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Aristophanes: Four Plays: Clouds, Birds, Lysistrata, Women of the Assembly
The citizens of ancient Athens enjoyed a freedom of speech as broad as our own. This freedom, parrhesia, the right to say what one pleased, how and when one pleased, and to whom, had no more fervent champion than the brilliant fifth-century comic playwright Aristophanes. His plays, immensely popular with the Athenian public, were frequently crude, even obscene. He ridiculed the great and the good of the city, showing up their hypocrisy and arrogance in ways that went far beyond the standards of good taste, securing the ire (and sometimes the retaliation) of his powerful targets. He showed his contemporaries, and he teaches us now, that when those in power act obscenely, patriotic obscenity is a fitting response.
Aristophanes’s satirical masterpieces were also surpassingly virtuosic works of poetry. The metrical variety of his plays has always thrilled readers who can access the original Greek, but until now, English translations have failed to capture their lyrical genius. Aaron Poochigian, the first poet-classicist to tackle these plays in a generation, brings back to life four of Aristophanes’s most entertaining, wickedly crude, and frequently beautiful lyric comedies—the pinnacle of his comic art:
· Clouds, a play famous for its caricature of antiquity’s greatest philosopher, Socrates;
· Lysistrata, in which a woman convinces her female compatriots to withhold sex from their warmongering lovers unless they negotiate peace;
· Birds, in which feathered creatures build a great city and become like gods;
· and Women of the Assembly, Aristophones’s most revolutionary play, which inverts the norms of gender and power.
Poochigian’s new rendering of these comic masterpieces finally gives contemporary readers a sense of the subversive pleasure Aristophones’s original audiences felt when they were first performed on the Athenian stage.
Aristophanes’s satirical masterpieces were also surpassingly virtuosic works of poetry. The metrical variety of his plays has always thrilled readers who can access the original Greek, but until now, English translations have failed to capture their lyrical genius. Aaron Poochigian, the first poet-classicist to tackle these plays in a generation, brings back to life four of Aristophanes’s most entertaining, wickedly crude, and frequently beautiful lyric comedies—the pinnacle of his comic art:
· Clouds, a play famous for its caricature of antiquity’s greatest philosopher, Socrates;
· Lysistrata, in which a woman convinces her female compatriots to withhold sex from their warmongering lovers unless they negotiate peace;
· Birds, in which feathered creatures build a great city and become like gods;
· and Women of the Assembly, Aristophones’s most revolutionary play, which inverts the norms of gender and power.
Poochigian’s new rendering of these comic masterpieces finally gives contemporary readers a sense of the subversive pleasure Aristophones’s original audiences felt when they were first performed on the Athenian stage.
545 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2021
46 people are currently reading
1481 people want to read
About the author
Aristophanes
2,060 books741 followersAristophanes (Greek: Αριστοφάνης; c. 446 – c. 386 BC) was an Ancient Greek comic playwright from Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. These provide the most valuable examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy and are used to define it, along with fragments from dozens of lost plays by Aristophanes and his contemporaries.
Also known as "The Father of Comedy" and "the Prince of Ancient Comedy", Aristophanes has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by influential contemporaries; Plato singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as slander that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemning to death of Socrates, although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher.
Aristophanes' second play, The Babylonians (now lost), was denounced by Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. It is possible that the case was argued in court, but details of the trial are not recorded and Aristophanes caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights, the first of many plays that he directed himself. "In my opinion," he says through that play's Chorus, "the author-director of comedies has the hardest job of all."
Also known as "The Father of Comedy" and "the Prince of Ancient Comedy", Aristophanes has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by influential contemporaries; Plato singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as slander that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemning to death of Socrates, although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher.
Aristophanes' second play, The Babylonians (now lost), was denounced by Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. It is possible that the case was argued in court, but details of the trial are not recorded and Aristophanes caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights, the first of many plays that he directed himself. "In my opinion," he says through that play's Chorus, "the author-director of comedies has the hardest job of all."
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 10, 2023
Obligatory comment that translations matters a lot especially in a language as old as Ancient Greek and so does, in the cases of plays, formatting, as demonstrated in the following examples.
Let’s compare three translations of the opening of Clouds
—————————————————————
Howard S. Rubenstein
—————————————————————
SCENE: A sleeping-room in Strepsiades’ house; then in front of Socrates’ house.
STREPSIADES. Great gods! will these nights never end? will daylight never come? I heard the cock crow long ago and my slaves are snoring still! Ah! ‘twas not so formerly. Curses on the War! has it not done me ills enough? Now I may not even chastise my own slaves. Again there’s this brave lad, who never wakes the whole long night, but, wrapped in his five coverlets, farts away to his heart’s content. Come! let me nestle in well and snore too, if it be possible ... oh! misery, ‘tis vain to think of sleep with all these expenses, this stable, these debts, which are devouring me, thanks to this fine cavalier, who only knows how to look after his long locks, to show himself off in his chariot and to dream of horses! And I, I am nearly dead, when I see the moon bringing the third decade in her train and my liability falling due.... Slave! light the lamp and bring me my tablets. Who are all my creditors? Let me see and reckon up the interest. What is it I owe? ... Twelve minae to Pasias.... What! twelve minae to Pasias? ... Why did I borrow these? Ah! I know! ‘Twas to buy that thoroughbred, which cost me so dear. How I should have prized the stone that had blinded him!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is easily the worst one. The transcription of such a comic play needs to be visual, partitioned, jumping from one line of thought/action to another. This style of Elizabethan soliloquy is far too refined to produce the intended amount of schadenfreude. I could’ve excused this if it wasn’t translated in the 20th century.
