What is "aristophanes"

Aristophanes ( or ; , ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion , was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete. These, together with fragments of some of his other plays, provide the only real examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy, and are used to define it.

Also known as the Father of Comedy and the Prince of Ancient Comedy, Aristophanes has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by influential contemporaries; Plato singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as slander that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemning to death of Socrates although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher.

His second play, The Babylonians (now lost), was denounced by the demagogue Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. It is possible that the case was argued in court but details of the trial are not recorded and Aristophanes caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights, the first of many plays that he directed himself. "In my opinion," he says through the Chorus in that play, "the author-director of comedies has the hardest job of all."

Aristophanes (; active between 430 and 400 BC in Athens) was an ancient Greek vase painter of the Attic red-figure style. Three pieces signed by him are known. Two of them are bowls made by the potter Erginos, now in Berlin ( Antikensammlung Berlin) and Boston ( Museum of Fine Arts), the third is the fragment of a krater in Agrigento (Museo Archeologico Regionale). A number of further works are attributed to him. Aristophanes strove to make his figures appear as lively as possible. His paintings are characterised by carefully drawn separate lines. In some cases, the drawing of garment folds or women's hair leads to a somewhat artificial impression.

Aristophanes may refer to:

• Aristophanes (c. 456 – c. 386 BC), Greek Old Comic dramatist known for his plays The Frogs, The Birds, The Clouds, and Lysistrata.
  • 2934 Aristophanes, a small main belt asteroid named after the above
• Aristophanes (vase painter) (fl. 5th century BC), ancient Greek vase painter of the Attic red-figure style
• Aristophanes of Byzantium (c. 257 – c. 185 BC), Greek scholar, critic and grammarian