AristophanesistheonlysurvivingrepresentativeofGreekOldComedy,anexuberantformoffestivaldramawhichflourishedinAthensduringthefifthcenturyBC.OneofthemostoriginalplaywrightsintheentireWesterntradition,hiscomediesareremarkablefortheirbrilliantcombinationoffantasyandsatire,theirconstantlyinventivemanipulationoflanguage,andtheiruseofabsurdcharactersandplotstoexposehissociety’sinstitutionsandvaluestothebracingchallengeoflaughter.ThisisthethirdandfinalvolumeofanewversetranslationofthecompleteplaysofAristophanes.Itcontainsfourofhismostovertlypoliticalplays:Acharnians,inwhichanAthenianfarmerrebelsagainstthecity’swarpolicies;Knights,abitingsatireofpopulistdemagogues;Wasps,whosemainthemeistheAtheniansystemoflawcourts;andPeace,inwhichescapefromwarissymbolizedinimagesofrusticfertilityandsensuality.ThetranslationcombineshistoricalaccuracywithasensitiveattempttocapturetherichdramaticandliteraryqualitiesofAristophaniccomedy.Eachplayispresentedwithathought-provokingintroductionandextensiveeditorialnotestoaccompanythevividtranslations,balancingperformabilitywithfaithfulnesstotheoriginal.
