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
This Greek comedy sharply satirizes the Athenian passion for litigation and the manipulation of this obsession by demagogues. The plot centers on Philocleon, an elderly man hopelessly addicted to serving as a juror, his son Bdelycleon, who confines his father at home to cure him, and a chorus of elderly jurors costumed as fierce wasps. The first half features a series of comical escape attempts by the father and a formal debate (agon) in which the son convinces the father and the chorus that they are merely puppets of corrupt politicians. To appease his devastated father, Bdelycleon sets up a domestic court, leading to a hilarious mock trial where a household dog is prosecuted for stealing cheese. Released from his courtroom obsession, Philocleon is introduced to high society, only to become wildly drunk, cause a public nuisance, and close the play in a state of frenzied, ecstatic dancing.