—————————————————————
Alan H. Sommerstein—————————————————————
SCENE: For the time being, an indeterminate space, possibly to be thought of as the courtyard of Strepsiades’ house. Two men are lying asleep – or rather, one, Pheidippides, is sleeping soundly under an enormous weight of blankets, while his father Strepsiades is restlessly tossing and turning. Finally he abandons all attempts at sleep, and sits up.
STREPSIADES: O Lord Zeus, how long the night is! Will it never end? When will it be day? Come to think of it, I heard the 5cock crow ages ago. And the servants are still snoring! They’d never have dared to in the old days. Damn this war! One can’t even discipline one’s own slaves. And what about this dutiful son of mine? He never wakes up before sunrise either; just farts merrily away wrapped up in five or six blankets. Well, there’s nothing for it: let’s cover up and snore too. [He lies down again and tries to sleep, but soon gives up.] It’s no good, I can’t. I’m being bitten all over. Not by bugs – by horses and bills and debts, on account of this son of mine, him and his long hair and his riding and his chariot and pair. Even his dreams are all about horses. Result, every time the date gets past the twentieth, I’m fairly dying with fear as the interest gets ready to take another step up. [Calling through the door behind him] Boy! [A SLAVE appears.] Light a lamp and bring my accounts here. I want to see how many people I owe money to and how much the interest comes to.
[The slave goes out, and presently returns with a lamp and a number of waxed tablets. He gives STREPSIADES the tablets, and stays holding the lamp for him to read by.] Let me see now, what have we got? To Pasias, twelve hundred drachmas.' What was that for? Why did I borrow it? Oh yes, when I bought the koppa-bred horse. Heavens, I might just as well have copped it right then and there!]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Falls to the same problem but to a lesser degree, at least the language isn’t archaic
—————————————————————
Aaron Poochigian
—————————————————————
(The setting is Athens, Greece, during the Peloponnesian War. There is a backdrop with two doors in it. This first scene takes place in front of the backdrop, a space that initially represents the inside of Strepsiades’s house. There is a bed in which Strepsiades and Pheidippides are sleeping. The time is just before dawn. In front of one of the doors—the door to the Thinkery—there are a statue of Hermes, a pedestal holding a jar with a “Vortex” pattern on it, and a variety of astronomical and geometric instruments. Above the door to the Thinkery there is a window. It is very late at night.)
STREPSIADES: (tossing and turning in bed) Goodness, goodness.
Great Zeus, how long the night is—infinite! Will morning never come? I swear I heard the rooster crow a long, long time ago. My slaves are all still snoring. In the past they never would have dared to sleep so late. I say goddamn this war for oh so many reasons: I can’t even beat the help!
(gesturing to Pheidippides)
This fine young man right here, he never wakes up during the night but simply goes on farting, five quilts deep. Oh well, since it seems the thing to do, let’s all just snore away, wrapped up in blankets. (Strepsiades lies back on the bed but then continues to toss and turn.)
Oh, I’m miserable!
I can’t sleep. I’m being eaten up by great expenditures,
by horse feed-troughs,
by all my debts,
(gesturing to Pheidippides)
because of this son here! He, with his long hair, won’t stop riding horses and driving chariots. He dreams of horses, and I feel ruined every time I see the moon has reached the twentieth of the month— the interest on my debts will soon tick up.
(shouting to a Slave offstage)
Bring me a lamp, now, boy! And bring my ledger so I can look at all my debts and reckon the interest up. (A Slave brings the ledger and a lighted lamp.)
Alright, then, let’s just see how much I owe: To Pasias, twelve minas. To Pasias, twelve minas? Why did I ever borrow that amount? Oh—when I bought the thoroughbred. Poor me! I wish a rock had thoroughly put my eye out first.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My favorite, the last one I sampled and the one I decided to stick to. These plays are intended to be comical, and this translation made me laugh. I can vividly visualize the suffering of the characters and, without the veil of profundity, it becomes clear that everyone involved is a horrible person and frankly, morons, making it cathartic to laugh at their misery.
Poochigian’s writing is the most dynamic and colorful, the characters are hysterical and the serious moments are well deserved. Although the translation is a bit obscure, it’s a hoot to read.
—————————————————————
Aristophanes’ humor is crass, a translation adhering to Shakespeare-esque dialogue just does not fit here. Although such style is chronologically closer, the plays are roughly as far removed from now as it is from then, so if a contemporary style translation does a better job, why not utilize it?
The plays
Clouds: Aristophanes confessing on the low brow nature of his scenes, sulking over his play not winning and threatening the audience adds greatly to the play and not overdone, something easy to do with meta-humor(just look at the abundance of it nowadays), probably because the feelings behind them are not confined on stage. The chorus are useless and doesn’t really add anything to the narrative, they also don’t seem to care very much about the characters, which is just funny to me as the play seems to be subtly aware of this. The highlight is the fight between good Argument and bad Argument. The ending is anticlimactic and abrupt, as if the author just gave up, but that also seems to be on purpose. 8.5/10
Favorite line:
Socrates:”you’re on trial; you’ve got no witnesses; the guilty verdict is all but certain—how do you contrive to get out of it?”
Strepsiades:”That’s an easy one”
Socrates:”What do you do?”
