The History of Theatre: Aristophanes
Aristophanes (448?-385 BC), Athenian playwright, considered one of the greatest writers of comedy in
literary history. His plays have been produced through the centuries and have remained popular because
of their wit, comic invention, and poetic language.
Aristophanes is believed to have been born in Athens, Greece, in the deme, or township, of
Cydathenaeum. Presumably, he was well educated and may have had property on the island of Aegina.
He had three sons-Philippos, Araros, and Nikostratos-all of whom were comic poets.
Aristophanes was first and foremost a satirist. During his lifetime Athens underwent a period of
convulsive cultural and social change, and he found a ready target in the politicians, poets, and
philosophers of his day. It would nevertheless be misleading to describe Aristophanes as a reactionary or a
conservative, since his works show no sympathy for the aristocratic party in Athenian politics. No class,
age, or profession was exempt from his satire. Aristophanes wrote more than 40 plays, of which 11 are
extant. His first three plays were produced under pseudonyms, including The Acharnians (425 BC), a plea
for ending the war with Sparta. The Knights (424 BC), the first of the plays of Aristophanes to be
presented under his own name, is a devastating satire about Athenian politician and military leader Cleon,
champion of the democratic forces and leader of the war party. The Clouds (423 BC) satirizes Greek
philosopher Socrates, whose penetrating analysis of established values Aristophanes considered opposed
to the interests of the state. In The Wasps (422 BC) Aristophanes satirized the courts of justice of the
day, and in The Peace (421 BC) he again...
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403 Local war and reinstatment of democracy.
399 Sentence and deth of Socrates.
395 The war with Sparta restarts, but with diferent correlation of allies. First steps of Athenian navy
towards reprisal.
392 "Heclesiasouses" (the chronology is based mostly upon internal criterions and probably trown
off a year.)
388 "Ploutos" ("wealth") (saved)
After 388: "Heolosikon" (lost) and "Kokalos" (lost). Produser and director was one of poet sons.
From "Aharnes" we make the conclusion that at the time this play was staged, Aristophanes lived in
Eagina, the island the Athenians had colonized in 431 b.C. when they threw out the old dwellers (as
philolaconists). We know that his sons where comedy writers but we know nothing for his father
(Phillipos his name) nor for his social or economic status.
Throughout Aristophanes’ “Clouds” there is a constant battle between old and new. It makes itself apparent in the Just and Unjust speech as well as between father and son. Ultimately, Pheidippides, whom would be considered ‘new’, triumphs over the old Strepsiades, his father. This is analogous to the Just and Unjust speech. In this debate, Just speech represents the old traditions and mores of Greece while the contrasting Unjust speech is considered to be newfangled and cynical towards the old. While the defeat of Just speech by Unjust speech does not render Pheidippides the ability to overcome Strepsiades, it is a parallel that may be compared with many other instances in Mythology and real life.
Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1984.
Some might argue that, under the rule of Pericles, democracy thrived in Athens. Pericles stood for democracy and dedicated his career to creating an Athens which was not only a beacon to the world but also a shining light of democracy during a Monarchist age. While Pericles was in office, all remnants of the previous oligarchic system were replaced with a democratic system in which all social and economic classes had influence. Pericles praised Athens system of government in his famous funeral oration:
The Spartans did not heed Archidamus’ warning that “unless we can either beat them at sea, or deprive them of the revenues which feed their navy, we shall meet with little but disaster.”8 From the beginning, Sparta should have developed an alternative course of action, a branch plan in modern American military terms, to execute if the invasion of Attica did not quickly end the war. There was little time for Sparta to build or develop a naval force to match Athenian naval power, but an alternative plan to erode away the Athenian empire, similar to the one employed by Brasidas in 424 BC, was possible much earlier in the war and could have eroded Athenian financial support from their empire. For as Thucydides tells us, “the strength of Athens being derived from the money brought in by their [allies] payments.”9 Conditions were present for Sparta to reduce the Athenian empire as many Greeks wanted or feared losing their independence from the Athenian empire.10 While not excusing Sparta’s initial failure as described above, it is understandable, based on the conservative Spartan culture, why they did not develop an alternative course of action for defeating
Aside from all the prodigious number of Greek tragedies in history, stands a collection of Greek comedies which serve as humorous relief from the powerful overtone of the tragedy. These comedies were meant to ease the severity and seriousness sometimes associated with the Greek society. The ideas portrayed in the comedies, compared to the tragedies, were ridiculously far-fetched; however, although abnormal, these views are certainly worthy of attention. Throughout his comedy, The Clouds, Aristophanes, along with his frequent use of toilet humor, ridicules aspects of Greek culture when he destroys tradition by denouncing the importance of the gods' influence on the actions of mortals, and he unknowingly parallels Greek society with today's. Aristophanes also defiantly misrepresents an icon like Socrates as comical, atheistic, and consumed by ideas of self interest, which is contradictory to the Socrates seen in Plato's Apology or Phaedo.
The causes of the Peloponnesian War proved to be too great between the tension-filled stubborn Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. As Thucydides says in Karl Walling’s article, “Never had so many human beings been exiled, or so much human blood been shed” (4). The three phases of the war, which again, are the Archidamian war, the Sicilian Expedition and the Decelean war, show the events that followed the causes of the war, while also showing the forthcoming detrimental effects that eventually consumed both Athens and eventually Sparta effectively reshaping Greece.
Jowett, B. (2009) ‘Politics by Aristotle, 350 B.C.E’, Classics, 2009 [On-line], http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.2.two.html (Accessed 9 December 2013).
world in its time. Of all the battles and wars that the Ancient Greeks army had
Cleisthenes is an important figure in ancient Greece, he was the father of democracy. Cleisthenes was born in the year 570 bc. in the city-state of Athens. He was born into a rich family that raised him to be a nobleman. At the time when Cleisthenes was being raised there was a great divide in normal citizens against their wealthy noble rulers. As a young boy he had great expectations to live up to, his grandfather was the ruler of Sicyon, a great Olympian, and was famous all over Greece.
In the play Wasps, Aristophanes informs the audience about the fact that their leaders are completely corrupted. This is done frequently throughout the play through the use of the humour device of ridiculing of an individual, in this case, Cleon is that individual. Using comedy to his advantage, Aristophanes continuously mocks Cleon in the play. In fact, at one point he even calls him a ‘whale-creature’ to describe his physical appearance. i.e. “And this disgusting whale-creature had pair of scales and it was weighing out bits of fat from a carcass… Dividing up the body politic – I see it all. Horrible!” Aside from insulting Cleon’s appearance, Aristophanes also addresses the fact that political leaders are stealing from the people and, that
Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. Trans. Robert Fagles. NY: Penguin, 1984.
Satire is a literary manner built on wit and humor with a critical attitude directed to human institutions and humanity. A successful satiric play will show certain truths about society and then try to improve upon them. Satire is meant to be constructive rather than destructive. Aristophanes uses satire in Lysistrata to convey many different themes such as war and peace, the struggles of power and class, and the life and death issues that are seen in war. Satire is successfully used and seen in Lysistrata by stereotyping women in general and then the different classes of women as well. Double entendres are seen throughout the play to help add humor to the play. Sex is used as humorous tool but only to covey a deeper theme that consists of war and peace and also of life and death.
As perspectives and opinions in the realm of political science are fluid and bound to change, he receives a variety of replies, for the representatives body he sent happen to comprise a Realist, a Liberal and a Constructivist. The variances the philosophies and universal laws his representatives throw back at him intrigue General Cleomedes. He recognizes that within the power play of the world, and the role of Athens as a superpower within the world’s political arena, he must be thoroughly versed in every possible political perspective. Thus, he invites his representatives to share their own view of what transpired between the dialogue between the Melians and the Athenians.
Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. Gerald F. Else. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1967. Dorsch, T. R., trans. and ed. Aristotle Horace Longinus: Classical Literary Criticism. New York: Penguin, 1965. Ley, Graham. The Ancient Greek Theater. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1991. Reinhold, Meyer. Classical Drama, Greek and Roman. New York: Barrons, 1959.
The name most associated with excellence in theatre is William Shakespeare. His plays, more than any other playwright, resonate through the ages. It may be safe to say that he has influenced more actors, directors, and playwrights than any thespian in the history of the stage. But what were his influences? During the Middle Ages theatre was dominated by morality, miracle, and mystery plays that were often staged by the church as a means to teach the illiterate masses about Christianity. It wasn’t until the early sixteenth century that Greek tragedy experienced a revival, in turn, inspiring a generation of renaissance playwrights.