The comedies of Aristophanes vol. 8: Thesmophoriazusae

Thesmophoriazusae is perhaps the funniest of all Aristophanes' comedies, in which gender inversion and transvestism run riot as the tragic dramatist Euripides is made to take part in a hilarious spoof on some of his own favourite plot lines, with his own life at stake as well as that of his loyal and much-put-upon old relative. Lacking Greek text and translation. Intro and Commentary only. Siamo nel secondo giorno della festa femminile delle Tesmoforie ed Euripide si lamenta: teme che le donne lo condannino a morte, per punirlo di aver parlato male di loro. Convince quindi il Parente – un buffone – a vestire abiti femminili e a infiltrarsi come agente segreto. Ed ecco l’assemblea delle Tesmoforie: le donne protestano contro Euripide: il Parente denigra il gentil sesso: viene scoperto ed Euripide è costretto a intervenire; e così via, di trovata in trovata, ognuna più spettacolare e divertente dell’altra. Nelle "Donne alle Tesmoforie", la volgarità di Aristofane tocca il suo culmine: la commedia sembra una farsaccia da paese, come spesso le commedie di Shakespeare – ma una fantasia prodigiosa innalza tutto ciò che è volgare e osceno nel regno della vertiginosa follia comica. "Thesmophoriazusae is perhaps the funniest of all Aristophanes' comedies, in which gender inversion and transvestism run riot as the tragic dramatist Euripides is made to take part in a hilarious spoof on some of his own favourite plot lines, with his own life at stake as well as that of his own loyal and much-put-upon old relative. This edition offers a freshly constituted text making use of papyri published within the last few years, together with the first fully annotated English translation there has been of this play."--Jacket The earliest surviving comic drama, Acharnians is a highly committed play. Its message is that Athens war with the Peloponnesians can and should be ended, and that peace will mean the restoration of normal life. First published in 1980, this edition has been updated, and presents the Greek text with facing-page translation, commentary and notes.