drama

Aristophanes was to theatre what Socrates was to religion and politics--the funny, irreverent "bad boy." My favorite of these 4 plays has to be "The Clouds", which is in fact a parody mocking and making fun of Socrates (spelled or mis-spelled Sokrates). Very funny dialogue.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

The character Socrates, in "The Clouds," makes endless fart jokes and rags on effeminate men. A 5th century BCE "South Park"! In "Lysistrata," Athenian women conspire to abstain from sex until their husbands agree to quit fighting the war. Needless to say, the war is over almost as soon as the plan is put into action. In "The Birds" and "The Frogs," talking animal choruses satirize human society.

Uber-clever translation by Arrowsmith, Lattimore, and Parker seamlessly carries all the juicy vulgarities into modern English. Aristophanes is a master of puns, yet I didn't feel like I was reading a translation--this edition is filled with quality English word play, such that I rarely needed to consult the footnotes to understand the jokes.

This book is physically constructed like a student edition -- i.e., cheaply. The paper is cheap and thick, the ink thick and sometimes blotchy, with that great newspaper smell. If you're looking for a lovely edition of Aristophanes to sit on the mantle with your nice books, this is not.

The text is also organized like a student edition. The translations are great, lively, readable and fun. Each of the four plays is followed by a commentary, with textual and contextual explanation (pointing out Greek jokes that couldn't be translated, explaining Athenian politics, etc.). The back of the book is a glossary of names, places and institutions. The aids are clear and very helpful, especially for first time readers.