Product Description

The plays of Aristophanes are the oldest comedies which still survive. They are famous for their comic characters, their fantastic plots, their farcical action, and their earthy humour. But they are also highly topical, full of comments, both comic and serious, on politics and other current affairs in classical Athens. This book provides an accessible introduction to Aristophanes' plays, focusing particularly on their relationship to Athenian politics and life, and to the effect that Aristophanes hoped to have on his audience. All passages quoted from them are given in new verse translations, and readers do not need any knowledge of Greek. But scholarly problems are not ignored, and specialists will find here both new suggestions and summaries of different interpretations with recent bibliographical information in the notes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #378007 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 376 pages

Customer Reviews

Buy to pass A-level Classical Civilisation
All A-level classicists studying Aristophanes need this book! Not in a "need a new pair of shoes", "need a ferrari and plastic surgery" way, but in a "need oxygen/chocolate" way. It is essential to the course, especially the modular OCR paper, funnily enough, uncannily named "Aristophanes and Athens" as well. If you are feeling a bit lazy, and I haven't meet anyone that isn't, then just read the relevant chapters on the plays you are studying (each play has its own chapter) as you stand outside the exam room. The most effective cramming tool for our, oh so high brow subject!