All the early plays of Aristophanes were written and acted against a background of war. The war between Athens and Sparta had commenced with the
Megarian decree in 431 BC and, under the cautious leadership of
Archidamus II in Sparta and
Pericles in Athens, it developed into a war of slow attrition in which Athens was unchallenged at sea and Sparta was undisputed master of the Greek mainland. Every year, the Spartans and their allies invaded Attica and wreaked havoc on Athenian farms. As soon as they retreated, the Athenians marched out from their city walls to avenge themselves on the farms of their neighbours, the Megarians and Boeotians, allies of Sparta. Till then, most Athenians had lived in rural settlements but now they congregated within the safety of the city walls. In 430 a plague decimated the over-crowded population and it also claimed the life of Pericles, leaving Athens in the control of a more radical leadership, epitomized by
Cleon. Cleon was determined to gain absolute victory in the war with Sparta and his aggressive policies seemed to be vindicated in 425 in the
Battle of Sphacteria, resulting in the capture of Spartan hostages and the establishment of a permanent garrison at Pylos, from where the Athenians and their allies could harass Spartan territory. The Spartans in response to this setback made repeated appeals for peace but these were dismissed by the Athenian Assembly under guidance by Cleon who wished instead to broaden the war with ambitious campaigns against Megara and Boeotia. The Athenians subsequently suffered a major defeat in Boeotia at the
Battle of Delion and this was followed by an armistice in 423. By this time, however, the Spartans were increasingly coming under the influence of the pro-war leader
Brasidas, a daring general who encouraged and supported revolts among Athenian client states despite the armistice. Athens' client states in
Chalcidice were especially vulnerable to his intrigues. When the armistice ended, Cleon led a force of Athenians to Chalcidice to repress the revolts. It was there, while manoeuvering outside the city of
Amphipolis, that he and his men were surprised and defeated by a force led by the Spartan general. Both Cleon and Brasidas died in the battle and their removal opened the way for new peace talks during the winter of 422–21. The Peace of Nicias was ratified soon after in the City Dionysia, where
Peace was performed, early in the spring of 421 BC.
Places and people mentioned According to a character in
Plutarch's
Dinner-table Discussion (written some 500 years after
Peace was produced),
Old Comedy needs commentators to explain its abstruse references in the same way that a banquet needs wine-waiters. Here is the wine list for
Peace as supplied by modern scholars. :::
Athenian politicians and generals •
Cleon: The populist leader of the pro-war faction in Athens, he had recently perished in the battle for
Amphipolis. He is mentioned by name only once in this play (line 47) when a member of the audience is imagined comparing him to a dung beetle on the grounds that he eats dung i.e. he's dead (excrement is a characteristic element of the Aristophanic Underworld, as represented later in
The Frogs). He receives several indirect mentions (313, 648, 669, 650–56) as a
Cerberus whose seething (
paphlagon) and shouting might yet snatch away peace (the seething image was previously developed in
The Knights, where Cleon was represented as 'Paphlagonian'), a leather merchant who had corruptly profited from war, a leather skin that stifled Athenian thoughts of peace, and a rascal, chatterer, sycophant and trouble-maker that Hermes should not revile, since Hermes (as a guide to the Underworld) is now responsible for him. •
Lamachus: He was a fearless general associated with the pro-war faction but he nevertheless ratified the Peace of Nicias. He is described here as an enemy of peace who hinders peace efforts (lines 304, 473). His son is a character who sings war-like songs. Lamachus appears as the antagonist in
The Acharnians and he is mentioned in another two plays. •
Phormio: A successful Athenian admiral, he used to sleep rough on a soldier's pallet (line 347). He is mentioned in two other plays. •
Peisander: A prominent politician, he was to become an influential figure in the
Athenian coup of 411 BC. His helmet is a loathsome spectacle (line 395) and there are references to him in other plays. •
Pericles: A gifted orator and politician, he provoked the war with Sparta by his
Megarian decree. It is said that he did so in order to avoid being implicated in a corruption scandal involving the sculptor Pheidias (line 606). Pericles is mentioned by name in two other plays and there are also indirect references to him. •
Hyperbolus: Another populist, he succeeded Cleon as the new master of the speaker's stone on the Pnyx (line 681). He was a lampseller by trade and this enabled him to shed light on affairs of state (690). The Chorus would like to celebrate the wedding at the end by driving him out (1319). He is a frequent target in other plays. •
Theogenes: Another prominent politician, he associated with swines (line 928). His name recurs in several plays. :::
Athenian personalities •
Cleonymus: A frequent butt of jokes in other plays for his gluttony and cowardice, he figures here in a curse as the model of a coward (446), as a man who loves peace for the wrong reasons (673, 675) and as the father of a boy who sings lyrics by Archilochus in celebration of cowardice (1295). •
Cunna: A well-known prostitute, she has eyes that flash like those of Cleon (755). She is mentioned in another two plays. •
Arriphrades: A member of an artistic family and possibly a comic poet himself, he has been immortalized by Aristophanes here (line 883) and in other plays as an exponent of cunnilingus. •
Glaucetes,
Morychus and
Teleas: Gourmands, they are imagined bustling about the replenished agora in their greedy pursuit of delicacies once peace returns (line 1008). Morychus is mentioned again in
The Acharnians and
The Wasps, Teleas in
The Birds and Glaucetes in
Thesmophoriazusae :::
Poets and other artists •
Euripides: A tragic poet renowned for his innovative plays and pathetic heroes, he appears as a ridiculous character in
The Acharnians,
Thesmophoriazusae and
The Frogs and he receives numerous mentions in other plays. Trygaeus is warned not to fall off his beetle or he might end up as the hero of a Euripidean tragedy (line 147) and Peace is said not to like Euripides because of his reliance on legalistic quibbling for dialogue (534). Trygaeus' flight on the dung beetle is a parody of Euripides' play
Bellerephon, his daughter's appeal to him is a parody of a speech from
Aeolus (114–23) and there is a deliberate misquote from his play
Telephus (528). The latter play was a favourite target for parody as for example in
The Acharnians and
Thesmophoriazusae. •
Aesop: A legendary author of fables, he is said to have inspired Trygaeus to ascend to the home of the gods on a dung beetle (line 129). In the original fable, the dung beetle flew up to the home of the gods to punish the eagle for destroying its eggs. Zeus was minding the eagle's own eggs and the dung beetle provoked him into dropping them. There are references to Aesop in two plays. •
Sophocles: A famous tragic poet, he is mentioned here because his verses are evocative of the good times that will come with peace (line 531) even though he has become as greedy as Simonides (695–7). Sophocles is also mentioned in
The Birds and
The Frogs. •
Pheidias: A renowned sculptor, he is said to have been named in a corruption scandal that was really aimed at his patron Pisistratus (line 605) and Peace is said to be a beautiful relative of his i.e. she is statuesque (616). •
Simonides: A highly respected poet, he was however notorious for demanding high fees – he'd even go to sea in a sieve if the commission was right (line 697–8). There are references to him in two other plays. •
Cratinus: A comic poet often ranked with Aristophanes as a playwright, he is said to have died of a drunken apoplexy after witnessing the destruction of wine jars (line 700). He is mentioned with mock-respect in several other plays also. •
Carcinus: A tragic poet, he is said to have written an unsuccessful comedy about mice (791–5) and the Muse is urged to spurn both him and his sons – his sons, who had danced in the original performance of
The Wasps, are now reviled as goat-turds devoted to theatrical stunts (lines 781–95) and they are not as fortunate as Trygaeus (864). Carcinus is mentioned in several other plays. •
Morsimus and
Melanthius: Two brothers who were related to the great tragic poet
Aeschylus but who were also known for gluttony (they are called '
Gorgons' and '
Harpies'), they collaborated on a play in which the latter acted stridently and both should be spat upon by the Muse (lines 801–816). Melanthius is imagined quoting melodramatically from his brother's play
Medea when he learns that there are no more eels for sale (1009). Morsimus is mentioned in two more plays and Melanthius in one other play. •
Stesichorus: A famous Sicilian poet, he is quoted invoking the Muse and the Graces in a song that denounces Carcinus, Morsimus and Melanthius as inferior poets (beginning with lines 775 and 796). •
Ion: A celebrated Chian poet, he was the author of a popular song
The Morning Star. Trygaeus claims to have seen him in the heavens, where he has become the Morning Star (line 835). •
Chairis: A flute player, here (line 951) as elsewhere he is an execrable musician. •
Homer: The bard of all bards, he is mentioned in this play twice by name (lines 1089, 1096) and there are frequent references to his poetry. He is fancifully misquoted by Trygaeus to prove that oracle mongers are not entitled to free meals (lines 1090–93) and there is an accurate quote from a passage in the
Iliad arguing in favour of peace (1097–8). The son of Lamachus also concocts some Homer-like verses and he quotes from the introduction to
Epigoni (1270), an epic sometimes attributed to Homer (now lost). Homer is mentioned by name in three other plays. •
Archilochus: A renowned poet, he once wrote an elegy making light of his own cowardice on the battle field. The son of Cleonymus quotes from it (lines 1298–99). Archilochus is mentioned by name in two other plays. :::
Places •
Mount Etna: A region famous for its horses, it is from here that Trygaeus obtained his dung beetle (line 73). The mountain is mentioned again in
The Birds. •
Naxos: An island state, it was home to a type of boat known as a 'Naxian beetle' (line 143). The island is referred to again in
Wasps. : work on this iconic building began in 420 BC during the Peace of Nicias, not long after the performance of
Peace at the City Dionysia. •
Peiraeus: The main port for Athens, it includes a small harbour that takes its name from the Greek for 'beetle' (lines 145) and it is the sort of place where a man might excrete in public view outside a brothel (165). It is mentioned also in
Knights. •
Athmonon: A
deme within the
Cecropides tribe, it is an epithet for Trygaeus since he is enrolled there as a citizen. (lines 190, 919) •
Pylos: Enemy territory occupied by the Athenians, it is associated with missed opportunities for an end to the war (lines 219, 665). •
Prasiae: A Spartan territory, its name allows for a pun with 'leeks', one of the ingredients that War intends grinding in his mortar (line 242). •
Sicily: An island renowned for its wealth and its abundant resources, it was famous also for its cheeses, another ingredient in war's mortar (line 250). The island is mentioned in two other plays. •
Samothrace: A region associated with religious mysteries, as represented in the worship of the
Cabeiri, it is regarded by Trygaeus as a possible source of magic spells when all else fails (line 277). •
Thrace: The northern battleground of the Peloponnesian War, it is where War lost his Spartan pestle, Brasidas (line 283). The region is also mentioned in other plays. •
Lyceum: Later famous as the school for Aristotelian philosophy, it was then a parade ground (line 356). •
Pnyx: The hill where the Athenian citizenry convened as a democratic assembly, it was topped by a monolithic rostrum called a 'bema'. Peace wants to know who is now master of the stone (line 680). The hill is mentioned in several plays. •
Brauron: An Athenian town on the east coast of Attica, it was the site of a sometimes promiscuous quadrennial festival in honour of
Artemis. A slave of Trygaeus wonders if Festival is a girl he had once partied with there (line 875). The town is also referred to in
Lysistrata. •
Oreus: A town on the western shore of
Euboea, it is the home of the oracle monger and party-pooper,
Hierocles (line 1047, 1125). He is associated with another Euboean town
Elymnion (1126). •
Lake Copais: A lake in Boeotia, it is a source of eels much valued by Athenian gourmands (1005). It is mentioned for the same reason in
The Acharnians. •
Sardis: Once the capital of the
Lydian empire and subsequently of a Persian
satrapy, it is a source of scarlet dye used to denote the cloaks of Athenian officers (line 1174). It is mentioned in two other plays. •
Cyzicus: A town on the
Propontis, it is a source of saffron-coloured (or crap-coloured) dye (1176). •
Pandion's statue: A statue of a mythical king of ancient Athens, it was located in the agora as a rallying point for the Pandionid tribe (line 1183). Both Aristophanes and Cleon would have mustered here since both belonged to the
Cydathenaeum deme, a branch of the Pandionid tribe. :::
Foreigners •
Ionians: Inhabiting region of islands and coastal cities scattered around the Aegean, they formed the core of the Athenian empire. An Ionian in the audience is imagined to say that the beetle represents Cleon since they both eat shit (line 46). The Ionian dialect allows a pun equating 'sheep' with 'oh!' (930–33). •
Medes: Brothers to the Persians and often identified with them as rivals of Greece, they benefit from the ongoing war between Athens and Sparta (line 108). They are mentioned quite often in other plays. •
Chians: Citizens of the island state of Chios, they seem to have been recent victims of an Athenian law imposing a fine of 30 000 drachmas on any allied state in which an Athenian citizen happened to be killed. They might have to pay such a fine if Trygaeus falls off his dung beetle (line 171). Chios is also the home of a popular poet, Ion (835). The island is referred to in three other plays. •
Megarians: Long-time rivals of Athens and allies of Sparta, they are the garlic in War's mortar (line 246–249), they are a hindrance to peace efforts even though they are starving (481–502) and they were the target of the
Megarian decree, the original cause of the war (609). They are mentioned in other plays, but especially in
The Acharnians where one of the characters is a starving Megarian farmer. •
Brasidas: Sparta's leading general, he had recently perished in the battle for Amphipolis. He is mentioned indirectly as one of the pestles that War can no longer use (line 282) and directly as somebody whose name is often brought up by corrupt politicians in accusations of treason (640). He is mentioned also in
Wasps. •
Datis: A Persian general during the
Persian Wars, he is imaginatively quoted as somebody who sings while masturbating (line 289) – meanwhile Trygaeus and his fellow Greeks spring into action. •
Cillicon: A traitor (from
Miletus) who famously excused his treachery with the comment that he intended nothing bad. He is quoted by Trygaeus (line 363). •
Boeotians: Northern neighbours of Athens but allies of Sparta, they were hindering peace efforts (line 466) and their banned produce is fondly remembered (1003). They are mentioned in other plays and especially in
The Acharnians, where one of the characters is a Boeotian merchant. •
Argives: Citizens of Argos and neighbours of the Spartans, they had maintained their neutrality throughout the war and they were not assisting in peace efforts (lines 475, 493). They receive mentions in other plays. •
Thrassa and
Syra: Common names for female slaves of Thracian (line 1138) and Syrian origin (1146).
Thrassa is a silent character in
Thesmophoriazusae and the name recurs in two other plays. •
Egyptians: An ancient and exotic people whose customs, as described by
Herodotus, included the regular use of an emetic
syrmaia. They are mentioned in that context here (line 1253) and they receive mentions in other plays. :::
Religious and cultural identities •
Pegasus: A mythical flying horse, it lends its name to the flying dung beetle (lines 76, 135, 154). •
Dioscuri: Otherwise known as
Castor and Pollux, they were venerated in particular by Spartans. Trygaeus attributes the death of Brasidas to their intervention (line 285). •
Eleusinian Mysteries: A mystery religion dedicated to the worship of Demeter and promising immortal life to its initiates, it included the ritual bathing of piglets. Trygaeus asks Hermes for money to buy such a piglet (374–5) and he offers to dedicate the mysteries to Hermes if he helps to secure peace (420). •
Panathenaea: The most important annual festival of Athens, it was dedicated to Athena. Trygaeus offers to dedicate it to Hermes in exchange for his help (line 418). He also offers to celebrate in his honour the
Dipolia (festival of Zeus) and the
Adonia (420). The Panathenaea is mentioned also in
The Clouds and
The Frogs. Diipoleia is also mentioned in
The Clouds and Adonia in
Lysistrata. •
Enyalius: An epithet of Ares, it is often used in the
Iliad. The Chorus bids Trygaeus not to use this epithet in an invocation to the gods because Ares has nothing to do with peace (line 457). •
Ganymede: Zeus's cupbearer, he is said to be the future source of the
ambrosia on which the dung beetle will feed in future. •
Isthmian Games: One of the great athletic festivals of ancient Greece, it was a venue for camping both by athletes and spectators. A slave of Trygaeus fondly imagine his penis sharing a tent there with Festival (line 879). •
Apaturia: A festival celebrated by Ionian Greeks, it included a day of sacrifice known as
Anarrhysis or
Drawing back. This word has sexual connotations for members of the Boule (line 890) in anticipation of an orgy with Festival. •
Lysimache: An epithet for Peace and the name of a contemporary priestess of
Athena Polias (line 992). •
Stilbades: One of the prophets or oracle mongers that had profited from the war, he is imagined weeping from the smoke that rises from the sacrificial offering to Peace (line 1008). •
Bakis: A popular prophet and source of oracles, he is mentioned repeatedly by the oracle monger Hierocles (lines 1070–72) and Hierocles is later referred to as Bakis (1119). He is frequently cited in
The Knights and he is mentioned also in
The Birds •
Sibyl: A legendary prophetess, she is considered by Hierocles to be a greater authority than Homer (line 1095) and he is told to eat her (1116). She is mentioned also in
The Knights. ==Discussion==