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Glite Dictionary
Aristophanes

Aristophanes

3 9.8
An ancient Greek writer of funny plays in Athens
  • proper noun
  • /ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz/
  • Literature
: Aristófanes
  • Many of Aristophanes' plays, including Lysistrata, are still popular in modern theater.
  • Aristophanes's The Birds
  • Aristophanes' play

Have any of you ever read any ancient Greek comedies like Aristophanes works.

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Examples

  • Aristophanes begins by saying that men and women are the separated halves of what was originally one whole being.

    Academic text (2011)

  • By sheer fluke, she was cast in a college production of Aristophanes' The Clouds.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The first idea comes from Aristophanes' speech in which he presents a comic myth to explain what love is.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Consider such plays of Aristophanes as The Acharnians, The Birds, and Peace.

    Academic text (1991)

  • To oversimplify a bit, both Plato and Aristophanes called into question the power of fine speech to reveal the truth.

    Blog text (10)

  • Aristophanes indiscriminately ridicules the old men and women who make up the chorus in Lysistrata.

    Academic text (1993)

  • More than 400 years B.C., the great comic dramatist Aristophanes had fun in The Clouds explaining how Socrates measured the leap of a flea.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes—the Seinfeld of his day—said that all humor is based on surprise.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The comedies of Aristophanes often reflect the political climate of ancient Athens.

  • Scholars study the works of Aristophanes to gain insight into ancient Greek culture.

Surface Forms

Aristophanes main

Etymology

Aristophanes comes from Greek parts aristo- 'best' and -phanes 'appearing' or 'showing'. So, a helpful way to remember him is to think of a writer who was 'best at showing' comic plays to the public.