Aristophanes

Cavalry

von Robert Tordoff

190 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

Offering for the first time a student introduction to Aristophanes' most explosive political satire, this volume is an essential guide to the context, themes and later reception of Cavalry. The ancient comedy is a fascinating insight into power relations between slaves and slaveholders and the upper and lower classes in classical Athens, and its political and social themes resonate with a modern audience more now than ever before.Originally performed in 424 BCE, Cavalry targets the Athenian demagogue Cleon, who had risen to prominence since the death of Pericles and to pre-eminence after an audacious victory over Sparta in 425. In Cavalry, Aristophanes attacks Cleon's popularity with the urban underclass, but also targets democracy itself as guilty of gullibility, self-interest, and political short-sightedness. As the play shows, the only hope of escape from this crisis is for Athens to find a leader even more foul-mouthed, depraved, and shameless than Cleon himself. And who better than a sausage-seller, if only because he turns out in the end to have a good heart and a true love of traditional Athenian values?

• Reihe: Bloomsbury Ancient Comedy Companions
• Themen: Biographie, Literatur und Literaturwissenschaft Drama, Theaterstücke, Drehbücher Klassische Theaterstücke, Dramen (vor 1900)
• ISBN: 9781350065680
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 24.07.2025
• Größe: 216 x 140 mm
• Verlag: Bloomsbury Academic