Aristophanes (Greek: 螒蚁喂蟽蟿慰蠁维谓畏蟼; c.鈥�446 鈥� c.鈥�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."
Aristophanes (Born: c. 446 BC, Athens, Greece, Died (c. 386 BC, Delphi, Greece), son of Philippus, was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens.
The Birds is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BC at the City Dionysia in Athens where it won second place.
Characters: Pisthetairos, Euelpides, Hoopoe
Birds is one of the Aristophanes' masterpieces, for its imaginative plot, and it is charming and original lyrics.
The play begins with two middle-aged men stumbling across a hillside wilderness, guided by a pet crow and a pet jackdaw.
One of them advises the audience that they are fed up with life in Athens, where people do nothing all day but argue over laws, and they are looking for Tereus, a king who was once metamorphosed into the Hoopoe, for they believe he might help them find a better life somewhere else.
Just then, a very large and fearsome bird emerges from a camouflaged bower, demanding to know what they are up to and accusing them of being bird-catchers.
He turns out to be the Hoopoe's servant. They appease him and he returns indoors to fetch his master. Moments later the Hoopoe himself appears鈥攁 not very convincing bird who attributes his lack of feathers to a severe case of moulting.
He is happy to discuss their plight with them and meanwhile one of them has a brilliant idea鈥攖he birds, he says, should stop flying about like idiots and instead should build themselves a great city in the sky, since this would not only allow them to lord it over men, it would also enable them to blockade the Olympian gods in the same way that the Athenians had recently starved the island of Melos into submission.
The Hoopoe likes the idea and he agrees to help implement it, provided of course that the two Athenians can first convince all the other birds.
He calls to his wife, the Nightingale, and bids her to begin her celestial music. The notes of an unseen flute swell through the theatre and meanwhile the Hoopoe provides the lyrics, summoning the birds of the world from their different habitats鈥攂irds of the fields, mountain birds and birds of the trees, birds of the waterways, marshes and seas.
These soon begin to appear and each of them is identified by name on arrival. Four of them dance together while the rest form into a Chorus. ...
When a play from the 5th century BC has themes that still speak to us, it proves it is thriving! That's a comic critique of society, laws, and living together.
Nephelococcygia, a metropolis in air, Zeus' cloudy nightmare, Unlikely a bedroom scare From a sparrow鈥檚 wild rare.
A respite between heaven and earth, 鈥淎n avian heaven鈥�, says Pisthetaerus, Flirting with the nightingale鈥檚 mirth Hoopoe consents ; what a fucking putz!
Sacred chants float over the lustral waters, The birds join the jubilant choir, The peacock dancing in a tutu simply backfires, It鈥檚 not an ass-whooping Le Ballet Noir!
The pelican, the spoon-bill, the horned-owl, the teal, the stormy petrel and the titmouse, Solemnized the laws of the land, Harboring the Olympians grouse, I rather be chained and canned.
Messiah to Bitch Dependency, 鈥淏irds over bitches!鈥� proclaims a pimp called Slickback, Pleading for wings is a bitch tendency, Cloud-cuckoo town- a two-cent hustler.
Rainbows descent on womanly divinity, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a bitch!鈥� , yelps Slickback, Iris, messenger of Gods, heart of Zeus鈥� affinity, 鈥淭hat bitch鈥檚 gonna fuck y鈥檃ll".
Perching on twigs, the birds laud the forgotten heroes, A choral interlude, a cry for pigeons, Howl the pigeons preening their Afros, 鈥淵ou came to the wrong neighborhood, motherfucking wigeons!鈥�
A cry of an amateur, Verses may not rationally click Least an award clincher, I care a fuck ; I just blasted a stick!
Asl谋nda Aristophanes'in T眉rkiye 陌艧 Bankas谋 taraf谋ndan yay谋mlanan kitab谋n谋 sat谋n almak istemi艧tim; ancak en merak etti臒im oyun olan "Bulutlar"谋 kitapta g枚remedi臒im i莽in Mitos Boyut'u tercih ettim.
碍耻艧濒补谤, asl谋nda bir 眉迟辞辫测补. ... linkinden okudu臒um kadar谋yla Sicilya seferi 枚ncesinde Tanr谋lar谋n heykellerinin tahrip edilmi艧 ve bunun da u臒ursuzluk getirdi臒i inanc谋 yerle艧mi艧. Buna sebebiyet verdikleri gerek莽esiyle pek 莽ok d眉艧眉n眉r 枚ld眉r眉lm眉艧. Oyun da Atina'daki bu t眉r problemlerden kurtulmak i莽in ku艧lar谋n 眉lkesine, bir 眉迟辞辫测补ya, g枚莽 eden iki arkada艧谋 anlat谋yor.