Strepsiadea:”Alright, I’ll tell you: I, while there is time before my suit is called, ran off and hang myself”
Birds: The weakest play, in comparison to the other plays the premise wasn’t too interesting in the first place. It helps that the character seems to get sick of the schtick where by the midpoints and started driving out any cameos with moderate threats of violence. Fortunately the pace and exchanges really picked up at the last act, 7.5/10
Favorite line:
Peistheraerus: “there is no other Iris more deserving of summary arrest and execution”
Goddess Iris(confused): “But I’m immortal”
Lysistrata: Love how the Spartans are given a southern accents and how both gender got so blue balled they required auspicious excuses. 8.5/0
Favorite line:
Harden(gesturing to his erection): “After presenting this — my cock — as evidence”
Woman of the Assembly:
At this point I’m starting to understand that these plays has no climax and resolution, everything build up in the first act and the rest follows like an epilogue. Frankly the concept of commune sex(i.e having to screw the less desirable before the desirable) is really funny 8.5/10
Favorite line:
Praxagara: “that’s not a problem, since the women won’t be fighting about you. Don’t you worry, they won’t fight.”
Blepyrus: “About what, though?”
Praxagora: “About not getting to have sex with you. They don’t want sex with you already”
Let’s compare three translations of the opening of Clouds
—————————————————————
Howard S. Rubenstein
—————————————————————
SCENE: A sleeping-room in Strepsiades’ house; then in front of Socrates’ house.
STREPSIADES. Great gods! will these nights never end? will daylight never come? I heard the cock crow long ago and my slaves are snoring still! Ah! ‘twas not so formerly. Curses on the War! has it not done me ills enough? Now I may not even chastise my own slaves. Again there’s this brave lad, who never wakes the whole long night, but, wrapped in his five coverlets, farts away to his heart’s content. Come! let me nestle in well and snore too, if it be possible ... oh! misery, ‘tis vain to think of sleep with all these expenses, this stable, these debts, which are devouring me, thanks to this fine cavalier, who only knows how to look after his long locks, to show himself off in his chariot and to dream of horses! And I, I am nearly dead, when I see the moon bringing the third decade in her train and my liability falling due.... Slave! light the lamp and bring me my tablets. Who are all my creditors? Let me see and reckon up the interest. What is it I owe? ... Twelve minae to Pasias.... What! twelve minae to Pasias? ... Why did I borrow these? Ah! I know! ‘Twas to buy that thoroughbred, which cost me so dear. How I should have prized the stone that had blinded him!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is easily the worst one. The transcription of such a comic play needs to be visual, partitioned, jumping from one line of thought/action to another. This style of Elizabethan soliloquy is far too refined to produce the intended amount of schadenfreude. I could’ve excused this if it wasn’t translated in the 20th century.
—————————————————————
Alan H. Sommerstein—————————————————————
SCENE: For the time being, an indeterminate space, possibly to be thought of as the courtyard of Strepsiades’ house. Two men are lying asleep – or rather, one, Pheidippides, is sleeping soundly under an enormous weight of blankets, while his father Strepsiades is restlessly tossing and turning. Finally he abandons all attempts at sleep, and sits up.
STREPSIADES: O Lord Zeus, how long the night is! Will it never end? When will it be day? Come to think of it, I heard the 5cock crow ages ago. And the servants are still snoring! They’d never have dared to in the old days. Damn this war! One can’t even discipline one’s own slaves. And what about this dutiful son of mine? He never wakes up before sunrise either; just farts merrily away wrapped up in five or six blankets. Well, there’s nothing for it: let’s cover up and snore too. [He lies down again and tries to sleep, but soon gives up.] It’s no good, I can’t. I’m being bitten all over. Not by bugs – by horses and bills and debts, on account of this son of mine, him and his long hair and his riding and his chariot and pair. Even his dreams are all about horses. Result, every time the date gets past the twentieth, I’m fairly dying with fear as the interest gets ready to take another step up. [Calling through the door behind him] Boy! [A SLAVE appears.] Light a lamp and bring my accounts here. I want to see how many people I owe money to and how much the interest comes to.
[The slave goes out, and presently returns with a lamp and a number of waxed tablets. He gives STREPSIADES the tablets, and stays holding the lamp for him to read by.] Let me see now, what have we got? To Pasias, twelve hundred drachmas.' What was that for? Why did I borrow it? Oh yes, when I bought the koppa-bred horse. Heavens, I might just as well have copped it right then and there!]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Falls to the same problem but to a lesser degree, at least the language isn’t archaic
—————————————————————
Aaron Poochigian
—————————————————————
(The setting is Athens, Greece, during the Peloponnesian War. There is a backdrop with two doors in it. This first scene takes place in front of the backdrop, a space that initially represents the inside of Strepsiades’s house. There is a bed in which Strepsiades and Pheidippides are sleeping. The time is just before dawn. In front of one of the doors—the door to the Thinkery—there are a statue of Hermes, a pedestal holding a jar with a “Vortex” pattern on it, and a variety of astronomical and geometric instruments. Above the door to the Thinkery there is a window. It is very late at night.)
STREPSIADES: (tossing and turning in bed) Goodness, goodness.
Great Zeus, how long the night is—infinite! Will morning never come? I swear I heard the rooster crow a long, long time ago. My slaves are all still snoring. In the past they never would have dared to sleep so late. I say goddamn this war for oh so many reasons: I can’t even beat the help!
(gesturing to Pheidippides)
This fine young man right here, he never wakes up during the night but simply goes on farting, five quilts deep. Oh well, since it seems the thing to do, let’s all just snore away, wrapped up in blankets. (Strepsiades lies back on the bed but then continues to toss and turn.)
Oh, I’m miserable!
I can’t sleep. I’m being eaten up by great expenditures,
by horse feed-troughs,
by all my debts,
(gesturing to Pheidippides)
because of this son here! He, with his long hair, won’t stop riding horses and driving chariots. He dreams of horses, and I feel ruined every time I see the moon has reached the twentieth of the month— the interest on my debts will soon tick up.
(shouting to a Slave offstage)
Bring me a lamp, now, boy! And bring my ledger so I can look at all my debts and reckon the interest up. (A Slave brings the ledger and a lighted lamp.)
