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Title: Peace: The Comedies of Aristophanes by Aristophanes, Alan H. Sommerstein ISBN: 0-85668-263-2 Publisher: David Brown Book Co Pub. Date: December, 1985 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $28.00

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Summary: A farmer rides a giant dung-beetle to heaven to stop the war
Comment: A farmer by the name of Trygaeus is weary of war and despairing of relief he does want anyone would do: he rides a giant dung-beetle up to heaven to get the gods to end the war. However, the gods are sick and tired of the Greeks and their constantly little wars and have left War to do as he wants. However, the God of War (identified by the title rather than by Ares, to avoid offending religious sensibilities), has buried Peace in a pit and it is up to the Chorus of Farmers to dig her up. Of course, this greatly upsets the war profiteers. The play was performed at the Great Dionysia in 421 during the final months of the Peloponnesian War fought between Athens and Sparta. In fact, a few weaks after "Peace" was performed the Peace of Nicias was ratified and suspended hostilities between the two city-states for six years.

It is my understanding that scholars believe the text we have today of "Peace" is pieced together from two different versions, but whether this is the result of two different productions staged by Aristophanes or because of the efforts of some nameless soul recopying the ancient text at some point in history. Aristophanes appeals to me because his satire is usually based on "reductio ad absurdum," the great human impulse to take things to their logical extreme to render them ridiculous and therefore impotent. Certainly "Peace" is representative of Aristophanes as reformer, the gad-fly who wanted to persuade his audiences to change their foolish ways by ridiculing them on stage.

I have always maintained that in studying Greek plays, whether the comedies of Aristophanes or the tragedies of Euripides, it is important to understand the particular structure of these plays and the various dramatic conventions of the theater. This involves not only the distinction between episodes and stasimons (scenes and songs), but elements like the "agon" (a formal debate on the crucial issue of the play), and the "parabasis" (in which the Chorus partially abandons its dramatic role and addresses the audience directly). "Peace" is usually considered a second tier comedy by Aristophanes, below "Lysistrata" and "The Clouds," but I still consider it an above-average Greek comedy.