ARISTOPH'ANES (Gk. 'Apurroodwic) (c.450 c.385 n.c.). The only writer of the old Greek comedy of whose plays any survives entire. He was the son of one Philippus, born possi hly in the deme of Cydathene. As lie also had property in the island _Egina, lie was some times called an iEginetan. The most probable date of his birth is between B.C. 450 and 445. That his education was of the best is shown by his intimate knowledge of iEschylus, Stesi cho•us, and finder. His genius was of the highest order, so that he maintained himself for over a generation as more than peer among the brilliant writers of comedy of his day. In poli tics he favored, with all the force of his impetu ous nature, the aristocratic peace party; and in his hands, comedy, which had been given a politi cal turn by his older contemporary. Cratinns, be came in the first period of the Peloponnesian War a most effective weapon against the dema gogues and their faction. His sharp wit and biting humor on at least two occasions stirred Cleon to bring suits against him.
Aristophanes's literary activity covered forty years (s.c. 427-388), and his plays mirror the political and social changes of the State. We can distinguish three periods: the first ends with 421, the second with 405, and the third with 388. In all we have forty-four titles, of which four are considered spurious; from the forty genuine plays eleven are preserved, of which five belong to the first period. Aris tophanes's earliest play was The B«ngucters, produced in 427, a satire on the newfangled teachings of the Sophists as compared with the simple education of the fathers. The Babylo nians (426) contained a sharp attack on the demagogue Cleon. Both these plays are lost. The deharnions (425) won the first prize. It is a satire on the headstrong Jingoes at Ath ens who are typified in the play uy the captain, Lamachns. The blessings of peace are ex hibited by the good fortune of an old country man, Dieseopolis, who makes a private treaty with the Lacedsemonians for thirty years, and thereby enjoys all blessings, in contrast with Lamaehus, who comes to grief with his cam paigning. The Knights (424) also won the first prize. This is the first play which Aris tophanes brought out in his own name, the three previous having heen produced under the name of Callistratus. In this comedy Aristophanes
fulfills the promise which he made, in The Achar :lions the year before, to cut Cleon into pieces. The demagogue is here represented as a vulgar, insolent charlatan; the people are represented in the person of a credulous and fickle old De mos. At the end, Cleon is discomfited, and old Demos has his youth renewed so that he clearly sees how he has been tricked. It is said that Aristophanes himself was obliged to take the part of Cleon, as no actor was willing to incur the enmity of the influential dema gogue. The Clouds (423) was not so successful as the two previous plays. Its present form is a revision of the original. This comedy is a satire on the pretensions of the new sophistical school and an attempt to point out its dangerous tendencies. Socrates is taken as the representa tive of that school, whether because Aristophanes did not understand his teachings, or because he was a convenient butt, is uncertain. It repre sents a young Athenian, Phidippides, who is ruining his father by his spendthrift habits. So the old man sends him to the "thinking-shop" of Socrates, where he can learn to make the worse appear the better cause and so save his father. The son, after some hesitation, reluctantly enters the school, and learns his lesson all too well. A famous scene represents a dialogue between the Just and Unjust Argument, in which the latter wins and obtains the mastery over the pupil. The youth returns to his home thoroughly trained in the new sophistic, and at a festival made by his father for his return, sings an im moral passage from Euripides, thrashes his father, and then justifies what he has done by the art he has just learned. His old father's eyes are now opened, and he takes vengeance on Socrates by setting his "thinking-shop" on fire. It is said that the reckless young Phidippides was intended to represent Alcibiades. The Wasps (422) is a ridicule of the regular courts of justice. The Peace (421) is a play in the interests of the truce between the Athenians and the Spartans consummated in this year. Peace is brought down from heaven and restored to earth.