting on the action; 1964:

format, initially by "Agrotikes Ekdoseis" during the 1980s and republished over the years by other companies. The plot was written by Tasos Apostolidis and the sketches were of George Akokalidis. The stories feature either Aristophanes narrating them, directing the play, or even

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appears to be a useful source of biographical information about Aristophanes, but its reliability is open to doubt. It purports to be a record of conversations at a dinner party at which both Aristophanes and Socrates are guests, held some seven years after the performance of

1400:– passages featuring songs and declaimed verses in long lines of tetrameters, arranged symmetrically in two sections such that each half resembles the other in meter and line length; the agon and parabasis can be considered specific instances of symmetrical scenes: 306:

Also known as "The Father of Comedy" and "the Prince of Ancient Comedy", Aristophanes has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by influential contemporaries;

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and this might be a humorous reference to the crude physical jokes in his plays. He tells the other guests that he is quite happy to be thought amusing but he is wary of appearing ridiculous. This fear of being ridiculed is consistent with his declaration in

704:). Aristophanes's use of directors complicates our reliance on the plays as sources of biographical information, because apparent self-references might have been made with reference to his directors instead. Thus, for example, a statement by the chorus in 932:

A full appreciation of Aristophanes' plays requires an understanding of the poetic forms he employed with virtuoso skill, and of their different rhythms and associations. There were three broad poetic forms: iambic dialogue, tetrameter verses and lyrics:

681:—a play full of anti-Cleon jokes—Cleon was elected to the prestigious board of ten generals. Cleon also seems to have had no real power to limit or control Aristophanes: the caricatures of him continued up to and even beyond his death. 2924: 1488:: This is usually a defense of the author's work and it includes criticism of the audience's attitude. It is declaimed in long lines of 'anapestic tetrameters'. Aristophanes himself refers to the parabasis proper only as 'anapests'. 1209:

is said to compose verses in the manner of a horse rolling in a sandpit. Some plays feature revelations of human perfectibility that are poetic rather than religious in character, such as the marriage of the hero Pisthetairos to

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Transposing Aristophanes: The Theory and Practice of Translating Aristophanic Lyric, James Robson, Second Series, Vol. 59, No. 2 (October 2012), pp. 214–244 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical

1504:: These are symmetrical scenes that mirror each other in meter and number of lines. They form part of the first parabasis and they often comprise the entire second parabasis. They are characterized by the following elements: 4836:

Lee, Jae Num. "Scatology in Continental Satirical Writings from Aristophanes to Rabelais" and "English Scatological Writings from Skelton to Pope." Swift and Scatological Satire. Albuquerque: U of New Mexico P, 1971. 7–22;

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Textual corruption is probably the reason for the absence of the antistrophe in the second parabasis. However, there are several variations from the ideal even within the early plays. For example, the parabasis proper in

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Aristophanes' plays during the fourth and fifth centuries AD, resulting in their survival today. In Aristophanes' plays, the Attic dialect is couched in verse and his plays can be appreciated for their poetic qualities.

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anticipated all the elements of New Comedy, including a rape and a recognition scene. Aristophanes seems to have had some appreciation of his formative role in the development of comedy, as indicated by his comment in

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in fact won the unique distinction of a repeat performance at a subsequent festival. A son of Aristophanes, Araros, was also a comic poet and he could have been heavily involved in the production of his father's play

844:, two oligarchic revolutions and two democratic restorations; this has been interpreted as evidence that he was not actively involved in politics, despite his highly political plays. He was probably appointed to the 1797:. The artistic influence of the plays is immeasurable. They have contributed to the history of European theatre and that history in turn shapes our understanding of the plays. Thus for example the operettas of 1742:

and by students of the Attic dialect in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries AD. It is possible that Plato sent copies of the plays to Dionysius of Syracuse so that he might learn about Athenian life and government.

