History-Makers: Aristophanes

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  • čas přidán 8. 07. 2021
  • He told the Athenians they were a disaster and they gave him a prize. Aristophanes wrote in the new Theatrical genre of Comedy during the golden age of Athens, and used his plays to viciously satirize Athenian society. They create a fabulously clear portrait of ancient Athenian life, and they have the corollary benefit of being funny as hell.
    SOURCES & Further Reading: The 11 plays of Aristophanes, with particular focus on Clouds and Women at the Thesmophoria, Britannica's "Aristophanes", Crash Course Theater #2 & 4.
    Partial Tracklist: "Sneaky Snitch", "Marty Gots A Plan" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Komentáře • 929

  • @OverlySarcasticProductions
    @OverlySarcasticProductions  Před 2 lety +1746

    While we're here, one subject I cut for time is the relationship between "The Clouds" and the trial of Socrates.
    It's commonly assumed that Aristophanes' satire played a part in Athens' decision to charge and ultimately kill Socrates, but that interpretation doesn't really hold up to scrutiny.
    The Clouds was performed over *20 Years* before Socrates' trial. If the play had that strong an effect on Athens, we can assume Socrates would have been charged far sooner. And Plato's own writings paint Aristophanes rather favorably - if Plato blamed Aristophanes for the' trial, he does not make that obvious.
    There IS one snide line in Socrates "Apology" that seems to a modern reader like it's referring to "The Clouds", but really we can't be sure. Aristophanes was not the only Comic playwright in Athens, and certainly not the only person who disliked Socrates. Did The Clouds contribute to a negative public perception of Socrates? Sure, in part, at least when it was performed in 423.. But it's faaar more likely that Socrates' trial and death in 399 owe more to his persistent habit of being a Colossal Pain In The Ass to whomever he was speaking with.
    Reading The Apology makes it clear that nobody had the power to make Athens hate Socrates more than Socrates.
    -B

    • @silverbullet1620
      @silverbullet1620 Před 2 lety +6

      I still want to debate you Blue. Because you don't look at history around historical events.

    • @BeepBoop173
      @BeepBoop173 Před 2 lety +8

      Hi I’ve been watching you guys for four years now and y’all do great work. ♥️

    • @eagelcat
      @eagelcat Před 2 lety +6

      The Comedies yield Animaniacs

    • @eagelcat
      @eagelcat Před 2 lety +1

      This video was awesome

    • @electricsquidxd3254
      @electricsquidxd3254 Před 2 lety +2

      Where can I find a link to your book?

  • @juanfranciscovillarroelthu6876

    "All men should be free to do as they wish"
    "But who would toil the soil?"
    "The slaves!"

    • @arleccino1313
      @arleccino1313 Před 2 lety +87

      "Wealth is the most excellent of all the gods." -Fucking BIG mood.

  • @HistoryOfRevolutions
    @HistoryOfRevolutions Před 2 lety +1557

    Antisthenes once stated:
    "It is better to fall in with crows than with flatterers; for in the one case you are devoured when dead, in the other case while alive"

    • @pepperhr
      @pepperhr Před 2 lety +41

      I wonder if that’s tied to the Attic Greek phrase “εἰς βαλλεῖς κώρακας” meaning both “throw [yourself] to the crows” (literally) and “go to hell” (not so literally)

    • @jakeupton5125
      @jakeupton5125 Před 2 lety +45

      @@pepperhr It definitely does becouse the ancient greek word for flatterer is κόλαξ which sounds almost exactly like the word for a crow, which is κόραξ. So that Antisthenes quote is one hell of a great pun!

    • @MrThorfan64
      @MrThorfan64 Před 2 lety +7

      @@jakeupton5125 Translations do make it hard at times to keep the joke. Like snake and shield, or a lisp making raven into flatterer.

    • @thydzz2180
      @thydzz2180 Před 2 lety +1

      Fucking Legend

  • @tntguardian6455
    @tntguardian6455 Před 2 lety +1330

    Aristophanes is *THE* definition of Chaotic good in Ancient Greece

    • @19MAD95
      @19MAD95 Před 2 lety +51

      What about Diogenes? Chaotic Neutral?

    • @tntguardian6455
      @tntguardian6455 Před 2 lety +44

      @@19MAD95 yeah, definitely chaotic neutral

    • @andrewwurth8998
      @andrewwurth8998 Před 2 lety +2

      Dnd memes are getting really tired :(

    • @andrewhopkins886
      @andrewhopkins886 Před 2 lety +12

      @@andrewwurth8998 nope.

    • @lysanamcmillan7972
      @lysanamcmillan7972 Před 2 lety +8

      @@andrewwurth8998 You forgot to add "to me." It is not implied, nor can it be inferred.

  • @inteligentidiot7233
    @inteligentidiot7233 Před 2 lety +2297

    "Find a translation that keeps the dick jokes and you'll be set."
    Human history in a nutshell, whether our conservative elders like it or not.

    • @Pixelmick
      @Pixelmick Před 2 lety +230

      "A society can be judged by the quality of it's dick jokes" Should be a historian saying

    • @Tomyironmane
      @Tomyironmane Před 2 lety +25

      @@Pixelmick Boy are we in trouble. Our dick jokes aren't funny, and the jokes about dicks are banned as hate speech.

    • @festethephule7553
      @festethephule7553 Před 2 lety +64

      @@Tomyironmane
      How funny they are is subjective, and jokes about dicks are absolutely not being banned as hate speech.

