Aristophanes, Plutus [Wealth]

Robert Tordoff (York University)

Ed. by Vaios Liapis, Open University of Cyprus
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

First circulation or publication -380

Places

Ancient Greece (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Play

Resources

Introduction

The Wealth (often referred to by the Latinate form of its Greek title, Plutus) is Aristophanes’ last extant work. It was originally produced in 388 BCE. According to the ancient biographical tradition, two further plays, Cocalus and Aeolosicon, were produced by Aristophanes’ son Araros. Similar in style to the Ecclesiazusae (probably 391 BCE), the Wealth shares many of the earlier play’s concerns: poverty, injustice, and the quest for a better life for Athenian citizens in a fairer polis-society. Despite these affinities with Ecclesiazusae, Wealth is in fact the second incarnation of a play originally produced in 408; but it is impossible …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

3317 words

Citation: Tordoff, Robert. "Plutus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24950, accessed 24 November 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article

Save this article