Alright, then, let’s just see how much I owe: To Pasias, twelve minas. To Pasias, twelve minas? Why did I ever borrow that amount? Oh—when I bought the thoroughbred. Poor me! I wish a rock had thoroughly put my eye out first.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My favorite, the last one I sampled and the one I decided to stick to. These plays are intended to be comical, and this translation made me laugh. I can vividly visualize the suffering of the characters and, without the veil of profundity, it becomes clear that everyone involved is a horrible person and frankly, morons, making it cathartic to laugh at their misery.
Poochigian’s writing is the most dynamic and colorful, the characters are hysterical and the serious moments are well deserved. Although the translation is a bit obscure, it’s a hoot to read.
—————————————————————
Aristophanes’ humor is crass, a translation adhering to Shakespeare-esque dialogue just does not fit here. Although such style is chronologically closer, the plays are roughly as far removed from now as it is from then, so if a contemporary style translation does a better job, why not utilize it?
The plays
Clouds: Aristophanes confessing on the low brow nature of his scenes, sulking over his play not winning and threatening the audience adds greatly to the play and not overdone, something easy to do with meta-humor(just look at the abundance of it nowadays), probably because the feelings behind them are not confined on stage. The chorus are useless and doesn’t really add anything to the narrative, they also don’t seem to care very much about the characters, which is just funny to me as the play seems to be subtly aware of this. The highlight is the fight between good Argument and bad Argument. The ending is anticlimactic and abrupt, as if the author just gave up, but that also seems to be on purpose. 8.5/10
Favorite line:
Socrates:”you’re on trial; you’ve got no witnesses; the guilty verdict is all but certain—how do you contrive to get out of it?”
Strepsiades:”That’s an easy one”
Socrates:”What do you do?”
Strepsiadea:”Alright, I’ll tell you: I, while there is time before my suit is called, ran off and hang myself”
Birds: The weakest play, in comparison to the other plays the premise wasn’t too interesting in the first place. It helps that the character seems to get sick of the schtick where by the midpoints and started driving out any cameos with moderate threats of violence. Fortunately the pace and exchanges really picked up at the last act, 7.5/10
Favorite line:
Peistheraerus: “there is no other Iris more deserving of summary arrest and execution”
Goddess Iris(confused): “But I’m immortal”
Lysistrata: Love how the Spartans are given a southern accents and how both gender got so blue balled they required auspicious excuses. 8.5/0
Favorite line:
Harden(gesturing to his erection): “After presenting this — my cock — as evidence”
Woman of the Assembly:
At this point I’m starting to understand that these plays has no climax and resolution, everything build up in the first act and the rest follows like an epilogue. Frankly the concept of commune sex(i.e having to screw the less desirable before the desirable) is really funny 8.5/10
Favorite line:
Praxagara: “that’s not a problem, since the women won’t be fighting about you. Don’t you worry, they won’t fight.”
Blepyrus: “About what, though?”
Praxagora: “About not getting to have sex with you. They don’t want sex with you already”
September 24, 2023
The Victorian translations of these Greek plays are often stuffy and lifeless, while Poochigian’s versions come alive. They are vibrant and fun and not uncommonly raunchy, which I imagine better approximate the flavor of the originals. Of course, I could be wrong…
I’ve read each of these plays, but half of them were in other translations. I suspect that I may have enjoyed Poochigian’s versions more.
I just lazily pasted in my previous reviews for each of these plays:
The Clouds:
[3 stars]
My expectations for this Greek play were lowered after reading that it came in last place at the Annual Athenian Tony Awards. Maybe the judges snubbed Aristophanes because he spoofed their guy Socrates. I don’t know. But I have to say this was actually pretty funny. At least for the first half. And then like most modern-day comedies, it sort of fizzled out by the end.
I suppose after reading Aristophanes’ rather raunchy Lysistrata I should have expected that this one would also be R-rated, but I was still surprised at the volume of fart jokes. Maybe I should say the number of fart jokes.
I read the Poochigian translation which is contemporary and entertaining, and a welcome change from the formal and stuffy language in most of the other Greek plays I’ve read. It makes me wonder how much more I might have enjoyed them had I read similarly up-to-date translations. Unfortunately, the translations that are cheap on Kindle typically seem to be of the archaic and clunky variety. Thus once again I have been burned by my own miserliness.
The Birds:
[2 stars]
This play was occasionally amusing but overall feels a bit dated. Much of the humor seemed like it might have been more funny when it came out back in ‘14.
I mean 414.
BC.
Of the Ancient Greek Plays That Are Important for Every Well-educated Person to Read, this would surely fall into the 2nd tier. Maybe the third.
I did appreciate hearing the original use of the term “cloud-cuckoo-land” though.
Lysistrata:
[3 stars]
Rounding up from 2.5
A fairly ridiculous and surprisingly raunchy play about a sex strike for peace. It’s quite silly, but sometimes amusing. This show would need to be on HBO.
Women of the Assembly (The Ecclesiazusae):
[2 stars]
Absolutely absurd, obnoxiously obscene, and simply silly.
Of the four Aristophanes plays I’ve read, this was the least enjoyable. It gets a bonus star for being 2400 yrs old.
I’ve read each of these plays, but half of them were in other translations. I suspect that I may have enjoyed Poochigian’s versions more.
I just lazily pasted in my previous reviews for each of these plays:
The Clouds:
[3 stars]
My expectations for this Greek play were lowered after reading that it came in last place at the Annual Athenian Tony Awards. Maybe the judges snubbed Aristophanes because he spoofed their guy Socrates. I don’t know. But I have to say this was actually pretty funny. At least for the first half. And then like most modern-day comedies, it sort of fizzled out by the end.
