Pericles on Stage

Political Comedy in Aristophanes' Early Plays

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Ancient & Classical, Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Greece
Cover of the book Pericles on Stage by Michael Vickers, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Vickers ISBN: 9780292746572
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: May 23, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Michael Vickers
ISBN: 9780292746572
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: May 23, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English
Since the eighteenth century, classical scholars have generally agreed that the Greek playwright Aristophanes did not as a matter of course write "political" plays. Yet, according to an anonymous Life of Aristophanes, when Dionysius the tyrant of Syracuse wanted to know about the government of Athens, Plato sent him a copy of Aristophanes' Clouds. In this boldly revisionist work, Michael Vickers convincingly argues that in his earlier plays, Aristophanes in fact commented on the day-to-day political concerns of Athenians. Vickers reads the first six of Aristophanes' eleven extant plays in a way that reveals the principal characters to be based in large part on Pericles and his ward Alcibiades. According to Vickers, the plays of Aristophanes—far from being nonpolitical—actually allow us to gauge the reaction of the Athenian public to the events that followed Pericles' death in 429 B.C., to the struggle for the political succession, and to the problems presented by Alcibiades' emergence as one of the most powerful figures in the state. This view of Aristophanes reaffirms the central role of allegory in his work and challenges all students of ancient Greece to rethink long-held assumptions about this important playwright.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Since the eighteenth century, classical scholars have generally agreed that the Greek playwright Aristophanes did not as a matter of course write "political" plays. Yet, according to an anonymous Life of Aristophanes, when Dionysius the tyrant of Syracuse wanted to know about the government of Athens, Plato sent him a copy of Aristophanes' Clouds. In this boldly revisionist work, Michael Vickers convincingly argues that in his earlier plays, Aristophanes in fact commented on the day-to-day political concerns of Athenians. Vickers reads the first six of Aristophanes' eleven extant plays in a way that reveals the principal characters to be based in large part on Pericles and his ward Alcibiades. According to Vickers, the plays of Aristophanes—far from being nonpolitical—actually allow us to gauge the reaction of the Athenian public to the events that followed Pericles' death in 429 B.C., to the struggle for the political succession, and to the problems presented by Alcibiades' emergence as one of the most powerful figures in the state. This view of Aristophanes reaffirms the central role of allegory in his work and challenges all students of ancient Greece to rethink long-held assumptions about this important playwright.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book The Caddo Nation by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Texas Mushrooms by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book The Best I Recall by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book The Literary Criticism of Frank Norris by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Automotive Prosthetic by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Doctor Mary in Arabia by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Senhora by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Using Life by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book U.S. Foreign Policy and Peru by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Pretty/Funny by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Reading Arab Women's Autobiographies by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Brought to You By by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Texas Ranger John B. Jones and the Frontier Battalion, 1874-1881 by Michael Vickers
Cover of the book Making Up the Difference by Michael Vickers
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy