NationMaster - Encyclopedia: The Acharnians

The Acharnians (Ancient Greek: Ἀχαρνεῖς / Akharneĩs) is a comedic play by the ancient Greek satirist Aristophanes. Written and performed during the Peloponnesian War, it is famous for its anti-war stance. Produced in 425 BC by Callistratus, it won Aristophanes a first prize at the Lenaea. Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , c. ... Archarnae was the largest deme of ancient Attica; it was located in the northwest part of the Attic plain, around Menidi, and about 10 km due north of Athens. ... A statue of Euripides Euripides (Greek: Î•Ï…ÏÎ¹Ï€Î¯Î´Î·Ï‚) (c. ... feydey 11:57, 4 November 2005 (UTC) Category: Possible copyright violations ... Megara (Greek: ÎœÎÎ³Î±ÏÎ±; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... Boeotia or Beotia (//, (Greek Î’Î¿Î¹Ï‰Ï„Î¹Î±; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... The speakers platform at the Pnyx, with the Acropolis in the background. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area - City 38. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown A play, written by a playwright, or dramatist, is a form of literature, almost always consisting of dialog between characters, and intended for performance rather than reading. ... List of satirists below - writers, cartoonists and others known for their involvement in satire - humourous social criticism. ... Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , c. ... Combatants Delian League led by Athens Peloponnesian League led by Sparta Commanders Pericles Cleon Nicias Alcibiades Archidamus II Brasidas Lysander For the earlier war beginning in 460 BC, see First Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431 BCâ€“404 BC) was an Ancient Greek military conflict fought between Athens and its... Anti war protest in Melbourne, Australia, 2003 Anti_war is a name that is widely adopted by any social movement or person that seeks to end or oppose a future or current war. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC - 420s BC - 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC Years: 430 BC 429 BC 428 BC 427 BC 426 BC - 425 BC - 424 BC 423 BC... Callistratus of Aphidnae (Greek: ÎšÎ±Î»Î»Î¹ÏƒÏ„ÏÎ¬Ï„Î¿Ï‚ Kallistratos) was a friend of Callicrates, a political person and an Athenian orator of the 4th century BCE, a strategos in 378 and was executed in 355. ... The Lenaia was a dramatic but one of the lesser festivals in Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. ...

The play is set in contemporary Athens and is a hard-hitting satire against the politicians of the time, with some satire against the great tragedian Euripides thrown in for good measure. Athens is at war with Sparta, and has declared a trade embargo with neighboring Megara. Dicaeopolis (Greek for "just city" - sometimes rendered Dikaiopolis), a war veteran himself and representative of an average Athenian, is tired of war. He declares a truce with the enemy, and opens up his home as a sort of free-trade zone. Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area - City 38. ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... A statue of Euripides Euripides (Greek: Î•Ï…ÏÎ¹Ï€Î¯Î´Î·Ï‚) (c. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area - City 38. ... Coordinates 37Â°4â€² N 22Â°26â€² E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Laconia Population 18,184 source (2001) Area 84. ... Megara (Greek: ÎœÎÎ³Î±ÏÎ±; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ...

Throughout the play, Aristophanes takes every opportunity to make fun of the Athenian establishment; Euripides; the Prytanes; the Generals. Cleon, the leading politician in Athens at the time, whom Aristophanes had made a personal enemy, is singled out for particular criticism. Cleon was pro-war. This play takes a pro-truce stance, and a number of speeches made to the audience being directly addressed on his shortcomings. Cleon is also lampooned in Aristophanes' play The Knights. A statue of Euripides Euripides (Greek: Î•Ï…ÏÎ¹Ï€Î¯Î´Î·Ï‚) (c. ... The prytaneis (literally presidents) of ancient Athens were members of the boule chosen to perform executive tasks during their term (a prytany), which lasted about one month and then was rotated to other members of the boule. ... Cleon (d. ... Aristophanes play The Knights is an unbridled criticism of Cleon, one of the most powerful men in ancient Athens. ...

While not as well known as Lysistrata, The Acharnians is widely considered one of Aristophanes' finer efforts. Lysistrata (Attic: Î›Ï…ÏƒÎ¹ÏƒÏ„ÏÎ¬Ï„Î·, Doric: Î›Ï…ÏƒÎ¹ÏƒÏ„ÏÎ¬Ï„Î±), Aristophanes anti-war comedy, written in 411 BC, has female characters, led by the eponymous Lysistrata, barricading the public funds building and withholding sex from their husbands to secure peace and end the Peloponnesian War. ...

