The Age of Pericles | Comedy in the Age of Aristophanes (Lecture 16)

Lecture 16: The Athenians of the time of Pericles were remarkable for the pleasure they took in comedies that, by our standards, might seem crude, vulgar, and sexually explicit. In fact, the so-called Old Comedy of Aristophanes testifies to the vigor and openness of Athenian society. Politicians and even the gods could be mercilessly lampooned. In this lecture, we will examine two plays of Aristophanes to illustrate the breadth and depth of Athenian humor. In Lysistrata, the women of Athens go on a sex strike to force the men to make peace. The humor is rich and ribald, and the Athenian addiction to war is openly mocked. In Birds, we see a wonderful fantasy of escaping from wartime Athens, except that Athenian imperial bureaucracy can follow you anywhere, even to Cloudcuckooland. In each of these plays, Aristophanes combines lethal wit with a scabrous vulgarity that the Athenians loved.

Suggested Reading:
Dover, K. J. Aristophanic Comedy. London: B.T. Batsford, 1972.
MacDowell, D. M. Aristophanes and Athens. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Lecture 17: https://rumble.com/v5f0xdh-the-age-of-pericles-athenian-courts-and-justice-lecture-17.html