925:. Aristophanes was the equal of these great tragedians in his subtle use of lyrics. He appears to have modelled his approach to language on that of Euripides in particular, so much so that the comic dramatist 551:

The production process might also have influenced the views expressed in the plays. Throughout most of Aristophanes' career, the Chorus was essential to a play's success and it was recruited and funded by a

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It has been argued that Aristophanes produced plays mainly to entertain the audience and to win prestigious competitions. His plays were written for production at the great dramatic festivals of Athens, the

527:), and in philosophy/religion (where Socrates was the most obvious target). Such caricatures seem to imply that Aristophanes was an old-fashioned conservative, yet that view of him leads to contradictions. 4499:

On Translating Aristophanes: Ends and Means, Alan H. Sommerstein, Greece & Rome, Oct. 1973, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Oct. 1973), pp. 140–154 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical

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like Cleon) occupied the festival holiday with other pursuits. The conservative views expressed in the plays might therefore reflect the attitudes of the dominant group in an unrepresentative audience.

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farmer and his pigs: the Megarian farmer defies the Athenian embargo against Megarian trade, and tries to trade his daughters disguised as pigs, except "pig" was ancient slang for "vagina". Since the

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the parabasis is necessary for a proper understanding of Aristophanes' plays; on the other hand, a sensitive appreciation of the plays is necessary for a proper understanding of the conventions.

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Despite the fact that translations of Aristophanes may not be perfect, "the reception of Aristophanes has gained extraordinary momentum as a topic of academic interest in the last few years."

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can give us insights into Aristophanes' plays and similarly the plays can give us insights into the operettas. The plays are a source of famous sayings, such as "By words the mind is winged."

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Aristophanes repeatedly savages Cleon in his later plays. But these satirical diatribes appear to have had no effect on Cleon's political career—a few weeks after the performance of

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Here Aristophanes employs a frequent device, arranging the syntax so that the final word in a line comes as a comic climax. The hero's pleasures are so few he can number them (

515:), and though this specifically referred to his training of the chorus in rehearsal, it also covered his relationship with the audience as a commentator on significant issues. 688:

and summaries or comments by Hellenistic and Byzantine scholars can also provide useful clues. We know from a combination of these sources, and especially from comments in

1336:, subjected to corrupt leaders and unreliable neighbours. Typically he devises a complicated and highly fanciful escape from an intolerable situation. Thus Dikaiopolis in 1658:(lines 518–562) is composed in eupolidean meter rather than in anapests and the second parabasis includes a kommation but it lacks strophe, antistrophe and antepirrhema ( 2084: 1394:– the arrival of the chorus, dancing and singing, sometimes followed by a choreographed skirmish with one or more actors, often expressed in long lines of tetrameters; 5504: 1520:: These are usually long lines of trochaic tetrameters. Broadly political in their significance, they were probably spoken by the leader of the Chorus in character. 1514:: These are lyrics in a variety of meters, sung by the Chorus in the first parabasis as an invocation to the gods and as a comic interlude in the second parabasis. 1197:

It can be argued that the most important feature of the language of the plays is imagery, particularly the use of similes, metaphors and pictorial expressions. In

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Although many artists' renderings of Aristophanes portray him with flowing curly hair, several jests in his plays indicate that he may have been prematurely bald.

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by Gonda Van Steen in 'The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Theatre' Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton (eds), Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 109

299:. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. These provide the most valuable examples of a genre of comic drama known as 1043:, for instance, the character Aeschylus presents a view of poetry that is supposed to be serious but which leads to a comic interruption by the god, Dionysus: 5187: 1750:(Venice 1528) were circulated widely throughout Europe in the Renaissance and these were soon followed by translations and adaptations in modern languages. 1416:– a formal debate that decides the outcome of the play, typically in anapestic tetrameter, though iambs are sometimes used to delineate inferior arguments; 7104: 1269:

Old Comedy and Aristophanes' place in it is useful to comprehend his plays in their historical and cultural context. The themes of Old Comedy included:

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Murphy, Charles T. "Aristophanes and the Art of Rhetoric." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 49 (1938): 69–113. Web. Accessed on 28 September 2014.

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is thought to offer the best example of a conventional approach and the elements of a parabasis can be identified and located in that play as follows.

1734:), exacerbated of course by his own intransigence during the trial. The plays, in manuscript form, have been put to some surprising uses—as indicated 1406:– verses through which the Chorus addresses the audience directly, firstly in the middle of the play and again near the end (see the section below, 684:

In the absence of clear biographical facts about Aristophanes, scholars make educated guesses based on interpretation of the language in the plays.

