|
|
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | [[Image:Aristophanes.jpg|105px|left]]
| + | ▄▄█▀▀ █▬█ █ ▀█▀ |
| − | '''Aristophanes''' (c. 456 BC - c. 380 BC) was an ancient [[Greek]] [[playwright]]. Aristophanes only wrote [[comedy]], often political satire, and his comedies are the only stage comedies which survive from ancient Greece. In all, 11 of his 40 works have come down to us today.<ref>The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989</ref> Among his works are the anti-war comedies ''The Acharnians'' and ''Lysistrata'', the raunchy [[satire]] of Athenian [[jurisprudence]] entitled ''The Wasps'', and a satire of the philosopher [[Socrates]] entitled ''The Clouds''.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Aristophanes also appears as a character in [[Plato]]'s ''Symposium''. Plato's ''Symposium'' tells the story of a wine drinking party in ancient [[Athens]], at which all the guests are required to make a speech in praise of love. Among the guests are Socrates, [[Alcibiades]], and Aristophanes. Aristophanes tells a comedic tale to explain why some people are [[heterosexual]] and some [[homosexual]].
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | <blockquote>
| + | |
| − | By the time Aristophanes began to write his comedies, [[democracy]] had already begun to sour for the Athenians. The people were increasingly demoralized by the ongoing conflicts of the Peloponnesian War and the loss of their greatest hero, [[Pericles]], had been taken from them and replaced by unscrupulous politicians such as Cleon and Hyperbolus. It is little wonder, therefore, that Aristophanes laughter is tinged, even from the beginning, with tones of apprehension and grief. <ref>[http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc13.htm Aristophanes]</ref>
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | </blockquote>
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | == Quotes ==
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | Open your mouth and shut your eyes and see what Zeus will send you. <ref>[http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/aristophanes.html Quotes]</ref>
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==Works by Aristophanes==
| + | |
| − | * [[The Acharnians]]
| + | |
| − | * [[The Knights]]
| + | |
| − | * [[The Clouds]]
| + | |
| − | * [[The Wasps]]
| + | |
| − | * [[Peace]]
| + | |
| − | * [[The Birds]]
| + | |
| − | * [[The Frogs]]
| + | |
| − | * [[Lysistrata]]
| + | |
| − | * [[The Poet and the Women]]
| + | |
| − | * [[The Assemblywomen]]
| + | |
| − | * [[Wealth]]
| + | |
| − | <ref> [[Great Books, Vol. 4]], Euripides plays edited by David Barrett and Alan H. Sommerstein, page 649. </ref>
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | ==References==
| + | |
| − | <references/>
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | [[Category:Ancient Greece]]
| + | |
| − | [[category:Playwrights]]
| + | |
