Aristophanes (c 448 BCE-380 BCE) Greek satirical and comedic playwrite about whom we know very little.
His surviving works amount to eleven plays and 32 titles and fragments. He is often regarded as the father of comedy, using subtle puns and distorted literary allusions.
But most of his humor is lost not only through translation but also through the passing of the complicated literary, philosophical, social and political world in which wrote and often lampooned.
His plays variously won first and second prize at ancient dramatic festivals.
Among his more memorable works are The Frogs, The Clouds, The Wasps and The Birds.
In The Clouds Aristophanes writes about Socrates as if he were just another corrupt sophist. Thus Plato suggests in his Apology that Aristophanes contributed to the denigration of Socrates.
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Resized and cropped from original “Aristophanes” by Alun Salt http://www.flickr.com/photos/alun/38029348/, Creative Commons License
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