1316:, hawkers of oracles competing for the attention of a credulous public, athletes in a race for approval and orators competing for the popular vote. 2833: 797:

or Philetaerus, and a man by the latter name appears in the catalogue of Lenaia victors with two victories, the first probably in the late 370s.

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that he embarked on the career of comic playwright warily after witnessing the public contempt and ridicule that other dramatists had incurred.

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after he was reminded of the Chorus in that play by a herd of pigs passing to market under the window of his lodgings in San Giuliano, Italy.

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The plays have a significance that goes beyond their artistic function, as historical documents that open the window on life and politics in

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and possibly took legal action against the author. The details of the trial are unrecorded but, speaking through the hero of his third play

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by Cedric H. Whitman Author(s) of Review: H. Lloyd Stow The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 87, No. 1 (Jan. 1966), pp. 111–113

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under the Acropolis in 1959 that established a trend in modern Greek history of breaking taboos through the voice of Aristophanes.

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was the pretext for the Peloponnesian War, Aristophanes naturally concludes that this whole mess happened because of "three cunts".

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for performance in Weimar. Aristophanes has appealed to both conservatives and radicals in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—

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E. Handley in 'The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I', P. Easterling, R. MacGregor Walker Knox, E. Kenney (eds), p. 360

562:. A choregus could regard his personal expenditure on the Chorus as a civic duty and a public honour, but Aristophanes showed in 3577: 3535: 1424:– sections of dialogue in iambic trimeter, often in a succession of scenes featuring minor characters towards the end of a play; 495:. Little is known about Aristophanes' life, his plays being the main source of biographical information. It was conventional in 8431: 8421: 6954: 6814: 6809: 6086: 5129: 5010: 4609:

Socrates on Trial: A play based on Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's Apology, Crito, and Phaedo, adapted for modern performance

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The rules of competition did not prevent a playwright arranging and adjusting these elements to suit his particular needs. In

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appears to indicate that he reached some kind of temporary accommodation with Cleon following either the controversy over

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The language of Aristophanes' plays, and in Old Comedy generally, was valued by ancient commentators as a model of the

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turns his own house into a private law court in order to keep his jury-addicted father safely at home; Trygaeus in

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and are used to define it, along with fragments from dozens of lost plays by Aristophanes and his contemporaries.

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sets off to establish his own colony and becomes instead the ruler of the bird kingdom and a rival to the gods.

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in 388. Araros is also thought to have been responsible for the posthumous performances of the now lost plays

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play ahead of a comedy, but it is possible that many of the poorer citizens (typically the main supporters of

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was only in its fourth year. His plays often express pride in the achievement of the older generation (the

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have been interpreted as evidence that he can hardly have been more than 18 years old when his first play

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and assistance was given by the Eastern National Park and Monument Association in cooperation with the

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whom in fact they seem to have had little or no practical influence: they did not affect the career of

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opens with these three lines by the hero, Dikaiopolis (rendered here in English as iambic pentameters):

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Table of contents of a 1498 edition, which contains all of Aristophanes' surviving plays except for

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flies to Olympus on a giant dung beetle to obtain an end to the Peloponnesian War; Pisthetairus in

1243: 980:, literally "sandhundredheaps", here paraphrased "manysandthousandsandheaps"). The use of invented 902: 898: 458: 8366: 5374: 594:. However it is uncertain whether he led or merely responded to changes in audience expectations. 8190: 8087: 7993: 7637: 7554: 7442: 6944: 6768: 6284: 6264: 6121: 5992: 5876: 5671: 5598: 5452: 4785: 3411: 2781: 1384:– an introductory scene with a dialogue and/or soliloquy addressed to the audience, expressed in 849: 581: 413: 352:, the first of many plays that he directed himself. "In my opinion," he says through that play's 637:, where there were few or no foreign dignitaries), the poet carefully distinguishes between the 5074: 1536:. This is another declaimed passage and it mirrors the epirrhema in meter, length and function. 425: 8265: 7852: 7401: 7249: 7201: 7045: 7014: 6959: 6876: 6753: 6625: 6446: 6279: 6232: 6172: 6046: 6028: 6004: 5986: 5896: 5891: 5542: 5444: 5258: 5154: 5120: 4901: 4873: 4846: 4804: 4661: 4653: 4574: 4251: 4028: 3902: 3449: 3435: 3345: 3292: 3078: 3051: 3024: 2994: 2839: 2761: 2750: 2648: 2292: 2090: 2033:. It was commissioned in commemoration of the Bicentennial of 19 April 1775 (the start of the 2030: 1287: 1061: 1032: 1014:

excited dialogue or heated argument (typically trochaic rhythm, the same as in early tragedy);

