Aristophanes

Aristophanes (ca. 446 BC - 385 BC) was a Greek comic poet, famous for writing plays, especially comedies such as The Birds for the two Athenian festivals: the Dionisia and the Lenea. Many of his plays were political, and he is known to have been prosecuted for Athenian law's equivalent of libel more than once. A famous comedy, The Frogs, was given the unprecedented honor of a second perfomance.

He appears in Plato's Symposium, giving a humorous mythical account of the origin of Love. The Clouds pokes fun at famous figures, notably Socrates, and may have contributed to the common conception of the philosopher as a Sophist. Lysistrata was written during the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta and presents a pacifist theme in a comical manner: the women of the two states deprive their husbands of sex until they stop fighting. This play was later illustrated at length by Pablo Picasso.

Plays

External Links

e-texts of some of Aristophanes' works:

The Acharnenses (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=69)
The Birds (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=263)
Clouds (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=397)
Peace (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1643)

		Aristophanes
		Aristophanes (ca. 446 BC - 385 BC) was a Greek comic poet, famous for writing plays, especially comedies such as The Birds for the two Athenian festivals: the Dionisia and the Lenea. Many of his plays were political, and he is known to have been prosecuted for Athenian law's equivalent of libel more than once. A famous comedy, The Frogs, was given the unprecedented honor of a second perfomance. He appears in Plato's Symposium, giving a humorous mythical account of the origin of Love. The Clouds pokes fun at famous figures, notably Socrates, and may have contributed to the common conception of the philosopher as a Sophist. Lysistrata was written during the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta and presents a pacifist theme in a comical manner: the women of the two states deprive their husbands of sex until they stop fighting. This play was later illustrated at length by Pablo Picasso. Plays Assemblywomen The Birds The Clouds The Frogs[?] The Knights Lysistrata Peace Wealth See also: Agathon, Greek Literature External Links e-texts of some of Aristophanes' works: The Acharnenses (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=69) The Birds (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=263) Clouds (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=397) Peace (http://www.abacci.com/books/book.asp?bookID=1643)
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