Oyunda d枚nemin Atinas谋n谋, iktidar谋, yarg谋y谋 ele艧tiren pek 莽ok k谋s谋m var. 脰rne臒in, "...yine de 眉lkemizden ayr谋l谋yoruz. 脺lkemizi sevmedi臒imizden mi? Yoo! Kim b枚ylesine mutlu ve g眉zel bir kenti sevmez? 陌stedi臒in kadar para harca, bol bol vergi ve ceza 枚de. A臒ustos b枚cekleri dallarda bir iki ay 枚t眉p dururlar. Atinal谋lar ise insan谋 枚m眉r boyu 枚tt眉r眉rler. Nas谋l m谋? Mahkemelerle, tahkikatlarla... 陌艧te bu y眉zden yola 莽谋kt谋k" (s.8). 陌艧te bu t眉r sebeplerden 枚t眉r眉 daha iyi bir 眉lke bulma amac谋yla Pistetairos ve Euelpides yola 莽谋k谋yor ve buluyorlar da. Bu iki arkada艧谋n yerle艧tikleri ku艧lar 眉lkesi ile Aristophanes 枚zlem duydu臒u 眉lkeyi anlat谋yor olsa gerek. "Aran谋zda mutlu bir ya艧am s眉rmek isteyen varsa bizimle gelsin. Bizim aram谋zda ay谋p diye g眉nah diye bir 艧ey yoktur. 碍耻艧濒补谤 yapt谋臒谋n谋z her 艧eyi ho艧 g枚r眉rler" (s.31). Bunun haricinde bu yeni 眉lkede ku艧lar Tanr谋lara daha az adak ad谋yorlar, onlar i莽in daha az 艧ey kurban ediyorlar ve bu durum da Tanr谋lar谋 莽ok rahats谋z ediyor, iktidarlar谋n谋 zedeliyor. Bu 眉lkede Tanr谋lar谋n egemenli臒inden ziyade 眉lkenin ku艧lar谋n谋n h眉k眉m s眉rmesi isteniyor.
Bulutlar, Sokrates'i 枚l眉me g枚t眉ren oyun olarak zihnimde yer etmi艧 bir oyun. Sokrates'in bu oyun sonras谋nda 枚l眉m cezas谋na mahk没m edildi臒i s枚ylenir.
Gelenek莽i bir yap谋ya sahip Aristophanes, Sokrates'i sofistlerle bir tutar ve onun birtak谋m ahl芒k kurallar谋n谋, gelenekleri y谋kt谋臒谋ndan, inan莽lar谋 sarst谋臒谋ndan bahisle Sokrates'i yerden yere vurur. Bu oyun da tam anlam谋yla bunun 眉zerine kurulu. Mahkemede bor莽lar谋n谋 枚demekten kurtulmak isteyen Strepsiades kendisini mahkemede savunmak i莽in o臒lunun Sokrates'ten ders almas谋n谋 ister. Ba艧ta o臒lu kabul etmeyince kendi ders almaya gider; fakat pek ba艧ar谋l谋 olmaz. Bunun 眉zerine yeniden o臒lunun Sokrates'ten e臒itim almas谋na u臒ra艧谋r ve bu sefer ba艧ar谋l谋r olur; ancak ald谋臒谋 o臒lunun e臒itimin ne kadar "k枚t眉 ve y谋k谋c谋" bir etkiye sahip oldu臒unu sonradan anlar. Bunun 眉zerine de Sokrates'in evini ate艧e verir.
Oyun boyunca Sokrates, sofistlerle bir tutulur. Hakl谋 莽谋kmak i莽in, kar艧谋 taraf谋 ikna etmek i莽in her t眉rl眉 艧eyi dener. Bu u臒urda ahl芒k kurallar谋n谋 da yok sayar Tanr谋lar谋 da. Hatta ya臒muru Zeus'un ya臒d谋rmad谋臒谋n谋, kas谋rga ile birlikte bulutlar谋n ya臒d谋rd谋臒谋n谋 bile iddia eder!
脰zellikle felsefe merakl谋lar谋n谋n okumas谋 gereken bir oyun oldu臒unu d眉艧眉n眉yorum.
I liked this - a strange and nebulous atmosphere As two buffoon-clowns organise a biosphere, An Avian Kingdom high up in the stratosphere. Apparently this parodies the Sicilian sphere; I couldn鈥檛 see that myself, but if it鈥檚 true I fear That it proved to be prophetic in the coming year. For the war was lost for Athens in that fateful year, And the sharp decline of Hellas became 眉ber-clear.
A gdyby tak rzuci膰 to wszystko i zamieszka膰 z ptakami (mo偶e by膰 w Bieszczadach)?