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for a year at the beginning of the fourth century, but such appointments were very common in

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and his mother was Zenodora. His family was believed to have owned property on the island of

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Peter Meineck (translator) and Ian Storey (Introduction), Hackett Publishing 2000, p. xviii

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caused some embarrassment for the Athenian authorities since it depicted the cities of the

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Peter Meineck (translator) and Ian Storey (Introduction), Hackett Publishing 2000, p. viii

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that his audience would be judged by other times according to its reception of his plays.

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written by Plato, in which the playwright's soul is compared to an eternal shrine for the

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Homer got to be famous, I'll tell if you ask: he taught us what all good men should know,

5125: 4366:. Translated by Peter Meineck. Ian Storey (Introduction). Hackett Publishing. p. x. 2990:

Aristophanes the Democrat: The Politics of Satirical Comedy During the Peloponnesian War

2894: 2764:, the witty personal attack made with total freedom against the most notable individuals 8092: 8032: 8027: 7983: 7764: 7712: 7702: 7682: 7672: 7416: 7411: 7406: 6891: 6871: 6259: 6069: 6058: 6052: 6040: 5840: 5815: 5727: 5588: 5513: 5209: 5101: 2112: 2003: 1332: 981: 790: 708:

seems to indicate that the "poet" had a close, personal association with the island of

629: 609:(also now lost). It was usual for foreign dignitaries to attend the City Dionysia, and 282: 266: 5159: 4797:

Jeffrey Henderson, Professor of Classics at University of Southern California (1991).

1675: 8395: 8328: 8245: 8220: 7910: 7832: 7514: 7457: 7356: 7346: 7316: 7298: 7172: 6324: 6106: 5998: 5954: 5916: 5755: 5676: 5382: 5279: 5272: 4983: 3983:

edited by J. Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray, Oxford University Press 1986, p. 175

3407: 3201: 3185: 2477: 2400: 2386: 2371: 2344: 2038: 1931: 1747: 1377:

The structural elements of a typical Aristophanic plot can be summarized as follows:

1283: 1247: 802: 777: 614: 598: 586: 536: 5291: 1084:

He was marching his men up and down on parade when the crest of his helmet fell off!

519:

influences in Athenian society. He caricatured leading figures in the arts (notably

57: 8145: 8097: 7963: 7817: 7687: 7326: 7162: 6630: 6329: 5237: 5053: 5029: 4302: 2767: 2225: 1804:

Listed below are some of the many works influenced (more or less) by Aristophanes.

1779: 940:: Aristophanes achieves an effect resembling natural speech through the use of the 747: 500: 474: 353: 5165: 4212: 4002: 3491: 3274: 3146: 4798: 4284:

J. Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray (eds), Oxford University Press 1986, p. 176

3072: 3045: 3018: 2988: 8165: 8057: 8037: 7870: 7865: 7373: 7351: 7341: 7336: 7259: 7216: 6763: 6673: 6663: 6550: 6540: 6304: 5681: 5656: 5216: 3738: 2144: 2107:

titles; Latin remains a customary language of scholarship in classical studies.

1999: 1966: 1927: 1916:

adapted by the NSW Arts Unit Drama Company, directed by Genevieve de Souza, NIDA

1751: 1024:

informal debates barely above the level of ordinary dialogue (typically iambic).

