Aristophanes

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born

December 31, 0445 in Athens, Greece

died

December 31, 0385

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction

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Of all the writers of "Old Comedy", only one remains. Lost forever are the works of Chionides, Magnes, Ecphantides, Cratinus, Crates, and Eupolis. All the extant comedies of the fifth century B.C. belong to one man--Aristophanes. On his shoulders alone rests the reputation of an entire age of comedy. Fortunately, by most accounts Aristophanes was the greatest comic writer of his day.

By the time Aristophanes began to write his comedies, democracy had already begun to sour for the Athenians. The people were increasingly demoralized by the ongoing conflicts of the Peloponnesian War and the loss of their greatest hero, Pericles, had been taken from them and replaced by unscrupulous politicians such as Cleon and Hyperbolus. It is little wonder,...more Of all the writers of "Old Comedy", only one remains. Lost forever are the works of Chionides, Magnes, Ecphantides, Cratinus, Crates, and Eupolis. All the extant comedies of the fifth century B.C. belong to one man--Aristophanes. On his shoulders alone rests the reputation of an entire age of comedy. Fortunately, by most accounts Aristophanes was the greatest comic writer of his day.

By the time Aristophanes began to write his comedies, democracy had already begun to sour for the Athenians. The people were increasingly demoralized by the ongoing conflicts of the Peloponnesian War and the loss of their greatest hero, Pericles, had been taken from them and replaced by unscrupulous politicians such as Cleon and Hyperbolus. It is little wonder, therefore, that Aristophanes laughter is tinged, even from the beginning, with tones of apprehension and grief.

Aristophanes' first two comedies, The Banqueters and The Babylonians have been lost. His first surviving play, The Acharnians, was written in the sixth year of the War and, coincidentally, happens to be the world's first anti-war comedy. Inspired by the suffering of the rural population of Attica, the area surrounding Athens which was exposed to continual invasions, the poet built his plot around a hard headed farmer who, tired of the hostilities, determines to make a private peace with the Spartans. Denounced as a traitor by his fellow citizens and forced to plead for his life, Dicaeopolis turns to the tragic poet Euripides who lends him a whole assortment of tragic stage effects. His collection depleted, Euripides complains, "You miserable man! You are robbing me of an entire tragedy!"

In his next play Aristophanes turned his satirical powers on Cleon, the demagogue who had succeeded Pericles. However, the dictator's power was so great that no actor dared impersonate him, and legend has it that the poet played the role himself, his face smeared with wine dregs in mockery of Cleon's bloated and alcoholic countenance. The people of Athens were quick to recognize their tyrannical leader as the Paphlagonian tanner in The Knights, and although the play had no real political effect, it took first prize at the festival.

Aristophanes barbs, however, were not reserved exclusively for political figures. In fact, he often saved his sharpest attacks for other cultural figures. In The Clouds, he turns his attentions to the great thinker of the day--Socrates. The story revolves around an old man named Strepsiades. Deeply in debt because of his son's gambling and desperate to preserve his fortune, he enrolls in Socrates' Thinking Shop in order to learn how to confute his creditors with logic. What he finds on the first day of training, however, is the great thinker suspended in a basket and contemplating the sun. Only confused by this first lesson, Strepsiades determines to have his son educated instead. The young man responds quickly to Socrates' teachings and is soon able to prove, after beating his father, that he was morally justified in doing so.(less)

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Books by Aristophanes

Average rating: 3.82 · 13,869 ratings · 516 reviews · 166 distinct works

	Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Sarah Ruden (Translator) 3.79 avg rating — 7,493 ratings — published -411 — 72 editions	My rating:
	Four Plays by Aristophanes: The Clouds/The Birds/Lysistrata/The Frogs by Aristophanes, William Arrowsmith (Translator), Richmond Lattimore (Translator) 3.98 avg rating — 1,842 ratings — published 1983 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Clouds by Aristophanes, Kenneth James Dover 3.68 avg rating — 1,079 ratings — published -423 — 81 editions	My rating:
	Lysistrata and Other Plays by Aristophanes, Alan H. Sommerstein (Translator) 3.80 avg rating — 739 ratings — published -450 — 6 editions	My rating:
	The Frogs 3.76 avg rating — 653 ratings — published 1965 — 60 editions	My rating:
	The Complete Plays of Aristophanes by Aristophanes, Moses Hadas (Editor) 4.06 avg rating — 371 ratings — published -388 — 60 editions	My rating:
	The Acharnians/The Clouds/Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Alan H. Sommerstein (translator) 3.92 avg rating — 275 ratings — published 411 — 3 editions	My rating:
	The Birds and Other Plays by Aristophanes, David Barrett (Translator), Alan Sommerstein (Translator) 3.91 avg rating — 202 ratings — published 1999 — 5 editions	My rating:
	The Wasps / The Poet and the Women / The Frogs by Aristophanes, David Barrett (Translator) 3.83 avg rating — 135 ratings — published 1964	My rating:
	Frogs and Other Plays by Aristophanes, David Barrett (Translator), Shomit Dutta (Introduction) 3.98 avg rating — 128 ratings — published -405 — 4 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by Aristophanes

“Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown, ignorance can be educated, and drunkenness sobered, but stupid lasts forever.”
― Aristophanes

95 people liked it

“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.”
― Aristophanes

32 people liked it

“By words the mind is winged.”
― Aristophanes

17 people liked it

See all Aristophanes's quotes »

Polls

Which do you prefer to read after "The Odyssey?

The Marriage Of Cadmus and Harmony

4 votes, 66.7%

Play by Aristophanes , Euripides , or Sophocles

1 vote, 16.7%

Historical novel by Mary Renault

1 vote, 16.7%

Graphic novel Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

0 votes, 0.0%

Adapted epic or play

0 votes, 0.0%

Something I'll write below in comments

0 votes, 0.0%

Poetry

0 votes, 0.0%

6 total votes

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Aristophanes

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Books by Aristophanes