I suppose after reading Aristophanes’ rather raunchy Lysistrata I should have expected that this one would also be R-rated, but I was still surprised at the volume of fart jokes. Maybe I should say the number of fart jokes.
I read the Poochigian translation which is contemporary and entertaining, and a welcome change from the formal and stuffy language in most of the other Greek plays I’ve read. It makes me wonder how much more I might have enjoyed them had I read similarly up-to-date translations. Unfortunately, the translations that are cheap on Kindle typically seem to be of the archaic and clunky variety. Thus once again I have been burned by my own miserliness.
The Birds:
[2 stars]
This play was occasionally amusing but overall feels a bit dated. Much of the humor seemed like it might have been more funny when it came out back in ‘14.
I mean 414.
BC.
Of the Ancient Greek Plays That Are Important for Every Well-educated Person to Read, this would surely fall into the 2nd tier. Maybe the third.
I did appreciate hearing the original use of the term “cloud-cuckoo-land” though.
Lysistrata:
[3 stars]
Rounding up from 2.5
A fairly ridiculous and surprisingly raunchy play about a sex strike for peace. It’s quite silly, but sometimes amusing. This show would need to be on HBO.
Women of the Assembly (The Ecclesiazusae):
[2 stars]
Absolutely absurd, obnoxiously obscene, and simply silly.
Of the four Aristophanes plays I’ve read, this was the least enjoyable. It gets a bonus star for being 2400 yrs old.
May 22, 2021
They don't make satire like they used to...as Aaron's Poochigian's translation of Aristophanes' plays: Clouds, Birds, Lysistrata, Women of the Assembly. These ancient plays hold up remarkably well and seemed poised to be eerily relevant once again.
Clouds is a satirical look at philosophy. With only a little of knowledge the background, the reader can greatly appreciate the criticism that Aristophanes is getting at. He points out the foibles and folly's of the philosophical lifestyle.
Birds represents Aristophanes' critique of the political situation in Athens. When a group of people convince a kingdom of birds to be established, there are unintended consequences for humans and gods alike. The best part comes when the Greek gods have to sue the human 'birds' for use of the sky.
Lysistrata is a clever take that many have viewed as pro-feminist or anti-war. I do not believe that either is the case. A group of women decide that they have had enough of the war and decide to boycott sex to get the men to sue for peace. Insanity ensues when the men grow to miss their wives and...the plan just might work.
Women of the Assembly another possible proto-feminist play, Aristophanes envisions a plan by the women to take over the government. They pretend to be men and vote to hand over the government to the women. The first item of business is equality...including sexual equality. Marriage is abolished and everyone can have sex with whomever they want...provided they have sex with an ugly person first. This can also be seen as a critique of communism, but overall the satire and comedy are real.
Poochigian's translation is worthy of note here. I have not read other translations, but because of this book, I'm intrigued to pick up others. The translator attempts to make these ancient plays modern and uses vernacular language...which is often vulgar. Aristophanes is frequently cited as vulgar, but I am not sure if the translator is using more of a 'dynamic equivalence' philosophy or 'word for word.' My thinking is that he is using the former.
It is refreshing to think that the 'classics' were as raunchy as many of the modern day writings.
These works are highly enjoyable and I recommend to anyone who wants to reconnect with some classic literature.
Grade: A (plays) B+ (translation)
Clouds is a satirical look at philosophy. With only a little of knowledge the background, the reader can greatly appreciate the criticism that Aristophanes is getting at. He points out the foibles and folly's of the philosophical lifestyle.
Birds represents Aristophanes' critique of the political situation in Athens. When a group of people convince a kingdom of birds to be established, there are unintended consequences for humans and gods alike. The best part comes when the Greek gods have to sue the human 'birds' for use of the sky.
Lysistrata is a clever take that many have viewed as pro-feminist or anti-war. I do not believe that either is the case. A group of women decide that they have had enough of the war and decide to boycott sex to get the men to sue for peace. Insanity ensues when the men grow to miss their wives and...the plan just might work.
Women of the Assembly another possible proto-feminist play, Aristophanes envisions a plan by the women to take over the government. They pretend to be men and vote to hand over the government to the women. The first item of business is equality...including sexual equality. Marriage is abolished and everyone can have sex with whomever they want...provided they have sex with an ugly person first. This can also be seen as a critique of communism, but overall the satire and comedy are real.
Poochigian's translation is worthy of note here. I have not read other translations, but because of this book, I'm intrigued to pick up others. The translator attempts to make these ancient plays modern and uses vernacular language...which is often vulgar. Aristophanes is frequently cited as vulgar, but I am not sure if the translator is using more of a 'dynamic equivalence' philosophy or 'word for word.' My thinking is that he is using the former.
It is refreshing to think that the 'classics' were as raunchy as many of the modern day writings.
These works are highly enjoyable and I recommend to anyone who wants to reconnect with some classic literature.
Grade: A (plays) B+ (translation)
June 9, 2025
It’s quite a shift to go from the tragedies to the comedies. Within the tragedies, there was a genre of satyr plays that would be performed at the conclusion of a set of three tragedies. These satyr plays were akin to a college fraternity putting on a play with the expected instances of bawdy jokes, multiple farts, and an overall sense of bawdiness. Comedy takes it to the next level by doing two things – taking place in modern time as opposed to a mythic past and roasting politicians, poets, and philosophers who likely would have been in attendance. I’ve read 5 plays by Aristophanes now and I find them a bit much. They are funny, but they also cross a line into desecration. They desecrate individuals, the theater, and the art form. Clouds by Aristophanes may also have played a part in the eventual death of Socrates 24 years later.