"Ptaki" to kolejny utw贸r Arystofanesa, uchodz膮cy za "arcydzie艂o komedii staroattyckiej", kt贸ry (mea culpa) przeczyta艂am bez wi臋kszego zainteresowania. Autor by艂 gorliwym obro艅c膮 pokoju i konserwatyst膮, czego wyraz ch臋tnie dawa艂 w swoich dzie艂ach. W "Ptakach" znajdziemy jego wizj臋 idealnego pa艅stwa, w kt贸rym nie znajdziemy 偶adnych wr贸偶bit贸w, komisarzy ani sofist贸w z ich szkodliwymi naukami. Super, ja te偶 marz臋 o pa艅stwie, w kt贸rym nie b臋dzie niepasuj膮cych mi element贸w politycznych. I to by by艂o na tyle, bo to my艣lenie wy艂膮cznie 偶yczeniowe.
Masterful translation of a witty play. I'm not sure of the meaning of the play, but I can see where elements of low humor today were birthed in ancient times. I appreciated the translator's notes and glossary. They explained many obscure [to us] references--cultural and topical in Aristophanes' day. I read this to compare it with Braunfels' treatment of the story in his opera "Die V枚gel" based on the same play.
Have you considered replacing your gods with birds? They're never far away - in some tree or bush - and while Zeus demands the sacrifice of a whole animal, you can appease birds with only a few grains of wheat. Also, they will give you wings (unless your reasons for wanting the wings are ridiculous. Then no. Obviously.) But what's really amazing is that many of Aristophanes' jokes are still funny over 2,400 years later.
tr猫s rigolo car un personnage s'appelle troudeballe mais sinon j'ai rien compris, qui peut m'expliquer svp j'ai ds dessus genre demain en culture antique
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 鈥�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 鈥渃loud-cuckoo-land鈥� though.
"The Birds" was both witty and insightful about the nature of the Athenian dream: to live through play and not pay taxes. Though comical, it changes from a story of two men looking to escape their responsibilities, to their dream of a new world and overthrowing the gods, to the two men's domination. Ironically, much of their power was gained through a matter of others shrugging and doing their very best to avoid responsibility. I found that this play was both charmingly cheeky-- at a couple points faux-threatening the crowd to vote for the play in the competition it had been entered in-- and interesting for its complex view of human beings.
I've read this as a play concerning the innate human craving for something better, a craving which can never be fully satiated, which could be taken as a satire for the Athenian desire for conquering (which always leads to war and destruction) and for always inventing new forms of political expression (which often results in people feeling lost and overwhelmed). I've enjoyed the talk about Eros, the lust that is inherently present in all of the characters. Just as an example, after Peisthetaerus and his friend establish Cloud-cuckoo-land, a patricide appears and states the following: "I鈥檓 in love with the laws of the Birds. I鈥檓 batty about the birds and I鈥檓 all in a flutter of desire to live with you, and I want your nomoi!鈥�. Similarly, Kinesias says: 鈥淏ecause of Eros I flutter heavenwards of light wings鈥�. And the link between politics and eroticism/passion is brought to its paroxysm in the end of the play when Peisthetaerus marries Basileia and establishes himself as a tyrant deity who is not necessarily creating a utopia since the wedding feast includes some roasted jailbirds. However, in comparison to other plays such as Lysistrata or the Assembly of Women, I found this play less comical and less enjoyable overall. This might be a masterpiece of political satire, but for me it proved a little too allegorical and difficult to follow than other plays.
A very entertaining comedy on how to build a kingdom and become a God. The people wanted to leave society and be among nature and came across the free birds and decided to be among them. They quickly became noticed and the greek gods also noticed and accepted them as leaders of the birds and were then gods.
I read the George Theodoridis translation available here:
The only drawback to reading this version is that there are no annotations. It's a pretty accessible translation, so I understood most of it anyway, but I'd like to read an annotated version eventually, to see what I might have missed.
My favorite Aristophanes is still (I think I read the Lattimore translation) but this was fascinating. It's less explicitly political than , but very whimsical and imaginative. When I read earlier this year, the author had a great description of this play (in connection with the "ring of Gyges" story in Plato's Republic):
"A pair of idiots find themselves in the country of birds, where, to save their skins, they end up feathered and winged, organizing the birds into a political power. They start a bird-centric religion. The newly self-confident birds build a mighty fortress, Cloud Cuckooland, between the human world and Olympus... the gifts humans give the gods -- vaguely conceived of as aromas rising up out of the fires -- are embargoed. A deputation of Olympians (and one Thracian god, who can't speak Greek, or get his clothes on straight) come to Cuckooland on a diplomatic mission. They need this stuff they are used to getting from mortals on a regular basis!...
Also, when the humans-turned-birds find their new condition convenient, they reflect on why this is so. If you have powers no ordinary mortals do -- in this case, flight -- they can't touch you. Obviously you will get up to all sorts of unethical stuff, if there is no threat of punishment..."