Books about Aristophanes from Amazon.com

Widely adopted for classroom use, this book offers translations of four major works of ancient Greek literature which treat the life and thought of Socrates, focusing particularly on his trial and defense (the platonic dialogues Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, and Crito) and on the charges against Socrates (Aristophanes' comedy Clouds). This is the only collection of the three Platonic dialogues that also includes Clouds, a work that is fundamental for understanding the thought of Socrates in relation to the Athenian political community and to Greek poetry.

Thomas G. West's introduction provides an overview of the principal themes and arguments of the four works. There are extensive explanatory notes to the translations. For this new edition, Thomas West has revised the introduction and updated the annotated bibliography, which includes the best of the secondary literature on Socrates and on the texts included in this book.

In their translations, the Wests capture successfully the simplicity and vigor of straightforward Greek diction. They strive for as high a degree of accuracy as possible, subordinating concerns for elegance and smoothness to the goal of producing the most faithful and most reliable English versions of these texts..
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Writing at the time of political and social crisis in Athens Aristophanes was an eloquent yet bawdy challenger to the demagogue and the sophist The Achanians is a plea for peace set against the background of the long war with Sparta. In Lysistrata a band of women tap into the awesome power of sex in order to end a war. The darker comedy of The Clouds satirizes Athenian philosophers, Socrates in particular, and reflects the uncertainties of a generation in which all traditional religious and ethical beliefs were being challenged..
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This volume features four celebrated masterpieces: Lysistrata, The Frogs, The Assembly-Women, and Plutus (Wealth), all in new translations by the distinguished poet and translator Paul Roche..
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Socrates has puzzled thinkers and historians for 2,400 years. Loved by some, lampooned by others, both revered and reviled, as an old man he was put to death. We know little for certain about Socrates because he never wrote down his philosophy. Most of what we do know comes from his star pupil, Plato, who wrote a couple dozen dialogues about his teacher's encounters with other Athenians. With The Trials of Socrates, editor C.D.C. Reeve has broadened our view of Socrates by adding the perspectives of Aristophanes and Xenophon to some of Plato's best-known writing on the great philosopher.

In Plato's dialogues--Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, and a short excerpt of Phaedo--readers will find Socrates at his most moral, compelling, defiant, and wry. But other accounts of the famous philosopher, including Aristophanes' hit play The Clouds and Xenophon's Socrates' Defense to the Jury, cast the man in a different light. The Socrates of Aristophanes is a somewhat silly sophist (in fact, Socrates later referred to this play as his first trial in Athens). The Socrates of Xenophon, on the other hand, is practical and conservative.

By including all three authors, Reeve has done a great service for those interested in Socrates. Reeve provides short but helpful interpretive pieces that will guide the reader through the book, and the translations and explanatory footnotes are exceptional. The Trials of Socrates is an excellent volume for readers just coming to Socrates, or for those wanting to broaden their understanding of him. --Eric de Place.
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Aristophanes' comic masterpiece of war and sex remains one of the greatest plays ever written Led by the title character, the women of the warring city-states of Greece agree to withhold sexual favors with their husbands until they agree to cease fighting. The war of the sexes that ensues makes Lysistrata a comedy without peer in the history of theater..
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English translation A delightful translation of a play long noted for its critique of philosophy, society and education Includes essays on Old Comedy and the Theater of Dionysus, suggestions for further reading, notes on production, and map..
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A brand-new translation of the world's greatest satirist. With a signature style that is at once bawdy and delicate, as well as a fearless penchant for lampooning the rich and powerful, Aristophanes remains arguably the finest satirist of all time. Collected here are all 11 of his surviving plays-newly translated by the distinguished poet and translator Paul Roche..
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