History-Makers: Aristophanes

[@OverlySarcasticProductions]

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]

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

[@BeepBoop173]

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

[@eagelcat]

The Comedies yield Animaniacs

[@eagelcat]

This video was awesome

[@electricsquidxd3254]

Where can I find a link to your book?

[@tntguardian6455]

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

[@19MAD95]

What about Diogenes? Chaotic Neutral?

[@tntguardian6455]

@@19MAD95 yeah, definitely chaotic neutral

[@andrewwurth8998]

Dnd memes are getting really tired :(

[@andrewhopkins886]

@@andrewwurth8998 nope.

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

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

[@juanfranciscovillarroelthu6876]

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

[@arleccino1313]

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

[@selas9238]

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]

Political dick jokes are ALWAYS relevant

[@percycahill3]

Aristophanes would be *SO* proud.

[@Tea_N_Crumpets]

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

[@r3dp9]

Not just any communism, but feminist communism.

[@animatorofanimation128]

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]

The Tawantinsuyu invented the first functional communist state, too!

[@supernobro64]

The people's republic of Athens

[@sorayacatfriend]

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

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

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]

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]

@@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]

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

[@thydzz2180]

Fucking Legend

[@quintussertorius4447]

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.

[@MrThorfan64]

Or saying everything he eats will get eaten by his steed.

[@hailghidorah2536]

What the fu

[@vzq5175]

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]

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

[@MrThorfan64]

No-one is above mockery.

[@JukeboxTheGhoul]

@@MrThorfan64 Conservatives: wait not like that.

[@andrewhopkins886]

@@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.

[@SivakAurak]

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]

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]

I'm a fan of Lysistrata, myself.

[@SirAnthonyChirpsALot]

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]

damn

[@professorbutters5201]

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

[@johnjohnsonesteemeddoerofj6966]

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

[@wojciechkowalski8061]

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

[@josharko111]

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

[@oriong.7507]

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

[@VashdaCrash]

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

[@CoralCopperHead]

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

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

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.

[@hollowinside9511]

As an American, this feels familiar

[@pridelander06]

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

[@Magus_Union]

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]

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

[@winsonzhu4427]

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

[@IkeOkerekeNews]

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

[@deiansalazar140]

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

[@seanmcloughlin5983]

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]

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

[@thejudgmentalcat]

I learn something new and interesting every day

[@xmoore5659]

I'm going to use that.

[@flimsyenthusiasm5769]

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

[@MrThorfan64]

But what about Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon?

[@ΓιάννηςΡεΐζης-ρ9ζ]

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]

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

[@professorbutters5201]

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

[@JMSginoclave]

@@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]

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

[@JMSginoclave]

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

[@inteligentidiot7233]

"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]

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

[@Tomyironmane]

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

[@festethephule7553]

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

[@CoralCopperHead]

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

[@rav3style]

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

[@professorbutters5201]

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]

Breaking the first wall in the best way possible

[@meliannhawke3318]

I'm SO with you! 😂

[@metarcee2483]

Messing with the orchestra and front row is a much longer theater tradition than I thought.

[@batcat4136]

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

[@jeremy1860]

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

[@ΓιάννηςΡεΐζης-ρ9ζ]

Or, "and then along come Zeus"

[@jeremy1860]

@@ΓιάννηςΡεΐζης-ρ9ζ Oh yeah, that one too 😅

[@wojciechkowalski8061]

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

[@elijahpadilla5083]

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

[@CoralCopperHead]

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

[@fattigriddare8481]

Spicy political pornography: that’s Aristophanes for ya

[@pathfindersavant3988]

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."

[@gideonjones5712]

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.

[@adamgarman2555]

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

[@MrThorfan64]

Adam and Eve relate.

[@JuFo2707]

"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]

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

[@arleccino1313]

That's exactly what we're telling you.

[@emblemblade9245]

Yeah so you better temper your expectations!

[@vikiai4241]

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

[@arigadatred5395]

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

[@stratisgeorgilis7703]

“Our boy homer”

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

"You'll have to speak up -- I'm wearing a towel."

[@awkwardparakeet6217]

"Hey there Athenians. It's me, ya boi."

[@erichfiedler1481]

D'OH

[@Carewolf]

Emphasis on second syllable.

[@k2990j]

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

[@regalvas]

We also skipped over bird overthows Zeus.

[@hiti6753]

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

[@CoralCopperHead]

@@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]

@@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]

@@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?

[@agustinamagpie]

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

[@ArchOwl]

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.

[@bananacat4945]

actually

[@AnishJBhave]

Man so would I!!!

[@MrThorfan64]

The dog is prosecuted by another dog who is a caricature of Cleon and the Kitchen utensils are witnesses. It is so absurd.

[@qeniray9105]

This must be made real.

[@hurgcat]

This one made me spit out my drink it was just so funny I am now downloading a pdf to read tonight

[@juanpablosalazar4336]

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]

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

[@jacksonevans5679]

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.

[@TitaRussellTrails]

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

[@AxxLAfriku]

OH NOOOOOOOO!!! I have two girlfriends, but very few people on YT are happy for my relationship success. They disl*ke all of the videos I make with my 2 girlfriends. Please be kind, dear tita

[@Blueturtle1]

@@AxxLAfriku you are literally everywhere

[@whatamidoingwithmylife4108]

@@AxxLAfriku Please don't respond to him, or watch his videos. He's an obnoxious, annoying, lying, troll. Don't feed him.

[@Blueturtle1]

@@kbye2321 I will feed the troll, he is hungry

[@macgaming-theincrediblefas5295]

@@AxxLAfriku are weedsmoking girlfriends?

[@Tea_N_Crumpets]

“And then… Athens happened.” *Oh no*

[@thedukeofchutney468]

Historians: O H Y E A H 😎

[@nameless-stitcher]

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

[@thedukeofchutney468]

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

[@Duiker36]

@@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.

[@jackukridge5381]

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.

[@CDexie]

Valiant effort by Aristophanes

[@evobrand1210]

Worth a try

[@ender_slayer3]

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

[@auroraourania7161]

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.

[@PS-yi7nz]

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

[@imuncreative3022]

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

[@det.bullock4461]

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]

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

[@det.bullock4461]

@@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.

[@deargodwhatamidoing1122]

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!!

[@emmaheikkinen2024]

thats what i was thinking 😭😭

[@lightsabreclasher]

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.

[@evobrand1210]

I would not have been surprised

[@michaelscott6022]

"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]

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

[@rocketgeek96]

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

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

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.

[@eleanors7856]

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

[@buddiestube9247]

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.

[@mirjanbouma]

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

[@stratisgeorgilis7703]

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

[@jamescornell5297]

And what’s “Malaka” in English?

[@strykerryder2346]

@@jamescornell5297 it is the Greek equivalent to "wanker" or at least I think it is.

[@jamescornell5297]

@@strykerryder2346 thank you.

[@pjk9225]

@@jamescornell5297 More specifically, (what i gathered from living in Thessaloniki for 3 months) its both very offensive and a term of endearment. Like, 2 friends that have known each other for ever might call each other that. But also you might yell it at the guy who just cut you off in traffic. But as a traveling american? That's a no no.

[@CollinMcLean]

@@pjk9225 So much like the word C**t in Australia?

[@PlutoPigeon]

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

[@blackvial]

Dog v stolen cheese was a groundbreaking case

[@jo0ls_dee]

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

[@Cheezbuckets]

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

[@retroanimemike]

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]

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]

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

[@professorbutters5201]

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]

@@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]

@@professorbutters5201 good omens?

[@taylors7061]

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

[@evobrand1210]

-this desire... -for a woman? -No? -a man? -No. Do you ever get this huge desire for bean soup? -Of course, when do I not desire bean soup?

[@matthiasward2840]

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.

[@Swishy_Blue]

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

[@deargodwhatamidoing1122]

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

[@andersonic]

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.

[@archibaldthejester42069]

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]

so how did that end up?

[@archibaldthejester42069]

@@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]

Time period reconstruction?

[@kostg4194]

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

[@Jim4815162342]

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).