The subject matter of these four comedy plays was quite interesting. Clouds considers a replacement of the gods. Birds considers a replacement of society and the gods. Lysistrata considers the withholding of sex by the women until the men establish peace. Women of the Assembly considers replacing men with women in the government and ushering in a communistic state both economically and familially.
The subject matter of these four comedy plays was quite interesting. Clouds considers a replacement of the gods. Birds considers a replacement of society and the gods. Lysistrata considers the withholding of sex by the women until the men establish peace. Women of the Assembly considers replacing men with women in the government and ushering in a communistic state both economically and familially.
January 1, 2025
It is somehow reassuring that poop jokes have endured for 2500 years. Beyond that, free discourse in ancient Athens is not so different these days, either. Overall, a good blend of scholarship and humor.
November 8, 2022
Absolute baller of a translation that keeps the dick jokes that Aristophanes was well know for but also the author has worked hard to keep the lyrical nature and give each historical context for each play.
Once you read Aristophanes it's easy to understand why his work are most of the only remaining comedy plays from ancient Athens.
Before I bought my copy I cracked it open to a random page only to read one line,
"Like some poet somewhere, On dog days dildo away."
I immediately needed to purchase this book.
Once you read Aristophanes it's easy to understand why his work are most of the only remaining comedy plays from ancient Athens.
Before I bought my copy I cracked it open to a random page only to read one line,
"Like some poet somewhere, On dog days dildo away."
I immediately needed to purchase this book.
March 4, 2023
Really excellent, with a bright and hilarious translation the man himself would have loved. The last two plays are revolutionary in their positive portrayal of powerful women as intelligent and personable. Some great jokes, even if not all of them were translatable. Reminders that people have always been people.
December 28, 2023
This review is for the play, Clouds, by Aristophanes.
In 423 BC, Aristophanes wrote the play Clouds and it was produced in the City of Dionysia. It amazes me that this play has survived for nearly 1500 years and I am writing a blog about it today. The main subject of Clouds is the growth of Athens in the late fifth century, of new and untraditional forms of education, specifically Rhetoric, which Aristophanes regards as the art of winning arguments. In Clouds, he shows the merits of “making the worse argument into the better”.
As I was scanning Ancient Literature for my Summer reads at the SMU Fondren Library, Clouds piqued my interest for two reasons.
The first is that I have always been a Cloud-gazer, spending many hours trying to recreate, through the art of painting, their magnanimous forms, shadows, light, blue, and gray hues against the endless sky. In fact, I am looking at an extraordinary sunset with crimson-red clouds in Cimarron, Colorado, as I write this! I was so curious to see how Aristophanes, a brilliant 5th-century poet, would describe Clouds or why they were important to him.
Secondly, as a Professor of Rhetoric and Composition, I was intrigued to learn from the Introductory Note by Translator Alan H. Sommerstein of Nottingham, that this play is about the different philosophies of an Argument by the thinkers and educators of that time who, following Plato, were often labeled “the sophists”. These men pursued cosmology, meteorology (hence Clouds), biology, and grammar.
In Clouds, Aristophanes singles out one sophist in particular, Socrates; partly because, according to Aristophanes, he was a relentless questioner and arguer in the Agora and hardly ever left the city of Athens. Because of this, Socrates was more familiar to a great number of people than his contemporaries Prodicus and Hippias. Sommerstein believes that the accusations made by Aristophanes against Socrates were sincerely justified. Unfortunately, the unfair image portrayed of Socrates in Clouds, that he was teaching science and dishonest rhetoric, would possibly lead to his condemnation, charges made by his accusers, and eventually his death. Plato also appears to have considered The Clouds a contributing factor in Socrates’ trial and execution in 399 BC.
Aristophanes presents the fictitious Socrates as a fraud with introverted thinking and conversational dialectic, but this is also found later in Plato’s dialogues Phaedo and Timaeus, as the practice of asceticism, a behavior given to Socrates.
In the play, Socrates is administrator of “The Thinkery”, a school for bums and lazy young men who have chosen not to indulge in the higher pursuits of education and athletics. Students at The Thinkery learn how to turn inferior arguments into winning arguments—this is the only way to get ahead in life as well as pay off debts in court.
Aristophanes continues to portray the buffoonery of Socrates as he is “walking the air and descrying the sun”—
“I could never have made correct discoveries about celestial phenomena, except by hanging up my mind and mixing the minute particles of my thought into the air which it resembles. If I had been on the ground and investigated the upper regions from below, I would never have made my discoveries (line 225).”
In Clouds, Socrates’ main objective in life is “to commune and converse with the Clouds who are our deities”. Women, who are heavenly Clouds, are “great goddesses for men of idleness who bestow on them intelligence and discourse and understanding, fantasy and circumlocution and incisive and repressive power” (315). Hmmm.
I did enjoy Aristophanes’ “Better and Worse Argument” Debates (lines 890-115). Worse Arguments always defeat Better arguments in public! I like the idea of how using a counterargument, or Worse Argument, can lead to a Better position. Make the “weaker argument stronger” (refutation!) This would be a great case-study to use in my courses on Rhetoric. [prefaced with a strong warning as to the “Attic Old Comedy” of Athenians with a lot of crude humor and sexual innuendos. This caught me of guard!]
I will return to my Cloud-gazing !
Work Cited
ARISTOPHANES: The Comedies of Aristophanes :Clouds, v2. Translation Alan H sommerstein British Library, 1982
In 423 BC, Aristophanes wrote the play Clouds and it was produced in the City of Dionysia. It amazes me that this play has survived for nearly 1500 years and I am writing a blog about it today. The main subject of Clouds is the growth of Athens in the late fifth century, of new and untraditional forms of education, specifically Rhetoric, which Aristophanes regards as the art of winning arguments. In Clouds, he shows the merits of “making the worse argument into the better”.