    • @CoralCopperHead
      @CoralCopperHead Před 2 lety +64

      @@Tomyironmane Can I throw a mathematical equation at you? You might find it useful:
      Head(Your) - Ass(Your) = Person + Experience(Life) = Person(Reasonable)

    • @rav3style
      @rav3style Před 2 lety +16

      @@CoralCopperHead 911? I want to report a fucking murder!

  • @Tea_N_Crumpets
    @Tea_N_Crumpets Před 2 lety +2804

    “Aristophanes invented communism” was definitely NOT the thing I was expecting from this video, but it is funny as hell!

    • @r3dp9
      @r3dp9 Před 2 lety +228

      Not just any communism, but feminist communism.

    • @animatorofanimation128
      @animatorofanimation128 Před 2 lety +144

      It's hilarious on how he invented the core concept of communism, and then tore it apart 5 seconds later in the play. Aristophanes is great

    • @fixthefernback8030
      @fixthefernback8030 Před 2 lety +25

      The Tawantinsuyu invented the first functional communist state, too!

    • @supernobro64
      @supernobro64 Před 2 lety +34

      The people's republic of Athens

    • @sorayacatfriend
      @sorayacatfriend Před 2 lety +50

      Ideas similar to communism already existed in Greece and other parts of the Ancient World, Plato even talks about it.

  • @johnjohnsonesteemeddoerofj6966

    Comedies as the most acceptable way to criticize a government…guess times don’t change all that much?

    • @wojciechkowalski8061
      @wojciechkowalski8061 Před 2 lety +101

      No matter the times, politicians fear mockery more than anything else.

    • @josharko111
      @josharko111 Před 2 lety +74

      @@wojciechkowalski8061 looks like it's time for the bards to rise again

    • @oriong.7507
      @oriong.7507 Před 2 lety +53

      @@josharko111 Yes, Indeed. Gather your Bards, and I'll gather mine. It will be a glorious Bardic Crusade.

    • @VashdaCrash
      @VashdaCrash Před 2 lety +7

      Comedy also doesn't change anything in the government, it seems.

    • @CoralCopperHead
      @CoralCopperHead Před 2 lety +4

      @@josharko111 So they can be just as horribly biased as modern reporters? Sorry pal.

  • @seanmcloughlin5983
    @seanmcloughlin5983 Před 2 lety +1307

    I will always love Aristophanes for introducing me to the Greek word “Eruproktes,” meaning “gaping asshole,” and also having the same prefix that gave us Europe.

    • @mayoandbananasandwich6527
      @mayoandbananasandwich6527 Před 2 lety +169

      Wide eyed, wide assed, what’s the difference?

    • @thejudgmentalcat
      @thejudgmentalcat Před 2 lety +67

      I learn something new and interesting every day

    • @xmoore5659
      @xmoore5659 Před 2 lety +14

      I'm going to use that.

    • @flimsyenthusiasm5769
      @flimsyenthusiasm5769 Před 2 lety +32

      Well according to literally every country in the world that is not in Europe, that sounds about right.

    • @MrThorfan64
      @MrThorfan64 Před 2 lety +11

      But what about Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon?

  • @quintussertorius4447
    @quintussertorius4447 Před 2 lety +420

    My favorite part of Peace is not just the guy Flying the Dung Beetle into heaven, but that fact he spends two minutes chastising and begging the audience not to fart in case the beetle knocks him off and goes looking for food.

  • @selas9238
    @selas9238 Před 2 lety +341

    The best thing is that they 're still played today in Greece, with improvised dick jokes about modern politicians ON TOP of the ancient ones.
    Aristophanes managed to be still relevant after 2000 years

    • @kevinbayu7621
      @kevinbayu7621 Před 2 lety +6

      Political dick jokes are ALWAYS relevant

  • @vzq5175
    @vzq5175 Před 2 lety +698

    Reading the Clouds in school was such a cathartic way to end our classics unit. After weeks of getting tortured with Plato's prose at too young an age it was nice to see the philosophers get dunked on savagely.

    • @LadyDeirdre
      @LadyDeirdre Před 2 lety +85

      Having read Plato, I consider any age to be too young to be tortured by his prose.

    • @MrThorfan64
      @MrThorfan64 Před 2 lety +16

      No-one is above mockery.

    • @JukeboxTheGhoul
      @JukeboxTheGhoul Před 2 lety +19

      @@MrThorfan64 Conservatives: wait not like that.

    • @andrewhopkins886
      @andrewhopkins886 Před 2 lety +29

      @@JukeboxTheGhoul to be fair both sides have that Issue. The political shit-flinging starts when the neutral jokes devolve into political teasing which devolve into just plain old insults, then very serious insults, and sometimes death-threats and threats of mass-muder against an opposing political alignment. Modern politics is fun, I'm tired, why am I starting this before I've even had breakfast... Good joke, have like.

  • @ArchOwl
    @ArchOwl Před 2 lety +438

    4:48 "An old man is addicted to serving on juries, so his family sets up a fake domestic court to keep him busy at home, where he judges the case of Dog v. Stolen Cheese."
    ...I might watch this Netflix original.

  • @pridelander06
    @pridelander06 Před 2 lety +368

    "The Athenians knew they were a mess and celebrated it."
    I've never identified with an ancient city so well.

    • @Magus_Union
      @Magus_Union Před 2 lety +25

      Yeah, the irony of the US modeling its government after the ancient Greeks and then literally following the same imperialistic trajectory isn't lost on me.

    • @IkeOkerekeNews
      @IkeOkerekeNews Před 2 lety +7

      @@Magus_Union
      Damn I didn't know that the Ancient Greeks practiced federalism!

    • @winsonzhu4427
      @winsonzhu4427 Před 2 lety +7

      @@IkeOkerekeNews i mean, what do you think the delian league effectively is?

    • @IkeOkerekeNews
      @IkeOkerekeNews Před 2 lety +1

      @@winsonzhu4427
      At most, an extortionist military alliance, no where close to being a federation.

    • @deiansalazar140
      @deiansalazar140 Před 2 lety +1

      @@IkeOkerekeNews I think you're missing the point.

  • @SivakAurak
    @SivakAurak Před 2 lety +189

    Aristophanes wrote possibly the best line in any play, when Dionysus is trying to follow Charons instructions on operating a rowboat:
    DIONYSUS: (doing everything wrong) "Like this?"

    • @professorbutters5201
      @professorbutters5201 Před 2 lety +32

      The Frogs is the best. It's so meta, plus the idea of making fun of the god of theatre in a theatre is brilliant.

    • @lirazel6414
      @lirazel6414 Před 2 lety +9

      I'm a fan of Lysistrata, myself.

    • @SirAnthonyChirpsALot
      @SirAnthonyChirpsALot Před 2 lety +9

      I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the stage directions were added by later editors. The only part of Aristophanes that was actually written by him and not added later were the lines. Even the characters assigned those lines is an editorial decision, which is why there are disputes over things like how many characters with speaking roles are in each play.

    • @benthomason3307
      @benthomason3307 Před 2 lety

      damn

    • @professorbutters5201
      @professorbutters5201 Před 2 lety +4

      @@SirAnthonyChirpsALot This is true of Shakespeare, as well. Most of the stage directions are added in, unless they are embedded in the text.

  • @k2990j
    @k2990j Před 2 lety +396

    Wait wait we skipped over the women having their own “parallel society.” There’s definitely more to analyze there

    • @regalvas
      @regalvas Před 2 lety +137

      We also skipped over bird overthows Zeus.

    • @hiti6753
      @hiti6753 Před 2 lety +40

      @@regalvas Zeus probably raped his bird-wife, so good for him.

    • @CoralCopperHead
      @CoralCopperHead Před 2 lety +13

      @@hiti6753 "probably raped his bird-wife, so good for him."
      I realize Zeus was rapey as all get-out, but _'good for him?'_ I'm sorry, _fucking _*_what?!_*

    • @BluePraetor
      @BluePraetor Před 2 lety +43

      @@regalvas I acted in the birds. Basically due to the trade embargo, the gods are dying of hunger as the smoke of sacrifice does not reach them. Herakles is the one to accept the birds' conditions while Zeus is sick from malnutrition

    • @mozarteanchaos
      @mozarteanchaos Před 2 lety +28

      @@CoralCopperHead there are two people that "him" could be referring to in that sentence. one of them is zeus, one of them is not. assuming that commenter is a reasonable human being, which do you think is more likely; that they think zeus committing bird rape is good, or that they think a bird getting back at zeus for committing bird rape is good?

  • @FirstLast-cg2nk
    @FirstLast-cg2nk Před 2 lety +419

    Aristophanes: We know exactly what is wrong with Athenian society and would ask the people in charge of Athenian society to do anything about it, it's just that what's wrong with Athenian society is the people in charge of Athenian society doing anything they want.

  • @professorbutters5201
    @professorbutters5201 Před 2 lety +89

    It's The Frogs. The Frogs, beyond all doubt, when a harassed and terrified Dionysus rushes up to the priest of Dionysus in the first row, and screams, "You're my priest! DO something!"

    • @evobrand1210
      @evobrand1210 Před rokem +5

      Breaking the first wall in the best way possible

  • @JuFo2707
    @JuFo2707 Před 2 lety +257

    "he was taken to court by a politician for slander"
    So, what you're telling me is that we haven't changed in almost 2500 years

    • @romulus755
      @romulus755 Před 2 lety +20

      To be fair in a grand scheme of things that is not a long time...but yea.

    • @arleccino1313
      @arleccino1313 Před 2 lety +5

      That's exactly what we're telling you.

    • @emblemblade9245
      @emblemblade9245 Před 2 lety +4

      Yeah so you better temper your expectations!

    • @vikiai4241
      @vikiai4241 Před 2 lety +5

      Ah, so our current rather thin-skinned Australian pollies are just doing the classics!

    • @arigadatred5395
      @arigadatred5395 Před 2 lety +2

      If the circumstances are similar, the outcome will be similar.

  • @TitaRussellTrails
    @TitaRussellTrails Před 2 lety +763

    To quote Cleveland Brown "what country is this" "that's the gay flag." "ah Greece."

  • @user-re3io8ib4n
    @user-re3io8ib4n Před 2 lety +450

    I have seen both "Clouds" and "Women of Thesmophoria" live at the ancient theater of Epidaurus. The actors said a lot of the dick jokes BUT the English subtitles they had on a projector did not! And I say, that's unfair.

    • @MrThorfan64
      @MrThorfan64 Před 2 lety +32

      No dick jokes? What sort of a subtitle writer was this!

    • @professorbutters5201
      @professorbutters5201 Před 2 lety +7

      You are so lucky. I am consumed with envy. I have been to Epidaurus, but never seen a play there.

