Although Aristophanes is sometimes condemned for bringing tragedy down from the high level of Aeschylus, his plays, with their simplicity and vulgarity, were recognized and appreciated for their rich fantasy as well as bawdiness, gaiety, and satire. Unlike tragedy, a comedy's purpose was to present beautifully written poetry while securing a laugh. However, as in tragedy, much of the presentation of a play remained the same: there were three or four actors (sometimes more) who wore grotesque masks and costumes as well as a chorus of 24 - even the chorus wore masks. Euripides was dead and Sophocles would die before the play was completed.
All of this served as ammunition for Aristophanes' plays.Īristophanes' plays were appreciated for their rich fantasy as well as bawdiness, gaiety, & satire.īy the time Aristophanes began to write, Greek drama was in serious decline. People were outraged at their ineffective leadership in both city government and on the battlefield. Residents were confined to the city as Spartan armies loomed nearby. All of Athenian life could be seen in his plays: its politics, politicians, complaining taxpayers, fiscal reforms and the city's general disgust at the on-going war between Athens and Sparta. Classicist Edith Hamilton in her book The Greek Way said that Aristophanes wore the halo of Greece: “Aristophanes' Athens is for the most part inhabited by a most disreputable lot of people, as unplatonic as possible” (101). He had two sons - one of whom, Aroses, composed a few minor comedies. The son of Philippus, he was a native of Athens but owned property on the Greek island of Aegina. Little is known of his early life with even his birthdate unclear. Unfortunately, his works from this period are the only ones known to exist - only eleven of his plays have survived. However, before Dionysos can leave Hades and return to Athens, he is persuaded to serve as a judge at Hades' court over a contest between Euripides and Aeschylus as to who was the greatest Athenian tragic poet.Īristophanes was one of the best examples of the “grace, charm, and scope” of Old Attic Comedy. In an attempt to save tragedy from a generation of poor writers, Dionysos, disguised as the god Hercules, and his slave Xanthias, descend into Hades to bring Euripides back from the dead - the tragedian had died the previous year. The play tells the story of Dionysos, the patron deity of theater, who complains about the sad state of Athenian drama. Although he endured prosecution for his continued attacks on the politician Cleon, The Frogs brought Aristophanes public honors for its promotion of Athenian unity. The play represented the last of the playwright's works written during the turbulent era of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta.
Named after the creatures who composed the play's chorus, it won first prize at the dramatic festival at Lenaea in 405 BCE and, proving to be successful, it would later be performed at the Dionysia festival in Athens. 385 BCE), the most famous of the comic playwrights of ancient Greece.
The Frogsis a comedy play by Aristophanes (c.
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