Plot

The play opens on the Pnyx, where the Athenian Assembly met. Dicaeopolis ("just city") attempts to have the subject of peace with Sparta addressed by the Assembly, but he is ignored. Indignant, Dicaeopolis decides to form a private truce with the enemy for only himself and his family. A chorus of Acharnian charcoal peddlers wants to stone Dicaeopolis to death because of this; as residents of Acharnae, they suffered tremendously in the Peloponnesian War and were famous for their bellicose nature. Dicaeopolis holds them off by holding a bucket of charcoal hostage, threatening to dismember it if they attack. They allow him to make a public address, and he goes to the poet Euripides for tragic props in order to make himself seem more piteous. He eloquently denounces the war and the false pretenses under which it was started, using a modified version of Telephus's speech. General Lamachus shows up, and the two men exchange insults. The chorus is convinced by Dicaeopolis, and is now in favor of peace. They make a moving speech about the justice system in Athens. The speakers platform at the Pnyx, with the Acropolis in the background. ... Coordinates 37Â°4â€² N 22Â°26â€² E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Laconia Population 18,184 source (2001) Area 84. ... In early tragedy, no parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. ... Archarnae was the largest deme of ancient Attica; it was located in the northwest part of the Attic plain, around Menidi, and about 10 km due north of Athens. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... Archarnae was the largest deme of ancient Attica; it was located in the northwest part of the Attic plain, around Menidi, and about 10 km due north of Athens. ... Combatants Delian League led by Athens Peloponnesian League led by Sparta Commanders Pericles Cleon Nicias Alcibiades Archidamus II Brasidas Lysander For the earlier war beginning in 460 BC, see First Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431 BCâ€“404 BC) was an Ancient Greek military conflict fought between Athens and its... A statue of Euripides Euripides (Greek: Î•Ï…ÏÎ¹Ï€Î¯Î´Î·Ï‚) (c. ... A Greek mythological figure, Telephus referred to two different people. ... feydey 11:57, 4 November 2005 (UTC) Category: Possible copyright violations ...

Dicaeopolis opens his market. Comedy ensues. A Megarean puts his two young daughters in a sack, and sells them off as suckling pigs to Dicaeopolis. A Boeotian merchant trades his entire stock of poultry and eels to Dicaeopolis, before Nicarchus appears and arrests the Boeotian merchant for selling wicks that could burn the dockyard. In the end, Dicaeopolis enjoys a huge feast with the goods and women he has accumulated: Lamachus returns from battle bloodied, defeated and shamed. Boeotia or Beotia (//, (Greek Î’Î¿Î¹Ï‰Ï„Î¹Î±; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... Nicarchus was a Greek writer of the first century AD, best known for his epigrams, of which 42 survive, and his satirical poetry. ...

Translations

Category: Ancient Greek plays John Hookham Frere (May 21, 1769 - January 7, 1846), was an English diplomat and author. ... Robert Yelverton Tyrrell (1844â€“1914) was a classical scholar who was Regius Professor of Greek at Trinity College, Dublin. ... Image File history File links Aristophanes_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_12788. ... Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , c. ... Aristophanes play The Knights is an unbridled criticism of Cleon, one of the most powerful men in ancient Athens. ... The Clouds (ÎÎµÏ†ÎÎ»Î±Î¹) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes lampooning the sophists and the intellectual trends of late fifth-century Athens. ... The Wasps is a comedy by Aristophanes. ... Peace is a comedy written and produced by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. ... The Birds (Ornithes) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes in 414 BC, and performed that year for the Festival of Dionysus. ... Lysistrata (Attic: Î›Ï…ÏƒÎ¹ÏƒÏ„ÏÎ¬Ï„Î·, Doric: Î›Ï…ÏƒÎ¹ÏƒÏ„ÏÎ¬Ï„Î±), Aristophanes anti-war comedy, written in 411 BC, has female characters, led by the eponymous Lysistrata, barricading the public funds building and withholding sex from their husbands to secure peace and end the Peloponnesian War. ... Thesmophoriazusae (Women Celebrating the Thesmophoria) is a comedy written by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Frogs in Greek Frogs (Î’Î¬Ï„ÏÎ±Ï‡Î¿Î¹ (BÃ¡trachoi)) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. ... Aristophanes Assemblywomen (or in Greek Ecclesiazousae ) is a play similar in theme to Lysistrata in that a large portion of the comedy comes from women involving themselves in politics. ... In Greek mythology, Plutus (wealth) was a son of Demeter and Iasion and was the personification of wealth. ...