Source edition
Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
Set in war-torn Athens during the Peloponnesian War, this ancient Greek comedy depicts a frustrated farmer who decides to secure a private peace treaty with the enemy. The protagonist, Dicaeopolis, grows weary of the endless conflict and the corruption of public officials, prompting him to arrange his own thirty-year truce with Sparta. This action enrages the chorus of elderly charcoal-burners from Acharnae, who attack him as a traitor. To save himself, Dicaeopolis visits the tragic poet Euripides to borrow a beggar's rags, using this disguise to deliver a persuasive speech about the absurd and trivial origins of the war. After convincing the elders, he establishes a thriving, free-trade market where he happily barters with starving merchants from hostile territories like Megara and Boeotia. The play concludes with a stark and humorous contrast between the warmongering general Lamachus, who returns home miserably wounded from battle, and Dicaeopolis, who celebrates the joys of peace and feasting in a triumphant revelry.