ARISTOPHANES

born c. 450 BC died c. 388 BC the greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy, and the one whose works have been preserved in the greatest quantity. The little that is known of his life is derived mainly from Aristophanes' own words in the plays themselves. Aristophanes, son of Philippus, was an Athenian citizen belonging to the tribe named Pandionis. He began his career as a comic dramatist in 427 BC, and he is thought to have written about 40 plays in all. Only 11 plays by him survive intact: Acharnians, Knights, Clouds, Wasps, Peace, Birds, Lysistrata, Women at the Thesmophoria, Frogs, Women at the Ecclesia, and Wealth. The early comedy Babylonians is extant only in fragments. Two posthumous comedies, Aiolosikon (probably a skit on Euripides' Aeolus) and Kokalos (also, presumably, a mythological burlesque), were produced in or about the year of his death by his son, Araros. Aristophanes' dramatic activity covered the end of the period of Old Comedy and the start of the so-called Middle Comedy; and though the line of demarcation between these two is shadowy, it is not unreasonable to say that the first 10 of Aristophanes' 11 surviving plays belong to the Old and the last to the Middle. Aristophanes' comedies are notable for their bold fantasy, merciless invective, outrageous satire, licentious humour, and marked freedom of political criticism. Among his special satirical targets were contemporary Athenian society, its fashionable philosophies and literature, and the aggressive foreign policy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. His plays are still produced on the 20th-century stage in numerous translations that attempt to make the playwright's puns, witticisms, and topical allusions accessible to modern audiences. born c. 450 BC died c. 388 BC the greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy and the one whose works have been preserved in greatest quantity. He is the only extant representative of the Old Comedy, that is, of the phase of comic dramaturgy in which chorus, mime, and burlesque still played a considerable part and which was characterized by bold fantasy, merciless invective and outrageous satire, unabashedly licentious humour, and a marked freedom of political criticism. But Aristophanes belongs to the end of this phase, and, indeed, his last extant play, which has no choric element at all, may well be regarded as the only extant specimen of the short-lived Middle Comedy, which, before the end of the 4th century BC, was to be superseded in turn by the milder and more realistic social satire of the New Comedy. Additional reading Greek tragedy in general is treated in H.D.F. Kitto, Greek Tragedy: A Literary Study, 3rd ed. (1961, reissued 1976), a lively survey but becoming dated; Richmond Lattimore, Story Patterns in Greek Tragedy (1964, reissued 1969); Arthur Pickard-Cambridge, The Dramatic Festivals of Athens, 2nd ed. rev. by John Gould and D.M. Lewis (1968), a standard work on the practical arrangements; H.C. Baldry, The Greek Tragic Theatre (1971), a simple, orthodox introduction; Albin Lesky, Greek Tragic Poetry (1983; originally published in German, 3rd rev. ed., 1972); Erika Simon, The Ancient Theatre (1982; originally published in German, 2nd ed., 1981), a concise and expert introduction to staging; Jean-Pierre Vernant and Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Tragedy and Myth in Ancient Greece (1981; originally published in French, 1972), stimulating structuralist essays; Brian Vickers, Towards Greek Tragedy: Drama, Myth, Society (1973, reprinted 1979), long but thought-provoking; Oliver Taplin, Greek Tragedy in Action (1978), emphasis on the significance of performance; Bernard Knox, Word and Action: Essays on the Ancient Theater (1979), a collection of important essays; Donald J. Mastronarde, Contact and Discontinuity: Some Conventions of Speech and Action on the Greek Tragic Stage (1979), a specialist study of dialogue; R.G.A. Buxton, Persuasion in Greek Tragedy: A Study of Peitho (1982); and Erich Segal (ed.), Greek Tragedy: Modern Essays in Criticism (U.K. title, Oxford Readings in Greek Tragedy, 1983), a well-chosen and varied selection of articles.Critical studies on the works of Aristophanes include Gilbert Murray, Aristophanes (1933, reprinted 1965), still lively; Victor Ehrenberg, The People of Aristophanes: A Sociology of Old Attic Comedy, 2nd ed. (1951, reprinted with revisions 1974); Cedric H. Whitman, Aristophanes and the Comic Hero (1964), concentrating on the central figure of each play; F.H. Sandbach, The Comic Theatre of Greece and Rome (1977), especially the first chapters on Old Comedy; Carroll Moulton, Aristophanic Poetry (1981), artistic unity through poetry and imagery; Rosemary M. Harriott, Aristophanes: Poet & Dramatist (1986), a study of sophistication of literary technique; K.J. Dover, Aristophanic Comedy (1972), an introduction; Kenneth McLeish, The Theatre of Aristophanes (1980), on the mechanics of raising laughs; and Jeffrey Henderson (ed.), Aristophanes: Essays in Interpretation (1980). Maurice Platnauer Oliver Taplin Major Works: Works Babylonioi (426 BC; Babylonians); Acharneis (425 BC; Acharnians); Hippeis (424 BC; Knights); Nephelai (423 BC; Clouds); Sphekes (422 BC; Wasps); Eirene (421 BC; Peace); Ornithes (414 BC; Birds); Lysistrate (411 BC; Lysistrata); Thesmophoriazousai (411 BC; Women at the Thesmophoria); Batrachoi (405 BC; Frogs); Ekklesiazousai (c. 392 BC; Women at the Ecclesia); Ploutos (388 BC; Wealth). Texts The Greek text is available in Victor Coulon (ed.) and Hilaire Van Daele (trans.), Aristophane, 5 vol. (192330), part of the Bud series. Greek text with English translation is presented in Benjamin Bickley Rogers (ed. and trans.), Aristophanous komodiai: The Comedies of Aristophanes, 6 vol. in 7 (190216; reissued as part of the Loeb Classical Library series, 3 vol., 1924, reissued 197982); and in Alan H. Sommerstein (ed. and trans.), The Comedies of Aristophanes (1980 ), five plays in single volumes having appeared to 1986. Recommended editions All the plays appear in English translation in three separate volumes in the Penguin Classics series, trans. respectively by David Barrett (1964, reprinted 1976), by Alan H. Sommerstein (1973, reprinted 1977), and by David Barrett and Alan H. Sommerstein (1978).