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"PEISTHETAERUS: The Air's betwixt the Earth and the Sky.
And just as we, if we go to Pytho,
Must crave a grant of passage from the Boeotia,
Even so, when men slay victims to the Gods,
Unless the Gods pay tribute, ye in turn
Will grant no passage for the savoury steam
To rise through Chaos, and a realm not theirs."

The Birds is another one of my all-time favorites from Aristophanes, ranking amongst plays such as The Clouds and The Frogs- it simply is an imaginative work of art to behold compared to the more "blah" plays that come from this playwright. I can definitely understand why this one is a well-known play amongst the Greek dramas.

In this play, two men encounter a community of birds and decide that they want to make a man-bird city between the sky and the earth, mainly so that they can provide more civilized representation for the birds. While this sounds like a ludicrous idea, Aristophanes pulls it off very well while providing his usual sense of wit. Additonally, I also learned much about the significance of birds in Greek society in relation to the gods- I'd call that pretty important.

I honestly can't say that I've read a play with such a far-out plot, but I think it's safe to say that Aristophanes was a very... imaginative person. The Birds simply is a top-notch represenation of this creative threshold and one that I would definitely categorize as an essential Greek comedy.