Aristophanes: The Acharnians, The Knights

Author: (Ancient Greece) Aristophanes
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Aristophanes (c. 446–385 BC) was a representative poet of Old Comedy in Athens, having written over forty plays, with eleven still extant. Throughout his life, he witnessed the brilliance of Pericles' rule, the internal strife of the Peloponnesian War, and the decline of Athens from prosperity to decline. His plays are distinct in their clear orientation, filled with sharp satire and criticism of the times, vividly recreating the poet's reflections on Athenian democratic politics and cultural trends from the mid-5th century BC to the 4th century BC. Among Aristophanes' surviving plays, The Acharnians is an early comedy that premiered in 425 BC and won first prize in the comedy competition of the Dionysia festival. The protagonist, Dikaiopolis, due to his inability to bear the endless warfare, secretly makes a truce with the Spartans. As a result, this honest Athenian farmer is condemned by the Acharnians. The Acharnians reflects the grievances of Athenian farmers against the war and their longing for peace. In The Knights, which premiered in 424 BC, Aristophanes directly targets the radical democratic leader Cleon, to the extent that no one dared to play the role of the tanner, a metaphor for Cleon. It is said that the poet himself took the stage and played one of his own characters for the first time, winning first prize. Aristophanes' comedies pioneered the tradition of anti-war literature in Europe. The included translations of The Acharnians and The Knights in this volume are the works of the renowned classicist Mr. Luo Nian, sourced from Aristophanes' Comedies published by the People's Literature Publishing House (1954 edition). Except for errors caused by formatting, the comparative version basically retains the original form of the translation.