The Knights by Aristophanes
"The Knights," a comedic play by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, was written around 424 BCE and satirizes the political climate of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. The plot centers on Demus, an elderly and tyrannical figure who becomes enamored with a cunning tanner, referred to as the Paphlagonian. This tanner manipulates Demus, leading to the mistreatment of other characters, namely Demosthenes and Nicias, who endure severe punishments due to the tanner's deceitful influence. The narrative unfolds as Demosthenes and Nicias devise a plan to dethrone the Paphlagonian by recruiting a sausage seller, who becomes a rival for Demus's affections. The play explores themes of power, manipulation, and the absurdity of political life, reflecting the societal tensions and dynamics of ancient Athens. As the characters engage in boastful exchanges and comedic contests to win Demus's favor, the audience witnesses a critique of both authoritarian leadership and the fickleness of crowds in political matters. "The Knights" stands as a significant work in Aristophanes's oeuvre, illustrating the complexities of democracy and demagoguery in classical Greece.
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The Knights by Aristophanes
First produced:Hippēs, 424 b.c.e. (English translation, 1812)
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Satire
Time of plot: Fifth century b.c.e.
Locale: Athens
Principal characters
Demus , a slave master, a personification of the Athenian peopleDemosthenes , slave of DemusNicias , another slaveCleon the Paphlagonian , a favorite slave and a personification of the Athenian tyrant CleonA Sausage Seller , later called Agoracritus
The Story:
Demus, a selfish and irritable old man, a tyrant to his slaves, purchases a tanner, nicknamed the Paphlagonian. This slave, a fawning, foxy fellow, quickly ingratiates himself with his new master, to the dismay of all the other slaves in Demus’s household, Demosthenes and Nicias in particular. As a result of the Paphlagonian’s lies, Demosthenes and Nicias receive many floggings. The two at one time consider running away but decide against this course because of the terrible punishment they will receive if caught and returned to their owner. They also consider suicide, but in the end they decide to forget their troubles by tippling. Going for the wine, Nicias finds the Paphlagonian asleep in a drunken stupor.
While the drunken man sleeps, Nicias steals the writings of the sacred oracle that the Paphlagonian guards carefully. In the prophecies of the oracle, Demosthenes and Nicias read that an oakum seller should first manage the state’s affairs; he should be followed by a sheep seller, and he in turn should be followed by a tanner. At last the tanner would be overthrown by a sausage seller.
As they are about to set out in search of a sausage seller, a slave of that butcher’s trade comes to the house of Demus to sell his wares. Nicias and Demosthenes soon win him over to their cause, flattering him out of all reason and assuring him that his stupidity and ignorance fit him admirably for public life. When the Paphlagonian awakens, he loudly demands the return of the oracle’s writings. The sausage seller, however, is able to fight him with success. Spectators become involved. Some of the citizens protest against the Paphlagonian’s unjust accusations of the sausage seller. Others claim that the state is falling into ruin while this shameless name-calling continues. Others accuse the Paphlagonian of deafening all Athens with his din. The sausage seller accuses the Paphlagonian of cheating everybody. A few citizens gloat that someone even more arrogant and dishonest than the Paphlagonian is found in the person of the sausage seller. Others fear that this new demagogue will destroy all hope of defending Athens from her enemies.
While the citizens clamor, the sausage seller and the Paphlagonian continue to out-boast, out-shout, and out-orate each other. The sausage seller says that he will make meatballs out of the Paphlagonian. Demus’s pampered slave threatens to twitch the lashes off both the sausage seller’s eyes. Demosthenes breaks in to suggest that the sausage seller inspect the Paphlagonian as he would a hog before butchering it.
At last both began to call for Demus, asking him to come out of his house and decide the merits of their claims. When he answers their calls, both boast of a greater love to do him service. Convinced by the assurances of the sausage seller, Demus decides to dismiss the Paphlagonian and demands that his former favorite return his seal of office. The two continue their efforts to bribe Demus for his favor. At last the rivals run to consult the oracles, to prove to Demus the right of their contentions.
Each brings back a load of prophetic writings and insists upon reading them aloud to Demus. In their prophecies they continue to insult one another, at the same time flattering Demus. The sausage seller relates a dream in which Athena comes down from Olympus to pour ambrosia upon Demus and the sourest of pickles upon the Paphlagonian.
Demus sends them off on another foolish errand, laughing meanwhile because he duped both of them into serving him. At last the sausage seller convinces the Paphlagonian that he has the right of stewardship by the word of an ancient oracle in whom both believe. Having won his victory, the sausage seller, now calling himself Agoracritus, begins to browbeat his new master and to accuse him of stupidity and avarice. He boasts that he will now grow wealthy on bribes the Paphlagonian formerly pocketed. To show his power, he orders Cleon the Paphlagonian to turn sausage seller and peddle tripe in the streets.
Bibliography
Aristophanes. Knights. Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1981. Provides scholarly introduction, bibliography, Greek text, facing English translation, and commentary keyed to the translation. Sommerstein’s translation supersedes most earlier versions.
De Luca, Kenneth M. Aristophanes’ Male and Female Revolutions: A Reading of Aristophanes’ “Knights” and “Assemblywomen.” Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2005. In his analysis of the two plays, De Luca maintains they are both about democracy and democratic revolutions, and he shows how Aristophanes handles these themes differently in each play.
Dover, K. J. Aristophanic Comedy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972. Useful and authoritative study of the plays of Aristophanes. Chapter 7 provides a synopsis of the play, discussion of the use of allegory, notes on theatrical production, and important comments on political themes in the play. An absolutely essential starting point for study of the plays.
Murray, Gilbert. Aristophanes: A Study. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1933. Contains valuable insights into the plays. Chapter 2 discusses the figure of Cleon as he is represented in The Knights and other plays of Aristophanes.
Rothwell, Kenneth S., Jr. “The Literary Fragments of Aristophanes’ Knights, Wasps, and Frogs.” In Nature, Culture, and the Origins of Greek Comedy: A Study of Animal Choruses. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Rothwell analyzes The Knights and other comedies in which Aristophanes featured animal choruses. He maintains that these animal characters may be a conscious revival of an earlier Greek tradition of animal representation.
Silk, M. S. Aristophanes and the Definition of Comedy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Silk looks at Aristophanes not merely as an ancient Greek dramatist but as one of the world’s great poets. He analyzes The Knights and the other plays to examine their language, style, lyric poetry, character, and structure.
Spatz, Lois. Aristophanes. Boston: Twayne, 1978. A reliable introduction to Aristophanes for the general reader. Chapter 5 discusses the problems of the play and comments on characterization and the figure of Cleon.
Whitman, Cedric. Aristophanes and the Comic Hero. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1964. A standard work on the Aristophanic protagonist. Chapter 3, “City and Individual,” offers a valuable study of the play.