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The Acharnians

Sketch of Aristophanes
Written by Aristophanes
Chorus Acharnian charcoal burners
Characters Dicaeopolis
herald
Amphitheus
ambassadors
Pseudartabas
Theorus
daughter of Dicaeopolis
slave of Euripides
Euripides
Lamachus
a Megarian
daughters of the Megarian
informer
a Boeotian
Nicarachus
slave of Lamachus
husbandman
wedding guest
Setting Pnyx at Athens
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The Acharnians (Ancient Greek: Ἀχαρνεῖς / Akharneĩs) is an Old Comedy by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz in English ca Acharnae was the largest Deme of ancient Attica; it was located in the northwest part of the Attic plain south of Mt The Acharnians ( Ancient Greek: / Akharneĩs) is an Old Comedy by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus Lamachus (Λάμαχος was an Athenian general in the Peloponnesian War. Megara ( Greek:, "Big Houses" is an ancient city (pop Boeotia, Beotia, or Bœotia ( Greek: Βοιωτία - English biːˈoʊʃiə formerly Cadmeis was a region of Ancient Greece, north of the The Pnyx ( Greek: &Pi&nu&upsilon&xi, pronounced "Pnuks" in Ancient Greek, Πνύκα "Pnika" in Modern Greek Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Comedy was one of two principal dramatic forms in ancient Greece the other being Tragedy. Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης ˌærɪˈstɒfəniːz in English ca Written and performed during the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, it is famous for its nominally anti-war stance. The term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. Produced in 425 BC by Callistratus, it won Aristophanes first place at the Lenaea festival. Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes I, Achaemenid king of Persia, is succeeded by his son Xerxes II The Lenaia was an annual festival with a Dramatic competition but one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in Ancient Greece.

The play is set in contemporary Athens and is a hard-hitting attack on the politicians of the time, with some satire against the tragedian Euripides thrown in for good measure. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus Athens is at war with Sparta, and has declared a trade embargo on neighboring Megara. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Megara ( Greek:, "Big Houses" is an ancient city (pop Dicaeopolis (Greek: Δικαιόπολις, "Just City" - sometimes rendered Dikaiopolis), a war veteran himself and representative of an average Athenian, is tired of war. Having failed to persuade the city Assembly to put an end to the conflict, which is patently being run for the benefit of political insiders, he declares an independent truce with the enemy, and opens up his home as a sort of free-trade zone.

Throughout the play, Aristophanes takes every opportunity to make fun of the Athenian establishment; Euripides; the Prytanes; the Generals. Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus The Prytaneis were the executives of the boule of Ancient Athens. Cleon, the leading politician in Athens at the time, who may well have been a personal enemy of Aristophanes, is singled out for particular criticism. Cleon (Greek Κλέων (d 422 BC was an Athenian Strategos during the Peloponnesian War. Cleon is also lampooned at length in Aristophanes' Knights, and again in Wasps and even after his death in Peace. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages.


Plot

The play opens on the Pnyx, where the Athenian Assembly met. The Pnyx ( Greek: &Pi&nu&upsilon&xi, pronounced "Pnuks" in Ancient Greek, Πνύκα "Pnika" in Modern Greek Dicaeopolis ("Just City") attempts to have the subject of peace with Sparta addressed by the Assembly, but is ignored. The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Indignant, Dicaeopolis decides to form a private truce with the enemy for himself and his family alone. A chorus of Acharnian farmers who support themselves by bring charcoal into the city enter, and threaten to stone Dicaeopolis to death because of this; as residents of Acharnae, they had suffered tremendously in the Peloponnesian War and were famous for their bellicose nature. The Greek chorus ( choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek Dithyrambs and Tragikon drama in tragic plays of the ancient Acharnae was the largest Deme of ancient Attica; it was located in the northwest part of the Attic plain south of Mt Charcoal' is the blackish residue consisting of impure Carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from Animal and Vegetation Acharnae was the largest Deme of ancient Attica; it was located in the northwest part of the Attic plain south of Mt Dicaeopolis holds them off by holding a basket of charcoal hostage, threatening to butcher it if they attack. They allow him to make a public speech of self-defense, but before doing so, he unexpectedly goes to the poet Euripides for tragic props in order to make himself seem more pitiable. Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus Dicaeopolis eloquently denounces the war and the false pretenses under which it was started, using a modified version of a speech by the mythological Telephus in an early Euripidean tragedy. This article is about Telephus the son of Heracles. The name also refers to the father of Cyparissus. Half of the chorus are convinced by this speech, but the other half appeal to the Athenian general Lamachus. Lamachus (Λάμαχος was an Athenian general in the Peloponnesian War. He and Dicaeopolis exchange insults, and in the end the entire chorus is convinced by Dicaeopolis and declares itself in favor of his peace.

After the parabasis, Dicaeopolis opens his market, and a typical series of exemplary scenes follows. A Megarean peasant brings his two young daughters on, disguises them as piglets (a pun on the Greek word for cunt), puts them in a sack, and sells them to Dicaeopolis. Next, a Boeotian merchant trades his entire stock of birds, game animals and eels to Dicaeopolis. Boeotia, Beotia, or Bœotia ( Greek: Βοιωτία - English biːˈoʊʃiə formerly Cadmeis was a region of Ancient Greece, north of the The visits of both the Megarean and the Boeotian are interrupted by troublemakers, first an anonymous sycophant (political informer), and then Nicarchus, who denounces the Boeotian merchant for selling wicks that could be used to set fire the dockyard. Nicarchus was a Greek Poet and writer of the first century AD best known for his Epigrams of which forty-two survive and his satirical poetry Dicaeopolis drives the troublemakers off, and in the end is invited to a huge feast. Lamachus, on the other hand, returns from battle bloodied, defeated and shamed. The play ends in a grand celebratory procession, as Dicaeopolis (clearly standing in at this point for the poet himself) is carried off by the chorus.

Standard Edition

The standard scholarly edition of the play is S. Douglas Olson (ed. ), Aristophanes: Acharnians (Oxford University Press, 2002).

Translations

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