Aristophanes

James Robson (The Open University)

Ed. by Laura Swift, The Open University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University)

Dates

Born c. -448
Died c. -380
Activity c. -428-c. -380

Places

Born in Ancient Greece
Active in Ancient Greece

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Aristophanes was an Athenian comic playwright, whose career ran from the early 420s to the 380s B.C.E. With eleven of his plays extant, he is the only poet working in the genre known as Old Comedy whose plays have survived in anything other than fragmentary form. His comedies are characterized by their fantastic plotlines, uninhibited sexuality, personal invective, linguistic and expressive range, comic inventiveness and strong engagement with the contemporary politics, personalities and everyday world of contemporary Athens.

Aristophanes, son of Philippus, was born in Athens sometime around the middle of the fifth century B.C.E. (460-450 B.C.E., but possibly slightly later) and died in the mid-380s (probably in or near 386 B.C.E…

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2894 words

Citation: Robson, James. "Aristophanes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 June 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=147, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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