Aristophanes

Aristophanes was the greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy and whose works have been preserved in greater quantity. It is the only existing representative of the Ancient Comedy , that is, of the phase of comic dramaturgy in which the chorus , mime and burlesque played a very important role and were characterized by their daring fantasy , their ruthless invective and their satire. outrageous , blatantly licentious humor and a marked freedom from political criticism. His last extant work can be considered as the only extant copy of the short-lived Medium Comedy which, before the end of the 4th century BC C., was surpassed in turn by the softer and more realistic social satire of the New Comedy .

Biography of Aristophanes

Little is known about the life of Aristophanes, and most of the facts that are known derive from written references in his own works , many historians consider that he was born during the time of Pericles and his birth place him around the year 445 BC . He was an Athenian citizen who belonged to the clan called Pandionis , but his actual birthplace is uncertain. He began his dramatic career in 427 BC with a play known as “Los Daitaleis” whose meaning in Spanish is “Los Banquetros” , which seems, from surviving fragments , to have been a satire on theeducational and moral theories of his contemporaries.

He was involved in Athenian politics and participated in different political struggles with the aim of establishing the Aristocratic Party . It was against the way in which the Democrats ruled and adamantly opposed the war of the Peloponnese .

What did

Aristophanes was a renowned comedian who was commissioned to carry out a series of criticisms using satire against the Sophists , mainly against Socrates . He made a large number of comedies in the classic Grace with the aim of criticizing the society of his time through different situations and characters.

Aristophanes ideology

The political ideology of Aristophanes was characterized by conservatism typical of a person who goes against the defenders of the people and institutions . He had an extremely conservative position that supposedly reflects his pacifism , which was in line with the position of the peasants of Athens during the Peloponnesian war. He focused on criticizing democracy and the revolution . It went against the religious and made fun of the gods . Regarding his political ideologyshe was very conservative and always thought education was important.

Physical characteristics

Like his life, very little is known about his physical characteristics.

Personality

He was a man who was always against the war and who fought politically against the Democratic government . He had a very conservative stance that guided him in defending the myths of religion and did not accept new philosophical doctrines . He was also characterized by attacking institutions and societies through his political comedies , he was a faithful follower of the ideal political society model using censorship and criticism.scathing against citizen policy. His personality was completely humorous and they were reflected in his language and in his style , in which he managed to achieve an important comedy. He was capable of distorting and giving double meaning to his ideas.

Importance

The main importance of Aristophanes is that thanks to his work, adequate importance is given to social and human criticism today. He was an example for each of the citizens as a teacher of citizenship through his works. He was also seen as a positive influence on the life of the city of Athens because he managed to establish direct relationships with his audience.

Works of Aristophanes

Eleven comedies are preserved that reached the Alexandrian era . His works were full of great dynamism through the use of music , dialogues , and choirs . Among his most important works we mention:

• The Acamenses : he was referring to the Athens – Sparta war , and he invited Athenian politicians to end the war and to initiate a period of peace .
• The Knights : a satire criticizing the military and strategist Cleón , leader of the warmongering party.
• Clouds:  a satire against the Sophists , mainly against Socrates, Aristophanes thought it was done serving his speech with political purposes .
• The Wasps : satire related to Athenian justice and on the strategist Cleon where he is criticized in this work as the Athenian citizens who are obsessed with being popular juries in the courts of Athens.
• Peace : includes a main character who represents a country man who, disgusted by the war, decides to go visit the Gods so that they intercede with the Greeks to restore peace.
• The Birds : a work in which he criticizes Athenian society and its strange taste for getting involved in problems of a judicial nature .
• Lysistrata : this is undoubtedly her best-known work , in it the women establish a pact by means of which they will not be able to have sexual relations with their husbands until the war is over , as a way to pressure to initiate peace .
• The tesmoforiazusas and Las Ranas : these works were a direct attack on Euripides .

Poems

Among his main poems we can mention:

• Lysistrate
• The beast of Aristophanes
• The clouds

Myths

Among their myths we mention the following:

• Androgyne Myth
• Faceless harlequin
• The theory of the better half
• The theory of twin souls

Aristophanes phrases

Some of his most recognized phrases are:

• The mistrust is the mother of safety.
• The wise men learn much from their enemies.
• In adversity , virtue comes to light .
• Everybody knows that old men are twice children.
• You have to be a rower before taking the helm , have been in the bow and watched the winds before steering the ship.
• May the gods wish each one to carry out the office he knows!
• Blind humans , like the light blade, powerless creatures made of crumbling clay, miserable mortals who, deprived of wings, spend your fleeting life like vain shadows or lying dreams.