1. ARISTOPHANES ANCIENT GREEK DRAMATIST 1

2. He was born in Athens in 445 B.C. and died sometime between 390 and 380 B.C. ARISTOPHANES 2

3. He was the son of Philip, the Athenian. He got married young and had three sons, one of which continued his father’s work. ARISTOPHANES ΑRISTOPHANES His life 3

4. Α RISTOPHANES His life 4 Aristophanes wrote comedies. Most of his plays are political satire.

5. He was funny with a lot of humour and he made fun of the people and politicians of Athens. ARISTOPHANES ΑRISTOPHANES His life 5

6. HIS WORKS Αcharnians (425 B.C.) Knights (424 B.C.) Clouds (423 B.C.) The Wasps (422 B.C.) Peace (421 B.C.) The Birds (414 B.C.) Lysistrata (411 B.C.) Thesmophoriazousae (411 B.C.) The Frogs (405 B.C.) Εcclesiazousae (392 B.C.) Wealth (Plutus) (388 B.C)

7. Αcharnians The play deals with the problems the people of Athens were having with the constant raids on their land and continual enemy invasions. A farmer of Acharnae wants to have peace. His fellow citizens want the war to continue. They are angry! Will they have war or peace?

8. Ecclesiazousae Praxagora is the woman who leads the female revolution. She wants to change the whole Athenian Democracy. She dresses as a man and together with all the women of Athens vote a law. Power is in the hands of women now……….

9. The Birds Two Athenians are looking for an ideal place to live. So they ask the birds to build a city in the clouds away from all humans and Gods. They build their city in the clouds and they call it Cloudcuckooland………..

11. The Frogs God Dionysus wants to go to Hades(the Under world)with his servant Xenias and bring back a famous poet from the dead. Finally, he takes his favourite poet, Aeschylus, back to the city of Athens........

12. Lysistrata Lysistrata is an anti-war play. It makes fun of the generals who would not end the war between the Athenians and the Spartans and says that women can do a better job at making peace. The Athenian Lysistrata together with all the women decide to take action and stop the war. They go into the Acropolis and they won't return to their homes unless the two armies sign for peace.

13. Peace It tells the story of Trygaeus, a middle-aged Athenian who wants to rescue the allegorical figure of Peace and put an end to the Peloponnesian War. He rides a beetle in the sky and asks Zeus for Peace. There he finds only the god of War who is ready to put all the cities in a morter and destroy them. All the Greeks help Trygeus set Peace free. The play is a hymn to Peace……..

15. Wealth (Plutus) Plutus is blind. Only bad and greedy people are wealthy. Chremylos, a good Athenian, helps Plutus find his sight. Suddenly everyone is rich. Penia, the goddess of poverty, will try to persuade the world that money does not bring happiness. Who will win in the end?