Politics And Politics In Aristophanes In The Frogs

The Greek society was a direct democracy with people voting on the issues themselves instead of representatives voting on their behalf. Any male citizen over the age of eighteen was allowed to vote. Like the Romans, the Greek government was divided into separate parts. The Greek government consisted of an assembly, council, and courts, with each requiring a different number of voters present. The people all gather and vote on issues by hand, and this is the simplest form of majority rules. The role of the people is extremely important in how the society and state is governed and run. This early form a democracy was detailed by Pericles funeral oration during the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was an eminent Athenian politician who states in regards to the government of Athens, “Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here, Pericles states that the people have all the power and their opinion is highly valued. Likewise, the Romans valued the people’s opinions so highly that they entrusted with them rewards and punishments, vital aspects that held the society together. Pericles also states, “…nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, here is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here is the essence of democracy, every man no

This radically affects how the people are voting in the ekklesia because they cannot properly vote if they have been fed lies and no longer know what is true. As the story continues Aristophanes continues to show the audience these problems and introduces them to one more big problem. When the audience is introduced to Lamachus they are also introduced to how money is playing a huge role in governmental decisions . People will do more if they are being paid and that has clearly become a huge part of why people are partaking in their governmental duties. After identifying all these problems Aristophanes has caused the audience is to begin to questioning if Athenian Democracy could ever really work, just as he was feeling when he was inspired to write the novel. Aristophanes gives his opinion on the answer towards the end of the book when his main character runs his own Polis. He uses Dikiaopolis to show the audience what Athens’s needs in order to save the democracy they used to find great pride in being a part of.

In Phaedrus, Plato expands on the social implication that those who wield rhetoric ought to be just and act justly when utilizing it. This recurring theme is clearly portrayed through his analysis of love, the soul, and rhetoric itself. Phaedrus is written as a dialogue, with Phaedrus and Socrates discussing their views on rhetoric. Plato structures his writing so that Socrates is the one bestowing knowledge upon Phaedrus, his young and playful pupil, by asking pointed questions to which Phaedrus replies. The relationship between Phaedrus and Socrates is both one of a student and teacher but also one of lovers, made clear by Socrates’ soft attitude and affection towards Phaedrus.

When evaluating the government of ancient Athens, some might say that it was a democracy, however, it can be better described as an oligarchy: a form of government in which a small group of people has the power and control (Doc. D by Mogens Herman Hansen). A democracy takes all the citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account, unlike an oligarchy that only takes the male citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account. Thus, Athens is more similar to an oligarchy than a democracy. The people of Athens also decide as a whole what the best government for their city-state was, as opposed to a democracy where the people elect representatives to make decisions for them and their city-state. Athens could be seen as not a true democracy because of the lack of basic democratic rules and methods such as what they define democracy as, who is able to vote, and how they vote.

Written by the American School of Classical studies, this source is reliable as it gives detailed information about the artefacts that have been discovered in Athens including foundations of the New Bouleuterion and tools Ancient Athenians used in order to write laws and records the source included pictures of these historical artefacts. In addition, the source is provided by the American school of classical studies, the school access to research facilities and archaeological sites this then means that this source has access to primary source and reliable secondary sources therefore the reliability is enhanced. The source was useful in giving me understanding in the geographical location and structures used in the practices carried out by the democratic government in Ancient Athens. Whilst the information did give me insight into the structures involved in the democratic system, it was not used in my essay as it did not provide any information that can prove my thesis, therefore meaning the

The ancient Greeks highly valued the strength and power in a spoken word. Political, economic, cultural, and social life of the Ancient Greeks can be seen in their plays. They thus relied on words to communicating. Their desire to communicate and pass crucial information led to the creation of numerous plays across the region. The ancient Greek plays were both entertaining and educative thus reflecting on the kind of life that this person lived (Hogan 11). Their settings can suggest a lot about the circumstances and conditions under which this play was performed. The dramatic presentations were crucial to Athenians, a fact that can be seen from the numerous and well- spread theatres across the city. The paper will focus on how the ancient

Daniel Mechenko HIS 1001 Professor Trumbach Paper 2 Sophism For many years, ancient Athens had been governed entirely by aristocrats with peasants contributing little to nothing to politics due to the imbalance of power. However, after the birth of democracy, which was implemented by Solon, the Aristocrats did not have as much power at their disposal relative to previous era. Peasants acquired the right to vote for their leaders, and because of this, an individual looking to obtain political power had to be a proficient orator in order to sway the citizens of Athens to elect him as a public official.

