Aristophanes: the Birds

The acknowledged master of Greek comedy, Aristophanes brilliantly combines serious political satire with bawdiness, pyrotechnical bombast with delicate lyrics. "The Birds," a portrayal of a flawed utopia called Cloudcuckooland, is an enchanting escape into the world of free-flying fantasy that explores the eternal dilemmas of man on earth. "The Birds" was performed in 414 BCE at the City Dionysia where it won second prize. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs. Unlike the author's other early plays, it includes no direct mention of the Peloponnesian War and there are few references to Athenian politics and yet it was staged not long after the commencement of the Sicilian Expedition, an ambitious military campaign that had greatly increased Athenian commitment to the war effort. The longest of Aristophanes' surviving plays, "The Birds" is a fairly conventional example of Old Comedy.