    • @ginoclaves
      @ginoclaves Před 2 lety +32

      @@MrThorfan64 They don't usually get enough freedom to be put on the spot for their "choices", tbh. More like get comissioned by *non-experts* and get your work *revised by* them. Especially since the sort of crowd interested in ancient works equals them all to dead-serious classics, hence the many *"the Bard couldn't possibly have intended such crude language"* translations of Shakespeare.

    • @MrThorfan64
      @MrThorfan64 Před 2 lety +7

      @@ginoclaves Why do they think the plays were popular?

    • @ginoclaves
      @ginoclaves Před 2 lety +6

      @@MrThorfan64 They usually don't, believing the works to be old high art, essentially.

  • @jeremy1860
    @jeremy1860 Před 2 lety +235

    The phrase "and then Athens happened" needs to be a meme on the same level as "then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked" 😅

    • @user-re3io8ib4n
      @user-re3io8ib4n Před 2 lety +33

      Or, "and then along come Zeus"

    • @jeremy1860
      @jeremy1860 Před 2 lety +5

      @@user-re3io8ib4n Oh yeah, that one too 😅

    • @wojciechkowalski8061
      @wojciechkowalski8061 Před 2 lety +18

      And since XV century onwards "and then the Europeans showed up."

    • @elijahpadilla5083
      @elijahpadilla5083 Před 2 lety +14

      @@wojciechkowalski8061 I prefer the Bill Wurtz variant, "Knock knock. It's Europe."

    • @CoralCopperHead
      @CoralCopperHead Před 2 lety +10

      @@elijahpadilla5083 My favourite was the follow-up: "Knock knock. It's the United States. With huge boats. (with guns. (gunboats.))

  • @adamgarman2555
    @adamgarman2555 Před 2 lety +219

    "Such honey it is to do forbidden things."
    - Aristophanes, Fragment

  • @batcat4136
    @batcat4136 Před 2 lety +134

    “From Shakespeare to South Park” is a lot more powerful than I think anyone would ever think think

  • @stratisgeorgilis7703
    @stratisgeorgilis7703 Před 2 lety +125

    “Our boy homer”

  • @fattigriddare8481
    @fattigriddare8481 Před 2 lety +304

    Spicy political pornography: that’s Aristophanes for ya

  • @gideonjones5712
    @gideonjones5712 Před 2 lety +62

    Hold on, you're telling me a guy thousands of years ago wrote a comedy where a guy sneaks into the ladies' room in drag to spy on them, gets caught learning about their secret society, and takes a toy baby hostage that's secretly filled with booze?
    Damn it, back to the drawing board then.

  • @jackukridge5381
    @jackukridge5381 Před 2 lety +131

    During 'The Birds', the titular birds threaten to defecate on the judges of the festival unless they are awarded first prize... it didn't work.

  • @pathfindersavant3988
    @pathfindersavant3988 Před 2 lety +34

    An Athenian man appears in our modern age. He walks into a bar and sees an episode of South Park playing on a television screen. He sits transfixed and watches it for 10 minutes before exclaiming "Good to see Aristophanes made it to the future as well."

  • @agustinamagpie
    @agustinamagpie Před 2 lety +39

    I remember laughing to tears when I read Wasps. When the father hides under the donkey (maybe it was a sheep, it's been 10 years) and the son is like "dad, no..."
    I read it with my mom while I was studying literature in college, and we both literally kept GUFFAWING at it. It was beautiful. Centuries after his death, this man made us laugh to tears

  • @Tea_N_Crumpets
    @Tea_N_Crumpets Před 2 lety +317

    “And then… Athens happened.”
    *Oh no*

    • @thedukeofchutney468
      @thedukeofchutney468 Před 2 lety +13

      Historians: O H Y E A H 😎

    • @nameless-stitcher
      @nameless-stitcher Před 2 lety +2

      Athens is the ancient equivalent of America, change my mind.

    • @thedukeofchutney468
      @thedukeofchutney468 Před 2 lety +2

      @@nameless-stitcher Pretty much (although as far as scale goes I’d say that the Roman republic is also a good equivalent)

    • @Duiker36
      @Duiker36 Před 2 lety +2

      @@thedukeofchutney468 I mean, considering that America goes so far as to intentionally model itself off the Roman Republic, missing the similarities is basically a matter of ignorance. We don't have Latin phraseology in random places (e.g., "E Pluribus Unum") because the Founders were language nerds. We have Latin mottos, classical architecture, etc. because they copied the Romans as best they could from the history they had at the time.

  • @jacksonevans5679
    @jacksonevans5679 Před 2 lety +18

    A couple of years ago, my high school theatre put on the Birds. Apparently, the audience laughed so hard that they needed to get an EMT to save people from choking to death on laughter. Literally.

  • @juanpablosalazar4336
    @juanpablosalazar4336 Před 2 lety +203

    Aristophanes: I know exactly everything that's wrong with athens.
    Athenians: Do you know how to solve those things?
    Aristophanes: Well, I have a couple ideas.
    Athenians: Then why don't you help us solve them?
    Aristphanes: Are you kidding? If athens stops being such a hot mess I'll lose my job!

  • @babassoonist557
    @babassoonist557 Před 2 lety +33

    What I learned: The greatest enduring ideal of democracy is politicians getting butthurt over a comedian making fun of them

  • @ender_slayer3
    @ender_slayer3 Před 2 lety +38

    Aristophanes was just like "This whole city is a meme and I'm going to show you exactly why. AND YOU WILL LOVE IT!"

