Provides insight into the characteristically Greek elements of comedy which can be lost when reading in translation

English translations of three of Aristophanes' most popular plays. Includes helpful notes, an introductory essay on Aristophanes and the ancient theater, and a bibliography. Each play is preceded by an essay on its history, cultural context and production.

The Acharnians/The Clouds/Lysistrata 'We women have the salvation of Greece in our hands' Writing at a time of political and social crisis in Athens, the ancient Greek comic playwright Aristophanes was an eloquent, yet bawdy, challenger to the demagogue and the sophist. In Lysistrata and The Acharnians, two pleas for an end to the long war between Athens and Sparta, a band of women on a sex strike and a lone peasant respectively defeat the political establishment. The darker comedy of The Clouds satirizes Athenian philosophers, Socrates in particular, and reflects the uncertainties of a generation in which all traditional religious and ethical beliefs were being challenged. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Alan H. Sommerstein

Writing at a time of political and social crisis in Athens, Aristophanes (c. 447-c. 385 BC) was an eloquent, yet bawdy, challenger to the demagogue and the sophist. In Lysistrata and The Acharnians, two pleas for an end to the long war between Athens and Sparta, a band of women and a lone peasant respectively defeat the political establishment. The darker comedy of The Clouds satirizes Athenian philosophers, Socrates in particular, and reflects the uncertainties of a generation in which all traditional religious and ethical beliefs were being challenged. For this edition Alan Sommerstein has completely revised his translation of the three plays, bringing out the full nuances of Aristophanes' ribald humour and intricate word play, with a new introduction explaining the historical and cultural background to the plays. Book jacket.

This anthology offers English translations of three of Aristophanes' greatest comedies, Acharnians, Clouds, and Lysistrata, by Jeffrey Henderson, one of the most important scholars and translators of Greek comedy. Each comedy is also available in a single-play edition from Hackett Publishing's Focus imprint.