[Gutenberg 3012] • The Acharnians

Aristophanes (c.447-385 B.C.), a contemporary of Socrates, was the last and greatest of the Old Attic comedians. Only eleven of his plays survive, and this volume contains *Lysistrata* , the hilariously bawdy anti-war fantasy; *The Acharnians* , a plea for peace set against the background of the long war with Sparta; and *The Clouds* , a satire on contemporary philosophy. Writing at a time when Athens was undergoing a crisis in its social attitudes, Aristophanes was undergoing a crisis in its social attitudes, Aristophanes was an eloquent opponent of the demagogue and the sophist, and his comedy reveals a deep sympathy and longing for the return of a peaceful and honest way of life.