As I was scanning Ancient Literature for my Summer reads at the SMU Fondren Library, Clouds piqued my interest for two reasons.
The first is that I have always been a Cloud-gazer, spending many hours trying to recreate, through the art of painting, their magnanimous forms, shadows, light, blue, and gray hues against the endless sky. In fact, I am looking at an extraordinary sunset with crimson-red clouds in Cimarron, Colorado, as I write this! I was so curious to see how Aristophanes, a brilliant 5th-century poet, would describe Clouds or why they were important to him.
Secondly, as a Professor of Rhetoric and Composition, I was intrigued to learn from the Introductory Note by Translator Alan H. Sommerstein of Nottingham, that this play is about the different philosophies of an Argument by the thinkers and educators of that time who, following Plato, were often labeled “the sophists”. These men pursued cosmology, meteorology (hence Clouds), biology, and grammar.
In Clouds, Aristophanes singles out one sophist in particular, Socrates; partly because, according to Aristophanes, he was a relentless questioner and arguer in the Agora and hardly ever left the city of Athens. Because of this, Socrates was more familiar to a great number of people than his contemporaries Prodicus and Hippias. Sommerstein believes that the accusations made by Aristophanes against Socrates were sincerely justified. Unfortunately, the unfair image portrayed of Socrates in Clouds, that he was teaching science and dishonest rhetoric, would possibly lead to his condemnation, charges made by his accusers, and eventually his death. Plato also appears to have considered The Clouds a contributing factor in Socrates’ trial and execution in 399 BC.
Aristophanes presents the fictitious Socrates as a fraud with introverted thinking and conversational dialectic, but this is also found later in Plato’s dialogues Phaedo and Timaeus, as the practice of asceticism, a behavior given to Socrates.
In the play, Socrates is administrator of “The Thinkery”, a school for bums and lazy young men who have chosen not to indulge in the higher pursuits of education and athletics. Students at The Thinkery learn how to turn inferior arguments into winning arguments—this is the only way to get ahead in life as well as pay off debts in court.
Aristophanes continues to portray the buffoonery of Socrates as he is “walking the air and descrying the sun”—
“I could never have made correct discoveries about celestial phenomena, except by hanging up my mind and mixing the minute particles of my thought into the air which it resembles. If I had been on the ground and investigated the upper regions from below, I would never have made my discoveries (line 225).”
In Clouds, Socrates’ main objective in life is “to commune and converse with the Clouds who are our deities”. Women, who are heavenly Clouds, are “great goddesses for men of idleness who bestow on them intelligence and discourse and understanding, fantasy and circumlocution and incisive and repressive power” (315). Hmmm.
I did enjoy Aristophanes’ “Better and Worse Argument” Debates (lines 890-115). Worse Arguments always defeat Better arguments in public! I like the idea of how using a counterargument, or Worse Argument, can lead to a Better position. Make the “weaker argument stronger” (refutation!) This would be a great case-study to use in my courses on Rhetoric. [prefaced with a strong warning as to the “Attic Old Comedy” of Athenians with a lot of crude humor and sexual innuendos. This caught me of guard!]
I will return to my Cloud-gazing !
Work Cited
ARISTOPHANES: The Comedies of Aristophanes :Clouds, v2. Translation Alan H sommerstein British Library, 1982
November 25, 2024
“Old Comedy, initial phase of ancient Greek comedy (c. 5th century BC), known through the works of Aristophanes. Old Comedy plays are characterized by an exuberant and high-spirited satire of public persons and affairs. Composed of song, dance, personal invective, and buffoonery, the plays also include outspoken political criticism and comment on literary and philosophical topics.”
SOURCE: Britannica, Old Comedy, Greek Theater
The four plays in this collection, The Clouds, The Birds, Lysistrata, and Women of the Assembly are satires of philosophy, religion, war, and the Athenian assembly, respectively. It is worth noting that women have important and thoughtful roles in Lysistrata and Women of the Assembly.
Overall the comedy is course, raunchy, bawdy. Common are scurrilous mockeries of then well known Athenians who are ridiculed for their politics or some physical trait such as being big-nosed or smelly. The comedy is crude, broad and deliberately offensive. There’s no need to think here; the idea is just to laugh uproariously at unfamiliar ideas, at institutions, and at other people. It brings to mind recent insult comics like Don Rickles (d. 2017), and Andrew Dice Clay. This strain of thinking is not unique to ancient Athens. There's a dark side of us all that this mines.
To my own sensibility the plays are gratuitously coarse, mean-spirited, and offensive. The plays were interesting to read in an academic sense but, by comparison with the tragedies, without substance. I suppose one could say the same thing about a good deal of popular entertainment today.
P.S. The translator choose to have Spartans speak in a pseudo hillbilly accent. I found this a major distraction.
December 12, 2024
Aaron Poochigian's fresh translation of these plays really highlights the insult comic aspects of Old Comedy. A big chunk of the DNA here is calling out members of the original audience, which I bet was both hilarious and powerful politically. Not only public figures like Cleon or Socrates come under fire though; Aristophanes hits your local barber and potter just as hard.
I loved it because it really gives a sense of Athens as a living community. Poochigian's notes give just the right amount of detail so that you can understand the zing. It's an interesting lesson in the effectiveness of crudity to humble the powerful. It's easy to envision the thrill that must have come from such attacks, channeled (at least somewhat) safely into a ritualized form set aside from everyday power relations in a festival atmosphere.
Poochigian has also rubbed all the priggish crud off the jokes about poop, farts, dicks, and butts, so they can really shine. Again, his judicious commentary really helps the material come alive, and I learned several important facts like the stand-up reputation of Milesian dildos in the Greek world, the use of flame to groom pubic hair, and that Lesbians were BJ queens not gay women to ancient Athenians. Highly recommended to add some polychrome back to the staid marble of Greek culture as we've received it.