In the 3rd century B.C. a philosopher Aristotle formed what he called the “Six Elements of Drama,” which are thought/theme/ideas, action/plot, characters, language, music, and spectacle. Little did he know that two millennia later, we would use these guidelines in order to evaluate or develop an exquisite play. Twelve Angry Jurors followed these guidelines to pull in their audience and cause them to be attached to characters or intrigued by the plot in such a way only a play of high excellence could. This play was performed in Merrol Hyde Magnet School. Twelve Angry Jurors demonstrates the excellence in the thought/theme/ideas, action/plot, characters, language, music, spectacle also known as the “Six Elements of Drama”

"The Clouds" by Aristophanes - Relevant in Today's World "The Clouds" by Aristophanes, is a play centrally concerned with education. Aristophanes employs satire to illustrate his conservative beliefs. It is intended to show readers that in the tendency to philosophical subtleties lies the neglection of the real needs of the Athenians. According to Aristophanes, philosophical speculation only acts to shake the established foundations of accepted religion, gods, and ideals of morality.

“Since his [Aristophanes’] plays were often sharply critical of Athenian policies, his ability to make people laugh was essential to conveying his message. He was a practitioner of what we now call Old Comedy, an irreverent form that ridiculed and insulted prominent people and important institutions” (80).

A set of connected behaviors, right obligations and more was introduced in both plays, Oedipus the King and Lysistrata. Theatre was a wonderful tool for social engagement. Throughout each play they both contained comedy and tragedy. However, King Oedipus is having trouble with his fate and making bad decisions as a leader for his community. Lysistrata wants to end the war and this causes for her to make decisions involving the community and their support as a democracy. Both plays are trying to set good examples among their community and lead their country with a better democracy.

In this paper, I will discuss a play by Athenian playwright Aristophanes, The Wasps. First, I shall give a brief overview of the The Wasps. Then, I will examine the courtroom scene of the play and argue that Philocleon is not an impartial juror. Next, I will discuss generational gap in Athens. Finally, I will conclude the paper with my outcome of the investigation of the conflict between Misocleon and Philocleon.

Aristophanes’ Clouds, if read hastily, can be interpreted as a mindless satyr play written in 419 BCE. Yet the chorus warns the reader not to expect the play to have farcical ploys like “a hanging phallus stitched on” the actors to evoke a laugh, but has underlying seriousness as “she [the play] comes in trusting only her words” (Clouds 538-44). Even if the play does use some low devices, the play’s message is sophisticated and can be read as a warning to Socrates. Aristophanes is a “friendly critic” of Socrates and warns Socrates to change his ways for Athens and for the good of himself (Whidden). Plato’s Symposium and especially his Apology of Socrates justify the claims made in Clouds about the dangers of philosophy and Socrates to

In the ‘Frogs’ and ‘Wasps’ written by the “eminently best” comedian of the fifth century, Aristophanes, we see he utilized humour to exact the important message that Athens is corrupt, and on the verge of chaos. The Athenian audience would expect to be thrust into a world of humour in the City Dionysia, somewhere parallel to their own (e.g. the Athenian jury in the ‘Wasps’, and the failings of the government in ‘Frogs’). It is vital, then, that Aristophanes conveys his political and social views through slapstick, farce, and caricature to interest the audience. This is an important component in both plays as the audience is able to simultaneously accept his diplomatic views whilst being entertained. After all his main point for producing his plays were to produce something with a “little fable, with a moral”.

        However, in addressing the role of the Chorus in this play, I think it is vital that one decides whether the role of the Chorus is and objective role, inserted in to the play by Sophocles and unaffected by the audiences perception, or whether the role is subjective, and the