[@whatgsaid]

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

[@jenniferbtoo9344]

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

[@antoinetanguay1909]

it's crazy to think his comedy made more people laugh today with your video, than he ever did in his entire life

[@rhymeswithmoose228]

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

[@deathbower]

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

[@jerubaal101]

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

[@SirAnthonyChirpsALot]

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]

@@jerubaal101 So...Legal Eagle.

[@tompatterson1548]

@@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.

[@timfortune9]

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

[@kornaros96]

Κλαυσιγελος

[@lorefox201]

it is incredible how relatable the Athenians are when written by Aristophanes. Truly the human condition never changes even as the physical and cultural conditions do.

[@doomstadt2371]

"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

[@kohakuaiko]

As one does.

[@emperorflick]

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

[@wesleyhunt7599]

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

[@arleccino1313]

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.

[@bobbie7618]

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.

[@Hunter-fs1nj]

My favorite part of this video was seeing that Athenians used to buy merch of their favorite plays

[@slightlyembittered]

So basically "Saturday Night Live" with Aristophanes.

[@boazjamesmiller6387]

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

[@JohnReiher]

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.

[@rentilloprincessdominiqueb7928]

"Epic, Lyric, Athens" Dear god no

[@peterromeo4379]

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

[@CollinMcLean]

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

[@brandondavidson4085]

Imagine if plays were presented exclusively in city parks where admission was free, or candidates for government office were required to debate each other on street corners instead of on TV. Then we'd have a self-aware society like Athens

[@riakaraofficial]

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]

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

[@riakaraofficial]

@@patrickfrost9405 didn't expect this to be honest

[@vampiricqueen100]

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"

[@dinodinoulis923]

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]

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

[@15oClock]

Comedy's one of those genres where it's of the utmost importance you put you on a page. Your humor, your problems, in this case. Aristophanes definitely did that.

[@belot217]

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

[@professorbutters5201]

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

[@xx_lowly_xx]

Brilliant. Thank you Blue!

[@XxBloodied_Lambxx]

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

[@TheShadowChesireCat]

Honestly, a lot of the criticisms in Lysistrata hold up to modern day society. I think it was a joy to read, and definitely fills in history "around" the big events. I often come back to Aristophanes when reading history. As a reminder that for all that "great man" swill that gets pushed, there's more than one way to see how a person's acts are interpreted, even at the time. And good political satirists through the ages have sparkling wit.

[@eh9618]

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

[@mierardi88]

A character has a monologue apologizing to his phallus in Lysistrata because his wife refuses to give me any. That plat is amazing.

[@aryanmishra8454]

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]

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]

@@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. :)

[@Lunictd]

I remember reading a lot of child friendly plays of Aristophanes as a kid and watching Acharnians, Frogs and Assemblywomen 3 years ago, and while some of the plays weren't as on point as I hoped, they did make some great points as a whole. I even remember the Acharnians play ending on quite a somber note on the "And then Dikaiopolis lived for 30 years alone in his personal peace", which is kind of a sucker punch to the 'Polis first/Anyone only looking for himself is an idiot' (I mean, "ιδιώτης" is even an origin for said word) audience and worked great in the play.Anyway, great video, as always. Keep up the good work and stay safe out there!

[@thecousinwithaforesaken]

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

[@ELSTERLING]

Well my reading pile just got significantly deeper. Thanks, Blue, I was barely a mile from the bottom.

[@trinidadbaranao7728]

Birds is a veryyyy weird play... but amazing

[@bi-product]

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

[@paulwagner688]

Last time I was this early Socrates was still a Hoplite

[@savanahbarnes8551]

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

[@nitroglycerific9295]

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

[@josephvalenzuela4327]

my earliest yet

[@MagaldiMateus]

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

[@SwordlordRoy]

I recall being told at least once that Greek Tragedy tends to start with everything going well, but ending Terribly. Greek Comedy tends to start with Everything going Terribly and ending well.

[@rhymeswithmoose228]

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

[@PurpleDragonair]

I read The Birds for a class in college and it was quite enjoyable. I ended up purchasing a collection of his comedies that I will read one day lol