I loved it because it really gives a sense of Athens as a living community. Poochigian's notes give just the right amount of detail so that you can understand the zing. It's an interesting lesson in the effectiveness of crudity to humble the powerful. It's easy to envision the thrill that must have come from such attacks, channeled (at least somewhat) safely into a ritualized form set aside from everyday power relations in a festival atmosphere.
Poochigian has also rubbed all the priggish crud off the jokes about poop, farts, dicks, and butts, so they can really shine. Again, his judicious commentary really helps the material come alive, and I learned several important facts like the stand-up reputation of Milesian dildos in the Greek world, the use of flame to groom pubic hair, and that Lesbians were BJ queens not gay women to ancient Athenians. Highly recommended to add some polychrome back to the staid marble of Greek culture as we've received it.
August 9, 2024
Lysistrata is art. Women taking over and ending the peloponnesian wars with a sex strike and men carrying around penis staffs? Gold.
Clouds is a good reminder that sometimes all that thinking can be used to cloud real judgement and the point of it all. I am now a scholar of unjust thinking and I will never pay my debts again at least!
Birds was alright but I love the idea of two birds somehow scheming to take over Olympus because god be damned the birds just want to build infrastructure in the sky. Cloudcuckooland feels like a shit post from today, Aristophanes truly was the 4chan of yesterday. The historical connections were much more interesting than the play itself but it was still fun.
Woman of the Assembly, Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon... need I saw more? I think I liked Lysistrata more for its more on the nose humor about men but I did enjoy this plays non stop punches (like ugly and old people getting first dibs on sex partners because they shouldn't be left out). It was good, I choose to take it as women get shit done better than the sex obsessed men rather than the more sexist truth of the day. 4.5/5
Clouds is a good reminder that sometimes all that thinking can be used to cloud real judgement and the point of it all. I am now a scholar of unjust thinking and I will never pay my debts again at least!
Birds was alright but I love the idea of two birds somehow scheming to take over Olympus because god be damned the birds just want to build infrastructure in the sky. Cloudcuckooland feels like a shit post from today, Aristophanes truly was the 4chan of yesterday. The historical connections were much more interesting than the play itself but it was still fun.
Woman of the Assembly, Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon... need I saw more? I think I liked Lysistrata more for its more on the nose humor about men but I did enjoy this plays non stop punches (like ugly and old people getting first dibs on sex partners because they shouldn't be left out). It was good, I choose to take it as women get shit done better than the sex obsessed men rather than the more sexist truth of the day. 4.5/5
July 23, 2024
"But who will give them health, the gods’ prerogative? Peisthetaerus: The greater part of health is happiness. The miserable man is never well."
First experience reading plays... interesting nevertheless. Good stories by Aristophanes, for sure. Didn't necessarily laugh out loud as I thought I would, but still very much impressed by the ability of the man to convince the middle man like myself of the most absurd ideas in a very non-conscious way and with the smoothness of a sophist; — a very daunting sophist. — Favorite one of the plays: Birds. Impact: The scatology of Ancient humour and Aristophane's wit in mocking pretty much everyone, even the bystanders.
First experience reading plays... interesting nevertheless. Good stories by Aristophanes, for sure. Didn't necessarily laugh out loud as I thought I would, but still very much impressed by the ability of the man to convince the middle man like myself of the most absurd ideas in a very non-conscious way and with the smoothness of a sophist; — a very daunting sophist. — Favorite one of the plays: Birds. Impact: The scatology of Ancient humour and Aristophane's wit in mocking pretty much everyone, even the bystanders.
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September 19, 2022This review is solely for the Poochigian's Birds. I do plan on reading the rest of his translations at a future date. As translator Aaron Poochigian summarizes in the intro, " Considering life in Athens litigious & stressful, two Athenians, Peisthetaerus & Euelpides, head into the wilderness to find Tereus the Hoopoe, leader of the birds, & to make their home there." Peisthetaerus & Euelpides convince Tereus & the other birds to build Cloudcuckooland, a grand border city between humans & the Gods to regain their mythical majesty. A zany comedy w/ some interesting underlying commentary.
February 12, 2022
So yeah, I didn't expect this to be what it is. I thought I might be reading some tragic or historical or mythic plays from ancient Greece and what I got was "O nurse, O nurse, bring in Sir Dildo. I'll use him instead. A thousand blessings on your head." Admittedly, some of this was very funny, and it was pretty fascinating to get a look at the culture through comedy. Aristophanes was definitely a little bitchy, though, with all the name dropping. Socrates didn't deserve that (I assume).
March 7, 2025
A collection of plays from the ancient Greek comedic writer Aristophanes. From the 4 plays contained, Birds was by far the least interesting. The others actually felt modern in themes and scope. It was difficult to find the plays genuinely funny, as much of the humor is lost due to untranslatable sections or references the contemporary reader won't get. Despite this, reading the anthology was still worthwhile.
March 19, 2024
only read Lysistrata. Dunno if it was just my translation, but Lord have mercy, I wanted to pull my eyeballs out from how rough it was to read.
I mean, I understand the context and everything, I just didn’t think too much of it otherwise.
I mean, I understand the context and everything, I just didn’t think too much of it otherwise.
Want to read
August 2, 2021DMPL
July 5, 2022
so so funny
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January 12, 2023Read for BISR. Accessible translations
November 18, 2023
Hilarious and accessible.
January 30, 2025
Wonderful translations of these wonderful plays
June 24, 2021
You can read my conversation with the translator here: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/p...
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April 29, 2023Review of Lysistrata
Review of Birds
Review of Birds
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