  • @imuncreative3022
    @imuncreative3022 Před 2 lety +80

    You know the Ace Attorney fandom is rising if Blue uses Phoenix in his video.

  • @stratisgeorgilis7703
    @stratisgeorgilis7703 Před 2 lety +85

    I’m Greek, and I’m dying because the steed said malaka 😂😂😂😂😂😂

  • @deargodwhatamidoing1122
    @deargodwhatamidoing1122 Před 2 lety +139

    Hey isn’t this the guy you become friends with in assassins creed? Huh, I am now even more proud of myself for that play against Kleon.
    Look mom! I’m making history!!

  • @auroraourania7161
    @auroraourania7161 Před 2 lety +49

    I read Lysistrata for a class a couple years back. It was definitely more enjoyable to read than any of the tragedies I've read, since it feels like it's written to be enjoyed, while still being very informative about Athenian culture.

  • @blackvial
    @blackvial Před 2 lety +25

    Dog v stolen cheese was a groundbreaking case

  • @michaelscott6022
    @michaelscott6022 Před 2 lety +98

    "Ah, yes, ancient Greek theater was truly a haven of cultural performance and intellectual achievement" declare the pundits, not noticing Sappho waltzing behind them, bare-chested with a strap-on and flanked by two Vegas showgirls.

    • @doo_lissdu_lighost6133
      @doo_lissdu_lighost6133 Před 2 lety +14

      Meanwhile Aristophanes was watching this all unfold, writing it down as material for his next play.

    • @rocketgeek96
      @rocketgeek96 Před rokem +8

      This sounds like a 70s Mel Brooks scene, and I mean that with all the praise with which it's intended.

  • @PS-yi7nz
    @PS-yi7nz Před 2 lety +15

    I once went to see lisistreia live, and I have to say I wasn't expecting 2500 year old jokes to land , but they did and made me laugh a lot more than most modern comedies

  • @eleanors7856
    @eleanors7856 Před 2 lety +7

    As someone that has to study the godsforsaken thing this semester, Birds is ABSOLUTELY batshit insane and really does not let up on the slapstick or the dick jokes - at one point, they make sex jokes while wearing saucepans on their heads. My professors have said ‘dick’, ‘cock’, and ‘fuck’ FAR too many times this semester for me to take the unit seriously

  • @lilacsandobsidian
    @lilacsandobsidian Před 2 lety +7

    In theatre school in the early 2000s we did a modern retelling of Lysistrata. It really does hold up.

  • @lightsabreclasher
    @lightsabreclasher Před 2 lety +10

    I'm gonna be real, during your description of "Peace", I thought you said that the farmer "rescued the goddess of peace by dicking her out of her grave" and my immediate reaction was THAT IS SUCH A GREEK THING.

  • @det.bullock4461
    @det.bullock4461 Před 2 lety +32

    Fun fact: comedy was associated with the Greeks so much that technically speaking most Roman comedies are set in Greece even if the characters act and refer to Roman stuff all the time, also Romans completely lacked that kind of self-awareness which probably contributed: the so-called "togata" (the Roman comedy sub-genre actually set in Rome) is greatly toned down compared to the comedies set in "Greece".

    • @professorbutters5201
      @professorbutters5201 Před 2 lety +10

      That's because it's fine to show Greeks misbehaving. REAL Romans don't act in such an undignified way.

    • @det.bullock4461
      @det.bullock4461 Před 2 lety +5

      @@professorbutters5201 Oh, yes and that "refferring to and do Roman stuff" I mentioned? It included complaining about the Greeks because they were often hired or imported as slaves by Romans as preceptors, secretaries, scribes, etc. At that point one can't tell if the Roman writers were really that oblivious or were just messing with the audience.

  • @taylors7061
    @taylors7061 Před 2 lety +17

    I absolutely love Frogs! Heracles and his lust for soup is hilarious.

  • @PlutoPigeon
    @PlutoPigeon Před 2 lety +54

    More History-Makers to feed my history loving soul I'm going to miss having history classes in school :(

  • @deathbower
    @deathbower Před 2 lety +67

    Man, we really need Legal Eagle to review Aristophanes' trial play. Is there a recorded stage version on teh interwebs anywhere?

    • @jerubaal101
      @jerubaal101 Před 2 lety +1

      Or you could find a good lawyer and/or entertaining lawyer to do it instead.

    • @SirAnthonyChirpsALot
      @SirAnthonyChirpsALot Před 2 lety +4

      Honestly the Wasps isn't the best play to analyze because most of its criticism is directed toward the juries, not the courts themselves necessarily. The debate at the end of the Frogs or in the Clouds would probably be more compelling.

    • @deiansalazar140
      @deiansalazar140 Před 2 lety +4

      @@jerubaal101 So...Legal Eagle.

    • @tompatterson1548
      @tompatterson1548 Před 2 lety

      @@jerubaal101 gotta admit, he does have his problems. During the game of thrones episode he just ignores the fact that in universe it’s unjust and all that on purpose.

  • @slightlyembittered
    @slightlyembittered Před 2 lety +20

    So basically "Saturday Night Live" with Aristophanes.

    • @boazjamesmiller6387
      @boazjamesmiller6387 Před 9 měsíci +2

      I think Saturday Night Live would be considered way too tame and PG-rated to compare to Aristophanes.

