108: Aristophanes: The Frogs

The Frogs (Ancient Greek: Βάτραχοι, romanized: Bátrakhoi; Latin: Ranae, often abbreviated Ran. or Ra.) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place.

"The play features the comical journey to the underworld of the god of theater Dionysus, with his slave Xanthias, in order to revive the late tragedian Euripides.

Dionysus is frustrated with tragedy's decline in quality after the playwright's recent passing, and concerned about theatre's future as the city of Athens struggles in the Peloponnesian War.

During the pair's journey through the underworld, the god cravenly and unsuccessfully attempts to evade trouble after masquerading as Heracles, still infamous for his prior kidnapping of the guard-dog Cerberus." (more)

We'll be using the translation included in Frogs and Other Plays (Penguin Classics, 2007), Shomit Dutta (Editor, Introduction).

Shomit Dutta's introduction discusses Aristophanes' life, the cultural context of his work and conventions of Greek comedy. This updated version of David Barrett's translation also includes extensive notes and a preface for each play.

The Greek text, edited by F.W. Hall and W.M. Geldart, is online on the Perseus Hopper at https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0031