Three More Plays by Aristophanes: Staging Politics

by Jeffrey Henderson

Overview

This volume provides modern, uncensored translations of Aristophanes’ Acharnians, Knights, and Wasps. These plays, originally a series, are the world’s earliest political satires, and are made available here for the first time in one volume, augmented by full introductions and notes.

In these three works, Aristophanes launched satirical attacks on Cleon, the world’s first demagogue, and explored the vulnerability of democracy to populist manipulation and disinformation. Henderson's fresh translations and exploration of the themes within them enable readers to explore the perils facing democracy in its first century which are still with us today. The Introduction offers the reader background on Aristophanes' life, Athenian democracy, classical drama, as well as on political comedy, while introductions to each individual play provide the reader with context. An appendix also collects selected fragments from Aristophanes' lost political plays.

Three More Plays by Aristophanes offers an invaluable collection of these works for students and faculty working on classical studies, theatre and theatre history, and drama. The clear translations and contextualizing introductions and notes also make these plays accessible to students of government, law, and political science, and to the general reader interested in any of these subjects.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000577532
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/25/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	298
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jeffrey Henderson is the William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Greek at Boston University in the United States, author of The Maculate Muse; a commentary on Aristophanes’ Lysistrata; the Loeb edition of Aristophanes; Three Plays by Aristophanes: Staging Women; and numerous works on Greek comedy, literature, and history.

Table of Contents

Preface; Notes on the Translation; 1. General Introduction, I. Life of Aristophanes, II. Democratic Athens, III. The Dramatic Festivals, IV. The Dramatic Genres, V. Performance: Actors and Chorus, VI. Comic Politics; 2. Acharnians; 3. Knights; 4. Wasps; Appendix: Selected Fragments of Lost Plays; Bibliography; Index