Aims of Aristophanes in The Wasps and The Frogs

(circa 445BC~383BC). His comedies were distinct from others, because they were not just simply written for entertainment- his comedies provided not only entertainment, but it also informed the Athenians of political and social issues occurring at that time. This can clearly be seen in the prologue of The Wasps- ¡°No, this is just a little fable, with a moral¡¦but a bit more intelligent than the usual knockabout stuff.¡±

Using The Frogs and The Wasps as a reference, I shall outline the aims of Aristophanes as a playwright, as well as how effectively he achieved it.

The first obvious aim of Aristophanes as a playwright, was of course, to win the Drama competition. This event was held every year on the Fertility Festival day, at the City Dionysia. This was where the Greeks held the ceremony to honour Dionysus, whom was, the God of wine, ecstasy, fertility and theatre. A total of five plays would be performed on the day, and it had a competitive element- the judges had to declare the playwrights who gained 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Aristophanes must have had a great desire to be the 1st winner of the competition- this can be clearly seen in the

One of the main aims that Aristophanes had was ¡°to teach and advise the citizens,¡± about a lot of things, such as the reality of Athens¡¯ corrupted politicians and the problems that the city was facing. Aristophanes indicates that his comedy will be informative to the citizens- Xanthias tells us in The Wasps ¡°¡¦Just a little fable with a moral,¡± while, in The Frogs, the theme of education can be seen, the evidence being ¡°A poet should teach a lesson and make people into better citizens.¡±

In The Wasps, absurd farce is cleverly used by Aristophanes as a comic device. In a short section of the play between the agon and the parados, we see the ¡°Trial of the dog.¡± Here, actors are dressed as dogs, having a court case with regards to a lump of ¡°Sicilian cheese¡± and witnesses dressed as cheese-graters, etc. Due to its pure absurdity, this scene is comic- however, Aristophanes is cunningly using this device for 2 purposes: firstly, as entertainment, and secondly, as a satiric episode of ¡°Cleon accusing Laches falsely of embezzling funds from Sicilian cities for upkeep of fleet.¡±

During the time of The Frogs, Athens was a dying city- being ruined by jealousy, social divisions and political fractions. At Decelea, the Spartans lay encamped only a few miles away. Only a few months before, thirty thousand strong men of the Spartan army had penetrated deeply into the city walls, and the Athenians only just managed to man the defences in time. In this desperate time of Athens, Aristophanes aims to advise what could be done to save this dying city. Aristophanes stresses unity- for instance, near the agon of The Frogs, when Dionysus questions the poets about the return of Alcibiades, Aeschylus replies ¡°¡¦they will find it pays to learn to tolerate its little ways.¡± What Aristophanes is suggesting here is that the city would be saved if people were united once again, and that Alcibiades should be ¡°tolerated¡±- it¡¯s not very wise for city states to rear a lion¡¯s whelp within their gates, but if it is brought in, they might as well learn to get along with it. Aristophanes also says ¡°The time has come to pardon and forget¡±- he is referring to the people who have lost their social status due to their support in the Oligarchic revolution in 411BC- why should these men who had worked for best of Athens in the past be stripped off their citizenship? The city will be saved if these men were forgiven.

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