869: 564: 348: 38: 3707: 8102: 8072: 8067: 8052: 7938: 7905: 7574: 7544: 7211: 6939: 6773: 6615: 6610: 6600: 6585: 6570: 6560: 6535: 5911: 5666: 5621: 5327: 5251: 5223: 5116: 5078: 4949: 4660:(First Edition, Second Impression ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3332:

J. Boardman, J. Griffin, O. Murray (eds), Oxford University Press 1986, p. 177

2875: 2457: 2275: 2175: 2096: 1961: 1794: 1739: 1731: 1688: 1263: 873: 812: 754:

Aristophanes was probably victorious at least once at the City Dionysia, with

721: 544: 496: 313: 300: 288: 162: 138: 122: 8077: 8003: 7988: 7958: 7953: 7885: 7809: 7794: 7779: 7722: 7622: 7274: 7206: 6778: 6758: 6728: 6723: 6718: 6683: 6678: 6648: 6595: 6555: 6334: 6200: 6154: 6134: 5941: 5765: 5636: 5265: 5230: 5084: 4964:

Life, death and Aristophanes' concept of Eros in Saul Bellow's "Ravelstein".

2319: 2200: 1700: 1696: 1543: 1530:: These are songs that mirror the strophe/ode in meter, length and function. 1206: 918: 914: 910: 894: 520: 488: 178: 146: 4478: 929:

labelled him a 'Euripidaristophanist' addicted to hair-splitting niceties.

5096: 4750:

Welsh, D. (1983), "IG ii2 2343, Philonides and Aristophanes' Banqueters",

4139:

Douglas MacDowell (ed.), Oxford University Press 1971, p. 207 note 546–630

3634:

K. J. Dover (ed), Oxford University Press 1970, Introduction p. ix note 1.

2196:), original 423 BC, incomplete revised version from 419 to 416 BC survives 8127: 8117: 8107: 8082: 7948: 7880: 7860: 7827: 7789: 7732: 7647: 7632: 7489: 7479: 7396: 7391: 6788: 6783: 6743: 6738: 6713: 6693: 6620: 6575: 6565: 6421: 6319: 6254: 6182: 5790: 5139: 4920:

The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 112, 1992 (1992), pp. 123–142

4706:, vol. 3, University of Pennsylvania Press (Penn Greek Drama Series) 4644:

Levi P (1986), "Greek Drama", in Boardman J, Griffin J, Murray O (eds.),

1684: 1323: 1313: 1186: 1142: 997: 993: 926: 906: 811:, the play in which Socrates was cruelly caricatured. One of the guests, 554: 326: 322: 1004:

or pairs of feet), used in various situations within each play such as:

716:

complains about Cleon "dragging me into court" over "last year's play."

8270: 8260: 8215: 8205: 8200: 8185: 8175: 8160: 8155: 8042: 7930: 7920: 7799: 7774: 7769: 7742: 7737: 7717: 7707: 7697: 7662: 7652: 7642: 7594: 7584: 7559: 7529: 7524: 7519: 7494: 7147: 6929: 6590: 6580: 6339: 6309: 6299: 6294: 6274: 6269: 6149: 6096: 6010: 5805: 5795: 5785: 5780: 5770: 5390: 5150: 4817: 2816:

Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter (2006). James Hartman; Jane Setter (eds.).

2740: 1135: 1057:

singing who taught us religion and how wrong people are when they kill,

1054: 890: 829: 318: 4916: 4860: 4789: 3963:

Tomus 2, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

3463:

Tomus 1, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

2103:

Most of these are traditionally referred to by abbreviations of their

1992:(a reference to the exaggerated appendages worn by Greek comic actors) 1218:

and the "recreation" of old Athens, crowned with roses, at the end of

8240: 8170: 8150: 8112: 7978: 7784: 7677: 7614: 7604: 7549: 7167: 7152: 6748: 6733: 6708: 6703: 6688: 6349: 6344: 6111: 6091: 5835: 5825: 5820: 5691: 5651: 5641: 5626: 4042:

Tomus 1, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

3824:

Tomus 1, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

3808:

Tomus 1, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

3514:

Tomus 1, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

3240:

Tomus 1, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

3129:

Tomus 1, F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds), Oxford Classical Texts,

1903:, adapted by David Greenspan, music by Thomas Cabaniss, performed by 1763: 1327: 1068: 885: 820: 709: 634: 559: 532: 492: 478: 466: 285: 4957: 4829: 4590:

Aristophanes in Performance 421 BC – AD 2007: Peace, Birds and Frogs

4379:

