Aristophanis Comoediae
by Aristophanes
| Aristophanis Comoediae | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
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| Author | Aristophanes | |
| Date | 1710 | |
Lipsiensis: 1710.
Little is known about Aristophane’s life except from what is written in his plays, poetry, and other texts and from Plato’s dialogs which make reference to him. From his play, Clouds, it is inferred that he was born around 450 B.C. when Pericles was expanding Athens from a polis into an empire. In The Symposium Plato features Aristophane as one of many famous guests at the home of Agathon the poet. He is portrayed as a jokester who is hung over from the previous evening and delights other guests with his sharp wit as well as his hiccups and sneezes. Yet it is clear that Plato held Aristophane in high esteem. When Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse asked Plato for information regarding the culture and institutions of Athens, Plato is said to have sent him Aristophane’s comedies.
