I love seeing ancient Greek authors absolutely dragging their contemporary nemesis through the mud with witty remarks and obscure references.

Translated, introduced and annotated by Alan H. Somerstein. I must allow for how dated the play is; although I did enjoy the play's pacing and comedy, many of the jokes were, of course, topical and specific --- implicating certain playwrights, etc. --- and thus incomprehensible without explanatory notes. Still, the comedy's ribald, scatological nature was shocking and amusing; while the theme, peace after the long years of the Peloponnesian War, is universal. The satirical execration of warmongers, arms-sellers, and oracles therefore remains forceful. I strongly admire Somerstein's translation, which manages to insert uncontrived English puns in place of the originals, such as "Zeus shitting enthroned in Heaven" responsible for slaves working in dung; or Trygaeus' remark that his "beetleship" (the beetle he is riding) will save him from drowning if he falls to the sea. A good play to read in this edition, all things considered.

I miss Cleon. Still, the dung beetle is great fun.

this was too good for its time and too good for this time, no one understands

Troppo lungo e contorto, peccato per alcune delle scene più semplici che ho trovato molto interessanti e divertenti (a tratti da 5 stelle). Ho apprezzato il lavoro di Aristofane su un'ironia che riesce a variare destinatari e registri linguistici, ma soprattutto il forte simbolismo della storia. Alla luce delle mie considerazioni oserei dire che è un 3 tendente al 4 e che, con una serie di tagli, sarebbe tranquillamente arrivato a 5 pieno

This was a cute, but rather insubstantial, play about the achievement of peace during the Peloponnesian War.

In the late 420s BC, the Athenian pro-war statesman, Cleon, is dead, and so is Brasidas, the major Spartan commander, with both having died at the Battle of Amphipolis. There is no longer any obvious obstacle in the way of peace, and so a treaty is signed (the so-called Peace of Nicias). The Peloponnesian War and a strong anti-Cleon sentiment had dominated Aristophanes' career up until this point, and this play represents a celebration of the return of peace to Greece.

The play involves a man, Trygaeus, flying up to the gods on a dung beetle and rescuing Peace, who had been replaced by Zeus with War as being in charge of the Greeks. Trygaeus is successful, and celebrations ensue. The major comedic element comes from the usual Aristophanic "unexpected visitors" towards the end, as various people drop in to complain about the return of Peace, such as arms-dealers. And there is a sense that the Athenians have lost so many worthwhile opportunities due to the war that peace will be kind of sad, now that they have to confront the reality of what they lost.

It's fun to read a play about such an important moment in Athenian history, after having read so many plays from Aristophanes about the damage of the war (such as *Lysistrata*) but frankly, it just isn't that great; there isn't really much here. But it's nice and fun.

*4.5

The Peace is about a man called Trygaeus who ends a war by talking to the gods, who bring out Peace; upon ending the war, the gods reward him by letting him marry Harvest, who will bring prosperity to farmers such as himself. The plot is really just that simple.

Now, a lot of other elements make this play really good instead of just a typical play. Firstly, a lot of Aristophanes' bitterness towards politics always seem to shine through, no matter what the play is about. This play is no exception. I can see why people would start to tire of the playwright crap-talking Cleon, but I think it's pretty funny to read about, as well as reflective of the time period. But as I said, disliking this is completely understandable.

Secondly, Aristophanes was really an ancient absurdist in my eyes. Seriously, what's up with riding the giant dung beetle to the palace of Zeus? And what's up with all those damn beetle jokes at the beginning? I also really was amused by the image of War and Riot making a salad, then disappearing from the play, never to be seen or heard from again. I'm not sure that I ever see that much of an explanation for the whole beetle thing or the salad-making, but I assume that Aristophanes just puts it there and expects the reader to accept it (yeah, Trygaeus riding a giant dung beetle totally fits in...). I like his attitude if that's the case. But once again, I can see why this can throw readers off.

This actually is the strangest paly I have read by Aristophanes, but I can't say that I didn't expect it.

Todo lo que me gusta: escarabajos y chistes de kk
Lit el inicio de esta obra es de ahora en adelante de mis cosas favoritas
Voy a estar x siempre enamorada del concepto "un loco monta un escarabajo gigante y va al olimpo a reclamarle cosas a Zeus" SI SOY

“HERMES. Pues, la verdad, estás jodido.
TRIGEO. ¿Y de qué modo no me di cuenta de que me tocaba esa ganga?”

Damn all Greek myths

It's incredible that as recently as 1960 the comedian Peter Cook could cause a stir by publicly ridiculing the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan as he sat in the audience of the Beyond the Fringe show when you consider what Aristophanes, fully two thousand years beforehand, used to do to the great and good of Athenian society in his astonishingly caustic and pointed plays.

In Peace, as elsewhere, his main target is the autocratic Cleon, who he insults mercilessly throughout here, first obliquely, then flagrantly, in a coarse and pun-filled riot of a play condemning the war between Athens and Sparta and celebrating a break in the hostilities.

Variously, Cleon gets called a

(notes, review to follow when get a chance to reread)