Description
Three plays from Aristophanes, the master of Greek comedy
Aristophanes’ The Frogs and Other Plays includes 3 comedies and offers a unique insight into one of the most turbulent periods in Ancient Greek history. The master of Greek comic drama, Aristophanes combined slapstick humor and cheerful vulgarity with political observations. In The Frogs, written during the Peloponnesian War, Dionysus descends to the Underworld to bring back a poet who can help Athens in its darkest hour, and stages a debate to help him decide between the Aeschylus or Euripides.
In Women at the Thesmophoria, the famous Greek tragedian Euripides, accused of misogyny, persuades a relative to infiltrate an all-women festival to find out if revenge is being plotted against him. The clash of generations and values is the subject of Aristophanes’ satire in Wasps, in which an old-fashioned father and his son come to blows and end up in court.
This updated version of David Barrett’s translation includes extensive notes and a preface for each play.
