The Birds - Aristophanes - Great Plays

"Series of ageless dramas showing the development of 2500 years of dramatic literature from the Greek productions to the plays written especially for radio. We endow our commentator with magic and invite you to go with him to Greece to attend the premiere of the satiric comedy by Aristophanes entitled "The Birds." As quick as thought we eliminate the centuries and ask you to be seated in the theatre Dionysus 414 years before the birth of Christ..."

The Birds is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BC at the City Dionysia where it won second place. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs.[4] Unlike the author's other early plays, it includes no direct mention of the Peloponnesian War and there are few references to Athenian politics, and yet it was staged not long after the commencement of the Sicilian Expedition, an ambitious military campaign that greatly increased Athenian commitment to the war effort. In spite of that, the play has many indirect references to Athenian political and social life. It is the longest of Aristophanes' surviving plays and yet it is a fairly conventional example of Old Comedy.

The plot of the play revolves around Pisthetaerus, an Athenian who convinces the birds to create a great city in the sky, and thus regain their status as the original gods. Pisthetaerus eventually transforms into a bird-like god himself, and replaces Zeus as the king of the gods.

Originally Broadcast 2/26/1938

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