Imprison Cleon, Kill the Dead!’
A Missed Joke in the Parabasis of Aristophanes’ Clouds (591–594)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9326465 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Orestis Karatzoglou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 230-240 |
| Publication date | 2019-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Trends in Classics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1866-7473 • E-ISSN: 1866-7481 |
| Publisher | De Gruyter (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/tc-2019-0013 |
| OpenAlex | W3007643076 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
Cleon was killed in the battle of Amphipolis in 422 BCE, but he is referred to as alive in the first parabasis of the Clouds (591–594). This reference is customarily understood as simply a remnant of the first version of the play, which the author failed to integrate seamlessly into the surviving, revised version. Comparison with Pylaemenes, an Iliadic character of Paphlagonian origin, who is killed in Book 5 but reappears alive in Book 13, renders the reference to Cleon intelligible as an allusive joke
Ancient history · Art · Battle · Character (mathematics · Joke · Literature · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Philosophy
Aristophanes
Homer and Greek literature
Politics and Aristophanes
An alternative democracy and an alternative to democracy in Aristophanic comedy
Taming Democracy
The origins of the Peloponnesian War
Aristophanes
Aristophanes and the Poetics of Competition
Greek Laughter
Performance and Textuality in Aristophanes' Clouds
Clouds
Aristophanes' Comedy of Names
The Aristophanic Cleon's 'Disturbance' of Athens
Performance and Textuality in Aristophanes' Clouds
Aristophanes and Politics
Dating and Re-Dating Eupolis
Parabasis and Animal Choruses
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |