Aristophanes

Introduction The Athenian playwright Aristophanes created the play Lysistrata during the Peloponnesian War in 411 B.C. Aristophanes created plays that symbolized his own opinions and views on topics affecting him and other Athens. The play Lysistrata describes Aristophanes views of the Peloponnesian War and the possibility of peace through uniting the forces of the Greek women. The play contains the themes of humor and sexuality, but the straightforward expression of war in the play describes how Aristophanes feels about the war. Synopsis The story begins with Lysistrata asking Myrrhine, Calonice, Lamptio from Sparta and Chorus, the women of Greece, to join her in refusing sex to their husbands until they stop the Peloponnesian War. After taking the pledge of…

Aristophanes' Birds is a comical play that was preformed in the Dionysian festival in 414 BCE. This comedy does not follow the same usual trend of using comedy to address serious political issues that can be seen in the majority of the works that we have of Aristophanes. The play starts with two older Athenians, Euelpides and Pisthetaerus, who are discouraged with the state of Athens and its people. Instead of these two looking to change the old and corrupt Athens they want to start a new life…

Of the many writings that once existed on Socrates, only a few have actually survived entirely. One of them is a play written by Socrates’ contemporary Aristophanes on 423 BCE. In his comedy “The Clouds”, Aristophanes ridicules the character of Socrates on stage for all of Athens to see and enjoy. Despite the fact that “The Clouds” survived entirely, its reliability becomes complex and questionable due to the inconsistency with the writings of Socrates’ other contemporaries, as well as with the…

Aristophanes aimed to entertain the audience through satire and gave us warnings about truth. Education is part of an intellectual depiction to manipulate ideas and language which even rethink Strepsiades’ belief in the Gods as an elderly man. He challenges the nature of education and questions the audience on whether education is to become more highly, sophisticated and intellectual than other people or inform society with knowledge and to enhance it. He parallels Greek society with our future…

When imagining the ancient city of Athens, intriguing philosophy, beautiful art, and advancement in mathematics and science may be brought to mind. However, one man, Aristophanes, seemed to be the complete opposite of the portrayed picture of the Athenian people. He was a comedian, and a very unrefined one. His vulgar, sexual, uncouth plays were extremely popular, viewed by citizens of all statuses. The Ancient Greeks, so well known for laying the intellectual foundation of the Western world,…

Argumentative Strategies of Plato vs. Aristophanes In Aristophanes’ “Clouds” and Plato’s “Apology” Socrates is satirically attacked and rationally defended respectively. The two argumentative styles of Aristophanes and Plato are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Aristophanes utilizes satire and humorous exaggerations of sophist teachings to denounce Socrates. Alternatively, Plato’s “Apology” uses logic and reason in order to defend himself against the charges brought against him. Both…

Aristophanes was a Greek playwright living in Athens during the Peloponnesian War whose comedies typically satirized the democracy and society. He wrote the comedy “The Acharnians” to establish the problems with the democracy leading Athens. He believes a successful democracy in Athens could only be possible if the troubles damaging the democracy were fixed. For Aristophanes, democracy in Athens is possible if greed is eliminated, equality achieved, and empathy developed because these three…

hangovers. They all decide to go easy for the night and just tell stories. Aristophanes and Socrates both tell stories about love, but both have very different meanings. Aristophanes, who is a comic playwright tells a story in which he talks about the myth of soulmates and love, and his meaning of love. Socrates then tells a story of his version of love, and what he believes it to be. Both Aristophanes and Socrates stories gives interesting ideas, in Aristophanes Male/Male pairing is favored,…

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata satirizes the fruitlessness of the Peloponnesian war and the roles of women which is conveyed by the premise that something as simple as abstinence by women can bring an end to a dragged-out war. It can be inferred that this is an anti-war satire from the conversations between the women after Lysistrata asks “don’t you miss the men, the fathers of your children all the time?” where the women talk about not being able to see the fathers of their children for months at a…

Kelsey Hubbard Maureen Hawkins English 2200 February 28, 2017 Dance, Drink, and Coitus: Aristophanes’ Lysistrata In the plays of ancient Athens were topical reflections on the politics of the times, and according to Worthen, such relevancy was particularly present in satiric comedies (13). The works of Greek playwright Aristophanes were no exception in this regard. As Klaus et al. points out, Aristophanes lived and wrote his plays in turbulent times, and that perhaps influenced his literature…