  • @archibaldthejester42069
    @archibaldthejester42069 Před 2 lety +27

    I did a project on Aristophanes in middle school because we had to pick a historical figure and my teacher said i couldnt do Genghis Kahn because of the time period restriction.

    • @ramirogalletti
      @ramirogalletti Před 2 lety +6

      so how did that end up?

    • @archibaldthejester42069
      @archibaldthejester42069 Před 2 lety +4

      @@ramirogalletti I actually really liked it and i did pretty well! I'm glad i had to stick to the time period cause i got to learn about someone new!

    • @BJGvideos
      @BJGvideos Před rokem

      Time period reconstruction?

  • @retroanimemike
    @retroanimemike Před 2 lety +32

    I've read Birds way back when, don't exactly remember the whole thing on account of all the flowery language, but it really shocked me to see how this man makes a complete pig's breakfast of the religion of the time, putting all the avians above the gods. Like imagine someone doing that to the Abrahamic religions and staying a celebrated author.

    • @boosterh1113
      @boosterh1113 Před 2 lety +13

      You don't have to imagine. Ever heard of the His Dark Materials series (better known in North America as The Golden Compass)?
      The Abrahamic God is specifically depicted as a senile old man used as a figurehead by the tyrannical arch-angel Michael to enslave humanity, while Lucifer is a heroic rebel. All real humans are accompanied by a personal demon, the loss of which turns you into a mindless, soulless slave.
      The books were all NYT bestsellers, the author won the Carnegie Award for Children's Literature in the UK, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden, the series was put on both the Times (US) and BBC (UK) lists of top 100 novels of all time. There was even a full budget Hollywood movie made (which flopped, more because of poor cinema craft, then the results of any opposition).
      It doesn't take much effort to find more examples of successful media that mock/insult the Abrahamic God, either. Bruce Almighty, The Da Vinci Code, Dogma, etc.
      Quit pretending that the modern West is some kind of repressive, theocratic dystopia.

    • @oriong.7507
      @oriong.7507 Před 2 lety +1

      @@boosterh1113 I have read those books. They are good books.

    • @professorbutters5201
      @professorbutters5201 Před 2 lety +4

      Comedy is different. By rights, the comedian has license to say what they want because it's comedy. It's supposed to break down rules. And Christianity DID have that--see all the Noah plays and the Feast of Fools.

    • @retroanimemike
      @retroanimemike Před 2 lety +1

      @@boosterh1113 You are putting a lot of words into my mouth. I was giving my opinion, from my point of view, in my experience. I was not making a wide ideological claim.

    • @tompatterson1548
      @tompatterson1548 Před 2 lety +2

      @@professorbutters5201 good omens?

  • @eh9618
    @eh9618 Před 2 lety +25

    So..is this what they mean by "it's funny because it's true"?

  • @deargodwhatamidoing1122
    @deargodwhatamidoing1122 Před 2 lety +15

    I gotta say. That part with the wine baby thing, actually sounds hilarious 😂.

  • @kostg4194
    @kostg4194 Před 2 lety +46

    philosophy and science:advancing
    Athens:Alright LETS BOOST THE ADVANCEMENT 1000%

  • @lysanamcmillan7972
    @lysanamcmillan7972 Před 2 lety +4

    I had a small role (Ismene of Boetia) in a college production of Lysistrata. Good gracious, that was FUN. Your passing remark about men on stage wearing garish cloth penises (or to that effect) reminded me that our production got chewed on by a critic for not going with nudity. Our director told costuming to make... well, yes. Garish cloth penises. Our chitons were loose and comfy, too. I think someone was upset that he didn't get to see some of us without them. As I was 18, I'm very glad he didn't get an eyeful. A lot of us were wearing those things regimental style anyway.

  • @timfortune9
    @timfortune9 Před 2 lety +13

    Makes you wonder how a meeting between Arisophanes and Diogenes would go...

  • @buddiestube9247
    @buddiestube9247 Před 2 lety +6

    Being a Greek high school student, Aristophanes is a HUGE taboo at school. Even though studying "Eleni" of Euripides is a mandatory subject, simply discussing the works of Aristophanes makes teachers turn red. Thankfully our teacher was brave enough to ditch Eleni midway and having us study Frogs pArTly instead. And let me say, the part we studied was enough to make him go back to Eleni.

  • @LITTLE_BABY_BAT
    @LITTLE_BABY_BAT Před 2 lety +25

    "got us some Sappho, love that" yes, yes we do (:

  • @matthiasward2840
    @matthiasward2840 Před 2 lety +5

    I study classics at Exeter Uni and in my first year the classics society performed Lysistrata, only slightly altered, and by Dionysus it was glorious.

  • @mirjanbouma
    @mirjanbouma Před 2 lety +14

    1:30 in and Blue has already been iconic several times. Our boy is on fire!

  • @rhymeswithmoose228
    @rhymeswithmoose228 Před 2 lety +21

    The Birds is one of the most wild and hilarious classic play you will ever see, 10/10 would do erotic bird roleplay again.

  • @bobbie7618
    @bobbie7618 Před 2 lety +8

    Ah, Greek comedy ... I have fond memories of a college class I took on classical theatre where we actually spent a month in Greece. We performed excerpts from the Oresteia in the theatre at Delphi, heard my professor declaim the Iliad from the sweet spot when we visited the asclepeion at Epidaurus, visited the real spots where half a dozen of the tragic plays were set. And we also smuggled sheets and pillows and socks out of our fancy hotel to turn them into fat suits and giant fake dongs to rehearse Women at the Thesmophoria. Good times.

