Clouds - Hardcover

Clouds is a comedic play written by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. The play satirizes the intellectual and philosophical trends of Athens in the late 5th century BC, particularly the teachings of Socrates and the Sophists. The central character of the play is Strepsiades, a poor farmer who is deeply in debt and hopes to learn the art of argumentation from the Sophists so that he can win his court cases and avoid paying his debts. He enlists the help of his son, Pheidippides, who is more interested in horse racing and other forms of entertainment than in studying philosophy. The play follows Strepsiades' attempts to convince his son to attend the Sophist school and the subsequent chaos that ensues when Pheidippides becomes a master of argumentation and uses his newfound skills to justify his own immoral behavior. The play is known for its clever wordplay, satirical jabs at contemporary Athenian society, and its portrayal of Socrates as a corrupting influence on the youth of Athens.1892. Aristophanes was a Greek comic playwright. A brilliant satirist, he used the freedom of Old Comedy to ridicule public figures, institutions, and even the gods. In Clouds, the plot of the comedy, like most of those of Aristophanes, is very simple. A man belonging to the once sound and uncorrupted core of the people, a countryman, who has suffered material and moral ruin through the evils common to the times, though not yet himself attacked by the poison of the new culture, is led by adverse circumstances to embrace it. He has been wealthy, and could have enjoyed his property in peace and quiet, but weakness and want of character have involved him in a series of misfortunes. External influence, perhaps also the desire to raise himself above his rank, has induced him to marry a noble, but mistrained girl of a proud family. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.