Aristophanes and Alcibiades : Echoes of Contemporary History in Athenian Comedy

The conventional view of Aristophanes bristles with problems. Important testimony for Alcibiades’ paramount role in comedy is consistently disregarded, and the tradition that “masks were made to look like the __komodoumenoi__, so that before an actor spoke a word, the audience would recognize who was being attacked” is hardly ever invoked. If these testimonia are taken into account, a fascinating picture emerges, where the __komodoumenoi__ are based on the Periclean household: older characters on Pericles himself, younger on Alcibiades. Aspasia, Pericles’ mistress, and Hipparete, Alcibiades’ wife, lie behind many female characters, and Alcibiades’ ambiguous sexuality also allows him to be shown on the stage as a woman, notably as Lysistrata. There is a substantial overlap between the anecdotal tradition relating to the historical figures and the plotting of Aristophanes’ plays. This extends to speech patterns, where Alcibiades’ speech defect is lampooned. Aristophanes is consistently critical of Alcibiades’ mercurial politics, and his works can also be seen to have served as an aide-mémoire for Thucydides and Xenophon. If the argument presented here is correct, then much current scholarship on Aristophanes can be set aside.

The conventional view of Aristophanes bristles with problems. Important testimony for Alcibiades’ paramount role in comedy is consistently disregarded, and the tradition that “masks were made to look like the komodoumenoi, so that before an actor spoke a word, the audience would recognize who was being attacked” is hardly ever invoked. If these testimonia are taken into account, a fascinating picture emerges, where the komodoumenoi are based on the Periclean household: older characters on Pericles himself, younger on Alcibiades. Aspasia, Pericles’ mistress, and Hipparete, Alcibiades’ wife, lie behind many female characters, and Alcibiades’ ambiguous sexuality also allows him to be shown on the stage as a woman, notably as Lysistrata. There is a substantial overlap between the anecdotal tradition relating to the historical figures and the plotting of Aristophanes’ plays. This extends to speech patterns, where Alcibiades’ speech defect is lampooned. Aristophanes is consistently critical of Alcibiades’ mercurial politics, and his works can also be seen to have served as an aide-mémoire for Thucydides and Xenophon. If the argument presented here is correct, then much current scholarship on Aristophanes can be set aside.

"This study of Aristophanes provides the basis for a total re-assessment not only of Aristophanes as a poet and playwright, but also of our perception of politics and the role of the theatre in classical Athens. It shows how Aristophanes used allegorical means to comment on the day-to-day political concerns of Athenians, in particular the problems presented by the gradual emergence of Alcibiades as one of the most powerful figures in the state."-- Provided by publisher Political allegory in Aristophanes -- Wordplay Pericles, Alcibiades and Aspasia on stage -- Pericles (and Alcibiades) on stage: the story so far -- The tragic context: the case of Euripides' Ion -- Happy families: Plutus I -- Home economics: Plutus II -- "The woman of old": Euripides' Helen and Andromeda -- "Alcibiades is a woman's man": Lysistrata -- Alcibiades in Gaol: Thesmophoriazusae -- Frogs: nothing to do with literature -- Aspasia on stage: Ecclesiazusae.