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'''Aristophanes''' was an Athenian dramatist and the greatest writer of the Old Comedy. Eleven of his plays survive, and they are the only complete examples of the genre, which combined political satire, obscenity, and fantasy.

== Life and Career ==
Aristophanes was born about 446 BC in Athens and was a member of the deme of Cydathenaeum. His father was a landowner, and the family belonged to the propertied class.

He began to write comedies at a young age, and his first plays were produced under the names of other poets. His own name first appears as the producer of the Acharnians in 425 BC.

He competed at the festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia, and he won several prizes, including first prize for the Babylonians, the Acharnians, and the Knights.

== The Old Comedy ==
The Old Comedy was characterised by the parabasis, in which the chorus addressed the audience on behalf of the poet. The plays combined a fantastic plot with topical satire.

The chorus was composed of figures appropriate to the theme, such as the old men of Acharnae or the clouds. The actors wore grotesque masks and costumes.

The comedy had a political and social function, and it was licensed to criticise the leaders of the state. Aristophanes attacked Cleon, the demagogue, and later the conduct of the war and the ideas of the sophists.

== The Plays ==
The Acharnians, produced in 425 BC, is a plea for peace and a satire of the war party. The Knights, of 424 BC, attacks Cleon and the demagogues.

The Clouds, of 423 BC, mocks Socrates and the new learning. The Wasps mocks the courts and the litigiousness of the Athenians.

The Peace celebrates the recovery of peace, and the Birds, of 414 BC, is a fantasy about a city in the sky. The Lysistrata, of 411 BC, is a comic fantasy about the women's sex strike to end the war.

== The Later Plays ==
The Thesmophoriazusae and the Ecclesiazusae treat the role of women. The Frogs, of 405 BC, is a contest between Aeschylus and Euripides in the underworld and a literary criticism.

The Plutus, of 388 BC, is a comedy about wealth and the distribution of goods. It belongs to the Middle Comedy and is less political than the earlier plays.

The later plays show a change in the genre and in the audience. The political edge of the Old Comedy was lost, and the themes became more general.

== Legacy ==
Aristophanes is the only representative of the Old Comedy whose works survive complete. He is a primary source for the social and political history of Athens.

His plays influenced the development of comedy and of satire, and they have been adapted and performed in modern times. His treatment of war and of political corruption remains resonant.

He is admired for his verbal inventiveness and for his lyric poetry. The choruses of the Birds and the Frogs are among the finest in Greek drama.

== The Political Context ==
Aristophanes wrote during the Peloponnesian War, a conflict that divided the Greek world and exhausted Athens. The war and the demagogues who supported it are the targets of several of his plays.

He attacked Cleon, the leader of the war party, in the Knights and in other plays. Cleon prosecuted him, and he was condemned for the Babylonians.

He also criticised the policies of the Athenian assembly and the conduct of the empire. His comedies are a valuable source for the political history of the period.

== The Comic Festivals ==
The comedies were performed at the Lenaea and the Dionysia, the festivals in honour of Dionysus. The performances were competitions, and the prizes were awarded by a panel of judges.

The productions were expensive and were financed by wealthy citizens as a liturgy. The chorus was trained at the expense of the producer.

The audience was large and included citizens, metics, and visitors. The plays were performed in the open air in the theatre of Dionysus.

== Language and Metre ==
Aristophanes wrote in a variety of metres and dialects. The dialogue is in iambic trimeter, and the choruses use lyric metres.

The language is inventive and full of puns, of compound words, and of parody. He parodies the style of the tragedians and of the philosophers.

The plays include songs and dances, and the music was composed by professional musicians. The music does not survive.

== Later Influence ==
The comedies were read and studied in antiquity and were imitated by later comic writers. The tradition of political satire descends from the Old Comedy.

The plays were rediscovered in the Renaissance and influenced the development of European comedy. They were translated and adapted by many writers.

Modern productions have emphasised the topical and the political elements. The Lysistrata has been adapted as a protest against war.

== See also ==
* Old Comedy
* Ancient Greek theatre

== References ==

<ref name="r1">Dover, K. J. Aristophanic Comedy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972.</ref>
<ref name="r2">Aristophanes. Lysistrata and Other Plays. Translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. London: Penguin, 1973.</ref>
<ref name="r3">Sommerstein, Alan H. Aristophanes: An Introduction. London: Duckworth, 2009.</ref>
<ref name="r4">Russo, Carlo Ferdinando. Aristophanes: An Author for the Stage. London: Routledge, 1994.</ref>

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[[Category:Drama]]
[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Ancient Greece]]

Aristophanes - Revision history

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