  • @doomstadt2371
    @doomstadt2371 Před 2 lety +15

    "He grabs a baby as a hostage" was just said, and then moved on from like its the most normal thing in the world lol

  • @rentilloprincessdominiqueb7928

    "Epic, Lyric, Athens"
    Dear god no

    • @peterromeo4379
      @peterromeo4379 Před 2 lety +11

      Well after that it’s Rome so…. well I guess it can always get worse

    • @CollinMcLean
      @CollinMcLean Před 2 lety +2

      @@peterromeo4379 And then after that the Mongols... and then after that England...

  • @jenniferbtoo9344
    @jenniferbtoo9344 Před 2 lety +24

    “Athens HAPPENED”- Greece in a nutshell, honestly.

  • @rhymeswithmoose228
    @rhymeswithmoose228 Před 2 lety +20

    Oh fuck Revali is just a character from Birds who got lost in Hyrule huh

  • @Cheezbuckets
    @Cheezbuckets Před 2 lety +8

    Aristophanes: ruthlessly roasts Athens
    Athens: He’s so funny, I can’t even be mad about it!

  • @paulwagner688
    @paulwagner688 Před 2 lety +14

    Last time I was this early Socrates was still a Hoplite

  • @trinidadbaranao7728
    @trinidadbaranao7728 Před 2 lety +8

    Birds is a veryyyy weird play... but amazing

  • @belot217
    @belot217 Před 2 lety +12

    The Sondheim musical/broadway adaptation of Aristophanes' The Frogs has always been a favorite of mine, except the playwrights are *Shaw* & *Shakespeare!*

    • @professorbutters5201
      @professorbutters5201 Před 2 lety +1

      Has anyone else here seen that? My God, I so wish it had been filmed with Nathan Lane.

  • @WizzardJC
    @WizzardJC Před 2 lety +28

    The only reason i know the "frogs of Aristophanes" is from the lyrics in modern major general. I have no idea what it actually entails 🤷

    • @andrewphilos
      @andrewphilos Před 2 lety +1

      I only know about it because there's a famous passage in it about how bad money follows good. "Yet these we oft forsake for men of brass..."

    • @merrittanimation7721
      @merrittanimation7721 Před 2 lety +2

      Dionysus getting annoyed on his way to the Underworld

    • @keepperspective
      @keepperspective Před 2 lety

      Gilbert and Sullivan as the musical Aristophanes.

    • @lirazel6414
      @lirazel6414 Před 2 lety +1

      @@keepperspective That's rather accurate. I'm pleased. Thanks.

  • @whatgsaid
    @whatgsaid Před 2 lety +5

    Always wonderful to be reminded that raunchy satire and lampooning meme lords have been with us since the start.

  • @wesleyhunt7599
    @wesleyhunt7599 Před 2 lety +9

    Assembly Women sounds like it could have been written today. The satire still holds up after 2000 years.

  • @nitroglycerific9295
    @nitroglycerific9295 Před 2 lety +10

    Me clicking this vid: oh sweet, Eratosthenes
    Blue: um, no sweatie

  • @emperorflick
    @emperorflick Před 2 lety +2

    "Worth his olive oil" was way funnier than it should have been to me

  • @dinodinoulis923
    @dinodinoulis923 Před 2 lety +3

    Really want to see more Aristophanes. The biggest problem is that very few theatre companies ever realise how great it could be. Closest has been Ben Jonson, The Alchemist.

    • @donweatherwax9318
      @donweatherwax9318 Před 5 měsíci

      Ah, the good _Alchemist._ Not that Paolo Coelho thing from 1988; the REAL _Alchemist._

  • @Jim4815162342
    @Jim4815162342 Před 2 lety +3

    I have only made it through "The Frogs," but I loved it. Honestly, it might be nice to see Aristophanes make a bit of a comeback- a lot of people were complaining about how much Shakespeare is presented today, but he is around partially because he is in the public domain (IE free to perform).

  • @riakaraofficial
    @riakaraofficial Před 2 lety +28

    Best part is, his plays are so relevant to modern democratic societies, that it makes it easy to find and read or even watch one of his plays. (There are also some variants)

    • @patrickfrost9405
      @patrickfrost9405 Před 2 lety +2

      I'm not sure how the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea would appreciate anything to do with the west, butt k.

    • @riakaraofficial
      @riakaraofficial Před 2 lety

      @@patrickfrost9405 didn't expect this to be honest

  • @andersonic
    @andersonic Před 2 lety +2

    YAYYYYYY I've been waiting for you to cover Aristophanes! It's phenomenal that so much of his humor still works today. And watching Red's video on Dionysus it's astonishing to realize the same year as Euripides Bacchae, with the fierce and mysterious god, had Aristophanes' Frogs with Dionysus as a slapstick lead character.

  • @JohnReiher
    @JohnReiher Před 2 lety +2

    I have the 1925 edition of Lysistrata, illustrated by Norman Lindsay and translated by his brother, Jack Lindsay. It's great read and the illustrations... Well... It is Norman Lindsay. I do like the choice by Jack to make all the Spartans speak with a Scottish accent, it goes so well with how they are portrayed.

  • @aryanmishra8454
    @aryanmishra8454 Před 2 lety +5

    oh osp, as i sip my tea
    i see you render in 2d
    your greek maps ever so beautifully
    and as it still pains me to see
    a vid on Aristophanes but no journey!!

    • @eshbena
      @eshbena Před 2 lety

      Someday... saome fine, wonderful day, we will get the next chapter of Journey. But, that day is not today. >sobs brokenly in a corner

    • @oriong.7507
      @oriong.7507 Před 2 lety

      @@eshbena Be strong, my friend, for it will happen with time. As is the way with all things, you must let it come to you. :)

  • @ASquared544
    @ASquared544 Před 2 lety +6

    If they existed at the time, Aristophanes would’ve made at least 10 ligma jokes over his career

  • @Swishy_Blue
    @Swishy_Blue Před 2 lety +1

    1:57, Satyr Plays. Love that visual joke ! The laughter jumped from my throat !

  • @bi-product
    @bi-product Před 2 lety +2

    I’ve seen Wasps and Clouds, and I can say - the jokes aged magnificently.

  • @pennyforyourthots
    @pennyforyourthots Před 2 lety +40

    Wait a minute... if the chorus explains the story to the audience and directly interacts with are the characters, does this mean that the Disney version of Hercules had an accurate story structure to an Athenian comedy? Were the gospel singers literally the chorus of that story? And it is a parody of an American city...
    Holy shit, is that movie just one big historical shit post?

    • @eshbena
      @eshbena Před 2 lety +7

      Yes.

    • @elijahpadilla5083
      @elijahpadilla5083 Před 2 lety +14

      The myths are inaccurate as hell, but the structure is very Athenian comedy.

    • @CollinMcLean
      @CollinMcLean Před 2 lety +3

      @@elijahpadilla5083 Who cares if it's myths are inaccurate? Give me my hip shaking gospel queens!

    • @chedelirio6984
      @chedelirio6984 Před 2 lety +4

      Right, the gospel choir of the Muses was a callout to classical Greek performance.

    • @elijahpadilla5083
      @elijahpadilla5083 Před 2 lety +4

      @@CollinMcLean Honestly, I'd love a Greek comedy sort of story, outside of telling Greek myths badly. Maybe a variant of Lysistrata would be fun.

  • @thecousinwithaforesakentit1999

    We learned about this guy in my history class this year!

  • @savanahbarnes8551
    @savanahbarnes8551 Před 2 lety

    I found this channel recently and boy is it a blast to watch

  • @gaventer2022
    @gaventer2022 Před 2 lety +2

    Awesome content! As always...
    Looking forward to the next Miscellaneous Myth video 🌟🌟🌟🌟

  • @ryanvandermeijs753
    @ryanvandermeijs753 Před 2 lety +14

    Last time I was this early Socrates hadn’t yet drunk his poison

  • @5Topdogg
    @5Topdogg Před 2 lety +4

    I want you to know, that I find myself quoting your "let's do some history." every time I have to do any historical research these days.

  • @DiamondAppendixVODs
    @DiamondAppendixVODs Před 2 lety +2

    There's something about a greek-themed book cover with the nuclear disarmament sign on it that makes me smile

  • @thehellenicneopagan
    @thehellenicneopagan Před 2 lety +2

    Mmmmm! Interesting, as always... Looking forward to the next. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

  • @vampiricqueen100
    @vampiricqueen100 Před 2 lety +3

    after watching this video i read the acharnians. the thing that struck me the most was how certain parts sounded like a monty python skit.
    nicarchus: you can't buy birds from that guy! his city is allied with sparta!
    dicaeopolis(the main character): you denounce birds?
    n: yes! and i denounce you too! you have brought wicks to athens that cane from an enemy city!
    d: what's wrong with the wicks?
    n: an enemy could use one to burn down our arsenal.
    d: how?
    n: well if you tied it to an insect wing and had a good north wind you could use a tube to throw it into the arsenal and if it landed on something flammable then the whole thing would go up!
    and all i can imagine is the part of the holy grail where arthur tells the black knight "you're a loony"

  • @MagaldiMateus
    @MagaldiMateus Před 2 lety +4

    People making fun of the ruler, elites, divinity, society and rules is the greatest sign of a healthy democracy.

  • @snellejellegamingnl7706

    Just discoverd this channel yesterday and i absolutly love your content. I love history and your way of story telling makes it even more fun and interesting.

  • @arleccino1313
    @arleccino1313 Před 2 lety +1

    In John Green's Crash Course World History #5 "The Persians and The Greeks." His Open Letter to Aristophanes sums that man up in such an elegant and humorous way.

  • @kirstenpaff8946
    @kirstenpaff8946 Před 2 lety +3

    I read a collection of Aristophanes's plays a few years ago. Most of what I remember is how bizarre it felt whenever he veered off plot to make some sort of snarky comment about people he didn't like (particularly Cleon). It's been over 2000 years, and we still know about the petty beef between these people.

  • @theisthespade3713
    @theisthespade3713 Před 2 lety +15

    Gee, like Athens became a Sparta of literacy and have fun with comedy

  • @tommcmillan4933
    @tommcmillan4933 Před 2 lety +2

    This guy also invented humanity's longest word (barring some chemical names): an extremely complex fricassee called lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon

  • @Augustus-mk1du
    @Augustus-mk1du Před 2 lety +1

    You guys are awesome and I love your videos, this one is a perfect mix of comedy and education and I love it.