Aristophanes in Performance 421 BC – AD 2007: Peace, Birds and Frogs

4199:

Douglas M. MacDowell, Oxford University Press 1978, note 1283 p. 298

2880:

Aristophanes in Performance 421 BC – AD 2007: Peace, Birds and Frogs

1892:, adapted by Robert Brustein, music by Galt MacDermot, performed by 1793:, in which respect they are perhaps as important as the writings of 1303:. Absurdities develop logically from initial premises in a plot. In 321:

that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemning to death of

5135: 4925: 4781: 1738:, they were used in the study of rhetoric on the recommendation of 8250: 8225: 8122: 8062: 8047: 7915: 7875: 7627: 7539: 7534: 7504: 7499: 7474: 7157: 6698: 6653: 6605: 6177: 6129: 5830: 5800: 5747: 5722: 5661: 5631: 2083: 1727: 1300: 881: 623: 618: 540: 524: 483: 342: 337: 308: 5482: 4761:

Aristophanes and Athenian Society of the Early Fourth Century B.C

4232:

Douglas MacDowell (ed), Oxford University Press 1978, pp. 298–299

3871: 3869: 3867: 3622:

IG II 2325. 143 (just after Anaxandrides and just before Eubulus)

617:

as slaves grinding at a mill. Some influential citizens, notably

8255: 8230: 8180: 7667: 7657: 1388:

and explaining the situation that is to be resolved in the play;

1251: 1211: 1091:

while still whetting the audience's appetite for the next joke.

470: 356:, "the author-director of comedies has the hardest job of all." 8295: 7437: 6866: 6370: 5717: 5537: 5486: 5295: 5169: 4599:

The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature

4295:

The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature

2895:"Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1" 1169: 643: 576:

was produced, Athens was an ambitious, imperial power and the

503:

to speak on behalf of the author during an address called the

242: 215: 4471:"Plays, Radio and Film; Ralph Vaughan Williams List of Works" 2376: 2353: 2324: 2301: 2280: 2255: 2230: 2205: 2180: 2158: 2149: 2126: 2117: 1477: 1172: 975: 969: 649: 423: 411: 383: 4597:

Handley E (1985), "Comedy", in Easterling P, Knox B (eds.),

4460:

Thomas Hutchinson (ed), Oxford University Press 1970, p. 410

3546:

Aristophanes, testimonium 1, lines 54–56, in Kassel-Austin,

1949:) is mentioned frequently by the character Menedemos in the 4768:

Edwards, Anthony T. (1991). "Aristophanes' comic poetics".

4175:

Douglas MacDowell (ed), Oxford University Press 1978, p. 27

236: 700:

and he was also credited, perhaps wrongly, with directing

230: 4068: 4066: 4064: 1960:

A liberal version of the comedies have been published in

1071:

knows it all, when to plant, when to harvest. How godlike

719:

Comments made by the Chorus referring to Aristophanes in

605:(now lost). He won first prize there with his next play, 218: 558:, a wealthy citizen appointed to the task by one of the 27:

Classical Athenian comic playwright (c. 446 – c. 386 BC)

4163:

Douglas MacDowell, Oxford University Press 1978, p. 261

2061:

for a 1909 Cambridge University production of the play.

2029:

is a three-movement piece for concert band composed by

4420:, John Bush Jones (ed), New York University Press 1970 4418:

W. S. Gilbert: A Century of Scholarship and Commentary

4187:

K. J. Dover (ed), Oxford University Press 1970, p. 126

4106:

Douglas MacDowell, Oxford University Press 1978, p. 12

3912: 3910: 3741:(ed), Oxford University Press 1970, Introduction p. ix 1326:

and much of the shrewdness of the farmer idealized in

1000:

or iambs (where each line is ideally measured in four

984:

is another comic device frequently found in the plays.

4870:

Aristophanes and Athens: An Introduction to the Plays

4770:

Transactions of the American Philological Association

3307:

A. H. Sommerstein (ed), Penguin Books 1975, pp. 13–14

2002:. Loosely based on several of his plays, it featured 758:

in 427, and at least three times at the Lenaia, with

245: 239: 233: 224: 212: 4722: