Aristophanes’ ‘The Frogs’ was first performed at the festival of Dionysus in 504BC, a year before the end of the Peloponnesian war, and was so well received it not only won the competition for comedy, but was also given an encore taking the form of a second performance in that same year. At the time of the plays performance Athens was run by an assembly of its citizens, in some ways comparable to a modern democracy, where any man who had completed two years of military service was able to vote. Politics therefore was an important part of Athenian life, with many young men studying the art of debating, something reflected in ‘The Frogs’ by its many references and illusions to political figures. It is hard to doubt that in his play Aristophanes intended to educate or inform his audience, especially considering the plays many allusions to the advisory role of poets. The objective of this essay therefore is not to answer the question ‘does Aristophanes inform, educate and entertain his audience in the frogs’ but to identify both where and how he does so, both linguistically and structurally. The problem with this however is that any talk about the …show more content…
In the parabasis the chorus leader exits the dance and, either partially or fully taking on the voice of the poet, addresses the audience directly. It is hard to doubt that in his inclusion of a parabasis Aristophanes intended to take on the advisory role of a poet. In his article ‘A lesson From Frogs” Geoffrey Arnott argued that Aristophanes used the parabasis in ‘Frogs’ to advocate for two different policies: the pardoning of those exiled after the oligarchic revolution of 411-10, and the formation of a ‘government led by the noblest families in Attica’ . Whether you agree or disagree with Arnott’s’ specific claims, it is clear that in his parabasis Aristophanes seeks to educate and inform his audience into having a certain political
A chorus is a common element to Greek tragedy’s and in ancient theatre consisted of a group of people who provide a number of different contributions to a play, providing a historical perspective, acting as counsellors and advisors to the plays characters and at times representing various groups such as villagers or a jury. Within this essay, I will consider the main contributions of the chorus within “The Burial at Thebes”
Society today is beginning to think more about themselves and less about others. Many people would desire to live a life solely benificial to themselves rather than benefiting others on the way. This is considered selfish, considering it can cause problems for others. In his book Into the Wild , Jon Krakaur portrays well that Chris’s actions made him inherently selfish. He created sentimental relationships and left a vast amount of them. Not only did he leave all of those people, but he left his family as well. Chris also threw away things that anyone would be glad to take. Overall, his journey was ultimately selfish and made things more difficult for other people.
During the time of Euripides, approximately the second half of the fifth century B.C., it was a period of immense cultural crisis and political convulsion (Arrowsmith 350). Euripides, like many other of his contemporaries, used the whole machinery of the theater as a way of thinking about their world (Arrowsmith 349). His interest in particular was the analysis of culture and relationship between culture and the individual. Euripides used his characters as a function to shape the ideas of the play (Arrowsmith 359).
“Since his [Aristophanes’] plays were often sharply critical of Athenian policies, his ability to make people laugh was essential to conveying his message. He was a practitioner of what we now call Old Comedy, an irreverent form that ridiculed and insulted prominent people and important institutions” (80).
In Antigone and Lysistrata the tension between the polis and oikos is reflected in different ways. Antigone prioritizes oikos over polis, while Creon prioritizes polis over oikos. The men in Lysistrata favor fighting for the state over being at home while the women want their husbands with them instead of being at the war. We find ample evidence of different conflicts and similarities in both plays, but the male's prioritizing polis over oikos and the female's prioritizing oikos over polis causes the central tension in Antigone and Lysistrata.
Ignorance: the condition of being uninformed or uneducated; this basic definition is crucial to understanding one of the most controversial figures in ancient Athenian society: the philosopher Socrates. The man’s entire life was devoted to proving the fact that no one actually knew what they thought they did; that everyone lived in ignorance. This viewpoint earned Socrates many enemies, so many that even a renowned playwright, Aristophanes, decided to exploit the situation. He wrote his critiquing play of Socrates called The Clouds; a scathing criticism that the philosopher would partially attribute to his future indictment on charges of impiety and corrupting the
Purposely difficult and intentionally obsessive, Plato’s Phaedrus is an exceedingly difficult read that defies all conventional logic as a piece of discourse. The text is extremely subjective, open to interpretation and individual creativity as to what or whom the narrative is about. Written by Plato, a close disciple of Socrates, this text is set along the Illissus river where Phaedrus and Socrates meet for a day of speech, debate, rhetoric and okay…flirting. Phaedrus leads of the day and recites a speech by his close friend Lysias, who Phaedrus considers to be a top speechmaker. Socrates then, after chiding by Phaedrus unleashes two speeches of his own that overshadow and refute Lysias claim so boldly that Phaedrus is so taken by the
Socrates was a unique character in ancient Greece, specifically in the city-state of Athens, which was the seat of democracy at the time. Athens practiced direct democracy where citizens, specifically male, directly participated in and voted on legislation. The implication is that most of the men of Athens served in some political way. A way to distinguish oneself apart from the citizenry was to invoke the power of speech and persuasion to be more respected, powerful, and thus wealthier. Socrates’s philosophy in Plato’s dialogue Gorgias is shown in contrast to rhetoric and its perceived benefits to the individual and the people of the democracy. It offers severe critiques on the practice of rhetoric, specifically for the harm it does instead
Aristophanes wrote The Acharnians at a time where the world he saw around him was changing. Athens had been at war for six years with no end in sight, the leader who started the war has been killed by a plague, and just three years prior Athens almost voted to kill off one of its allies for trying to leave the Delian League. He was seeing a whole new side of Athens. A side in which the concept of an independent polis has been lost and Athens is at war with its former allies. These are the things that inspire Aristophanes’ Greek comedy to be born. He uses the theater to address the questions he has about what is
"The Clouds" by Aristophanes - Relevant in Today's World "The Clouds" by Aristophanes, is a play centrally concerned with education. Aristophanes employs satire to illustrate his conservative beliefs. It is intended to show readers that in the tendency to philosophical subtleties lies the neglection of the real needs of the Athenians. According to Aristophanes, philosophical speculation only acts to shake the established foundations of accepted religion, gods, and ideals of morality.
The writer Aristophanes wrote the play “The Acharnians” in 425 BCE. It is set during the Peloponnesian War, which is between the Spartans and the Athenians. The main character, Dicaeopolis, is an Athenian farmer that is part of the very small handful of people that actually want peace in Athens and to end the war with Sparta. After the general assembly, the government officials in Athens, refuses to make a peace treaty to end the war, Dicaeopolis take his problems into his own hands and creates a compromise with Sparta stating that he and his family can trade and live in peace while the rest of Athens is suffering under poverty and war. As the play goes on, Athens’ citizens are suffering and starving while Dicaeopolis can be seen living a wealthy life with fancy food and clothes. Aristophanes constantly spreads this theme throughout the play showing how peace brings way better rewards than being constantly in unnecessary wars.
The tale of Oedipus and his prophecy has intrigued not only the citizens of Greece in the ancient times, but also people all over the world for several generations. Most notable about the play was its peculiar structure, causing the audience to think analytically about the outcomes of Oedipus’ actions and how it compares with Aristotle’s beliefs. Another way that the people have examined the drama is by looking at the paradoxes (such as the confrontation of Tiresias and Oedipus), symbols (such as the Sphinx), and morals that has affected their perceptions by the end of the play. Nonetheless, the most important aspect is how relevant the story is and how it has influenced modern ideas like that of Freud and other people of today.
In this paper, I will discuss a play by Athenian playwright Aristophanes, The Wasps. First, I shall give a brief overview of the The Wasps. Then, I will examine the courtroom scene of the play and argue that Philocleon is not an impartial juror. Next, I will discuss generational gap in Athens. Finally, I will conclude the paper with my outcome of the investigation of the conflict between Misocleon and Philocleon.
Lysistrata by Aristophanes is seen to be a comical play used to show the impact of war not only on the ones physically in the war, but the ones mentally involved also. This play was written to help express the feeling the author had about the war occurring during the time the work was written. Lysistrata, the main character, is a strong woman who decides to become as what could be said as being “rebellious”. She does this by refusing to have sexual relations with the men in the city until it was agreed that peace would be declared between the two troops. She calls a meeting with the women in the city and include them in her vindictive ideas to bring the war to an end. This play is sure to bring a smile to the readers face due to the comical events that occur. However, comedy is not the only thing that becomes apparent within the play. Throughout the work of Lysistrata there are three themes that become apparent during this play: peace and harmony, control by gender, and politics.
In the ‘Frogs’ and ‘Wasps’ written by the “eminently best” comedian of the fifth century, Aristophanes, we see he utilized humour to exact the important message that Athens is corrupt, and on the verge of chaos. The Athenian audience would expect to be thrust into a world of humour in the City Dionysia, somewhere parallel to their own (e.g. the Athenian jury in the ‘Wasps’, and the failings of the government in ‘Frogs’). It is vital, then, that Aristophanes conveys his political and social views through slapstick, farce, and caricature to interest the audience. This is an important component in both plays as the audience is able to simultaneously accept his diplomatic views whilst being entertained. After all his main point for producing his plays were to produce something with a “little fable, with a moral”.