Aristophanes

Complete Plays of Aristophanes

by Aristophanes

A poet who hated an age of decadence, armed conflict, and departure from tradition, Aristophanes' comic genius influenced the political and social order of his own fifth-century Athens. But as Moses Hadas writes...

The Plays of Aristophanes, Volume One

by Aristophanes

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern...

Aristophanes: The Complete Plays: The Complete Plays

by Aristophanes

A brand-new translation of the world's greatest satirist.

With a signature style that is at once bawdy and delicate, as well as a fearless penchant for lampooning the rich and powerful, Aristophanes remains arguably...

The Eleven Comedies: Vol 1

by Aristophanes

Eleven of his 40 plays survive virtually complete. These plays, provide the only real examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy, and they are in fact used to define the genre. Also known as the...

The Eleven Comedies: Vol 1

by Aristophanes

Eleven of his 40 plays survive virtually complete. These plays, provide the only real examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy, and they are in fact used to define the genre. Also known as the...

The Eleven Comedies: Vol 1

by Aristophanes

Eleven of his 40 plays survive virtually complete. These plays, provide the only real examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy, and they are in fact used to define the genre. Also known as the...

The Thesmophoriazusae

by Aristophanes

Thesmophoriazusae was performed in Athens in 411 BCE, most likely at the City Dionysia, and is among the most brilliant of Aristophanes' eleven surviving comedies. It is the story of the crucial moment in a...

The Knights

by Aristophanes

If the American Editor of this little volume (which is sent forth as a test of the character of American learning) deemed it either expedient or necessary to expatiate upon the merits of an author so celebrated...

The Birds

by Aristophanes

This portrayal of a flawed utopia called Cloudcuckooland is an enchanting escape into the world of free-flying fantasy that explores the eternal dilemmas of man on earth.

The Acharnians

by Aristophanes

Writing at the time of political and social crisis in Athens, Aristophanes was an eloquent yet bawdy challenger to the demagogue and the sophist. The Achanians is a plea for peace set against the background...

The Wasps

by Aristophanes

Wasps satirizes Athenian enthusiasm for jury service and the law courts as well as the city's susceptibility to demagogues.

The Frogs

by Aristophanes

Visiting the underworld, the god Dionysus seeks the counsel of the dead tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides on how to bring good writing back to Athens. A fierce debate - full of scathing insults and literary...

Plutus

by Aristophanes

The story of ‘Plutus’ concerns Chremylus, a poor but just man, who accompanied by his body-servant Cario, consults the Delphic Oracle concerning his son, whether he ought not to be instructed in injustice...

Peace

by Aristophanes

A rollicking attack on war-makers, the farmer-hero makes his famous trip to heaven on a dung beetle to discuss the issues with Zeus.

The Ecclesiazusae

by Aristophanes

Aristophanes' "Esslesiazusae", written in the early 4th Century BC, marks a crossroads in his career. Post-dating the Peloponnesian War, it reflects a late change in his writing and a much changed society. This...

The Clouds

by Aristophanes

Socrates' "Thinkery" is at the center of Clouds, which spoofs untraditional techniques for educating young men.

Lysistrata

by Aristophanes

Aristophanes' play, Lysistrata, takes place toward the end of the Peloponnesian War and centers on the lives of the soldiers' wives. One woman, Lysistrata, under the impression that a man's libido is ultimately...