Lesson 26- Themes and cultural context Flashcards
what did Aristophanes plays centre on?
His plays centred on public life at Athens and made fun of contemporary politics and public figures
what is an example of Aristophanes satirising leading politicians?
One entire play, knights, focuses on satirizing the leading politician Cleon as a demagogue who manipulates the citizen body of Athens.
What war did most of Aristophanes plays centre on?
most of his plays were written between the years of the peloponnesian war: 431-404 BC. For example, Frogs was written in 405 BC- although the Athenians didn’t know that the war was going to end the following year, they sensed that the war war coming to a close.
what is an example of Aristophanes focusing on war in his plays?
The theme of war with Sparta (the peloponnesian war) is never far from the surface of many plays; In Acharnians, for example the lead character Dicaeopolis makes his own private peace with the Spartans after failing to convince the Athenian assembly to do the same. The most famous ‘war play’ is Lysistrata, in which heroine, an Athenian woman, gathers a group of women from various Greek cities to swear to hold a sex-strike until their husbands agree to stop the war. Whilst this play no doubt raised many laughs, it had a poignant political backdrop: it was written just after Athens and her allies had lost a huge number of young men in an ill-fated expedition to Sicily- and so the idea of women surviving without men must have been painfully close to reality.
what is an example of Aristophanes plays focusing on the workings of democracy?
Plays can often focus on the workings of democracy. In Wasps, Aristophanes makes fun of a jury service, presenting it as a system which is in thrall to conservative elderly citizens, while in Birds the main characters are so fed up of life at Athens that they head off to found their own ideal city in the sky.
what is an example of Aristophanes satirising philosophers/sophists?
In clouds, when the playwright makes fun of the new learning in Athens at the time, the main character lampooned is the great thinker Socrates- plato records that when he was put on trial in 399 BC, he complained that he had been misrepresented by Aristophanes in the play that had first been performed in 423 BC
what is an example of Aristophanes parodying poets (playwrights)?
Aristophanes enjoyed parodying poets such as Homer and Pindar, and even more so tragic playwrights-most notably Euripides, who is made fun of in five plays that we know of, and appears as a character in three. Aristophanes enjoyed mocking the grandeur of tragedy.
what is an example of Aristophanes mocking/satirising tragedy?
He also enjoyed depicting gods as cowardly and ridiculous, as opposed to powerful and awesome; the most famous example is Dionysus in frogs, who is more cowardly than the slave Xanthias.
In what way did Women at the Thesmophoria parody tragedy?
Some of Aristophanes’ other plays include parody of tragedy, for example his women at the thesmophoria presents the women of Athens secretly plotting against Euripides, a tragic playwright.
In what ways is tragedy a very prominent theme in Frogs?
It is in frogs that tragedy receives its most sustained treatment, since the plot is dominated by personalities of individual tragedians and that tragic poetry can save Athens.
What is Dionysus’ aim in Frogs and why?
Frogs begins with Dionysus deciding to go to Hades to recover a tragic playwright for personal reasons; he tells heracles that he is pining for the work of Euripides , since the tragedians left in Athens are inferior. At the end however, when unable to determine which playwright is better, Dionysus reveals that there is another factor that will influence his decision.
Give details of the evidence from both Frogs and other texts that demonstrate tragedy was not merely for entertainment and provided a wider civic function:
tragedy was not just for enjoyment, but has a civic function. The right playwright will save Athens from the crisis that is engulfing her. Dionysus expands upon this by asking both tragedians for political advice. This reflects the ancient idea that poetry of all kinds should fulfill a didactic function (from the Greek word ‘didasko’ meaning ‘I teach’): it’s aim was to offer moral guidance and make them better citizens. Tragedy’s special place in Athenian culture gave it particular influence, and this forms a central theme of the agon between Aeschylus and Euripides.
Why do we need to be sceptical of how Aeschylus and Euripides are presented in Frogs?
Aeschylus claims that Euripides has corrupted Athenian morals by behaviour, not encouraging it by presenting it on stage. Half a century later we find the same argument used by Plato is his republic, who criticizes all the tragedians (including Aeschylus) for promoting immoral behaviour. Aristophanes also satirizes the tragedians as individuals. As we have already seen, his presentation needs to be viewed with scepticism, especially since the personalities of Aeschylus and Euripides are derived from stereotypes about their work.
What can we learn about the popularity of tragedians at this time?
we find references to well known characteristics about contemporary tragedians, who were celebrities of their day and so attracted interest and gossip. For example, Aristophanes refers in passing to sophocles genial personality and refers to Sophocles son Iophon, another tragic playwright, with the snide suggestion that he had help from his father in writing his best works. The focus on Aeschylus and Euripides also demonstrates how the formation of the canon of the three great tragedians were well underway in Aristophanes’ lifetime.
Why was Sophocles not included in Frogs beyond a mention?
Sophocles probably died shortly before frogs was first performed, and so too late to be fully incorporated into the script. Dionysus makes it clear that these are the only playwrights worth considering truly great. Nethertheless, he jokes about other playwrights such as Xenocles, Agathon and Pythangelus reminds us that tragedy continued after the death of sophocles.
