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    The Knights
    The Knights
    The Knights
    Ebook70 pages51 minutes

    The Knights

    By Aristophanes

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    Aristophanes (/ˌærɨˈstɒfəniːz/ or /ˌɛrɨˈstɒfəniːz/;[2] Greek: Ἀριστοφάνης, pronounced [aristopʰánɛːs]; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaeum, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his thirty plays survive virtually complete. These, together with fragments of some of his other plays, provide the only real examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy, and they are used to define the genre. Also known as the Father of Comedy and the Prince of Ancient Comedy, Aristophanes has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by influential contemporaries; Plato singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as slander that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemning to death of Socrates although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher. His second play, The Babylonians (now lost), was denounced by the demagogue Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. It is possible that the case was argued in court but details of the trial are not recorded and Aristophanes caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights, the first of many plays that he directed himself. "In my opinion," he says through the Chorus in that play, "the author-director of comedies has the hardest job of all." (κωμῳδοδιδασκαλίαν εἶναι χαλεπώτατον ἔργον ἁπάντων) (font: Wikipedia)
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAristophanes
    Release dateApr 11, 2016
    ISBN9788892594166
    The Knights
    Author

    Aristophanes

    Aristophanes (446–386 BCE) was a Greek comedy writer, who produced about 40 plays throughout his career. His work was the embodiment of “Old Comedy”—an early form of the genre that used exaggerated characters and scenarios. Aristophanes’ first play, The Banqueters, was produced in 427 BCE, quickly followed by The Babylonians. His most famous production, Lysistrata, was initially performed in 411 BCE and centers on one woman’s attempt to end a war by holding a sex strike. Due to his sensationalized plots and vibrant characters, Aristophanes is considered one of the architects of Greek comedy.

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      Book preview

      The Knights - Aristophanes

      The Knights

      by

      Aristophanes

      To the best of our knowledge, the text of this

      work is in the Public Domain.

      HOWEVER, copyright law varies in other countries, and the work may still be under

      copyright in the country from which you are accessing this website. It is your

      responsibility to check the applicable copyright laws in your country before

      downloading this work.

      CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY

      Demosthenes

      Nicias

      Agoracritus, a Sausage-Seller

      Cleon

      Demos

      Chorus of knights

      [Scene:-The Orchestra represents the Pnyx at Athens; in the background is the house of Demos.]

      Demosthenes

      Oh! alas! alas! alas! Oh! woe! oh! woe! Miserable Paphlagonian! may the gods destroy both him and his cursed advice! Since that evil day when this new slave entered the house he has never ceased belabouring us with blows.

      Nicias

      May the plague seize him, the arch-fiend — him and his lying tales!

      Demosthenes

      Hah! my poor fellow, what is your condition?

      Nicias

      Very wretched, just like your own.

      Demosthenes

      Then come, let us sing a duet of groans in the style of Olympus.

      Demosthenes and nicias

      Boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo!!

      Demosthenes

      Bah! it's lost labour to weep! Enough of groaning! Let us consider now to save our pelts.

      Nicias

      But how to do it! Can you suggest anything?

      Demosthenes

      No, you begin. I cede you the honour.

      Nicias

      By Apollo! no, not I. Come, have courage! Speak, and then I will say what I think.

      Demosthenes [in tragic style]

      "Ah! would you but tell me what I should tell you!

      Nicias

      I dare not. How could I express my thoughts with the pomp of Euripides?

      Demosthenes

      Oh! please spare me! Do not pelt me with those vegetables, but find some way of leaving our master.

      Nicias

      Well, then! Say Let-us-bolt, like this, in one breath.

      Demosthenes

      I follow you — Let-us-bolt.

      Nicias

      Now after Let-us-bolt say at-top-speed

      Demosthenes

      At-top-speed!

      Nicias

      Splendid! just as if you were masturbating; first slowly, Let-us-bolt; then quick and firmly, at-top-speed!

      Demosthenes

      Let-us-bolt, let-us-bolt-at-top-speed!

      Nicias

      Hah! does that not please you?

      Demosthenes

      Yes, indeed, yet I fear your omen bodes no good to my hide.

      Nicias

      How so?

      Demosthenes

      Because masturbation chafes the skin.

      Nicias

      The best thing we can do for the moment is to throw ourselves at the feet of the statue of some god.

      Demosthenes

      Of which statue? Any statue? Do you then believe there are gods?

      Nicias

      Certainly.

      Demosthenes

      What proof have you?

      Nicias

      The proof that they have taken a grudge against me. Is that not enough?

      Demosthenes

      I'm convinced it is. But to pass on. Do you consent to my telling the spectators of our troubles?

      Nicias

      There's nothing wrong with that, and we might ask them to show us by their manner, whether our facts and actions are to their liking.

      Demosthenes

      I will begin then. We have a very brutal master, a perfect glutton for beans, and most bad-tempered; it's Demos of the Pnyx, an intolerable old man and half deaf. The beginning of last month he bought a slave, a Paphlagonian tanner, an arrant rogue, the incarnation of calumny. This man of leather knows his old master thoroughly; he plays the fawning cur, flatters, cajoles, wheedles, and dupes him at will with little scraps of leavings, which he allows him to get. Dear Demos, he will say, try a single case and you will have done enough; then take your bath, eat, swallow and devour; here are three obols. Then the Paphlagonian filches from one of us what we have prepared and makes a present of it to our old man. The other day I had just kneaded a Spartan cake at Pylos, the cunning rogue came behind my back, sneaked it and offered the cake, which was my invention, in his own name. He keeps us at a distance and suffers none but himself to wait upon the master; when Demos is dining, he keeps close to his side with a thong in his hand and puts the orators to flight. He keeps singing oracles to him, so that the old man now thinks of nothing but the Sibyl. Then, when he sees him thoroughly obfuscated,

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