OLD COMEDY: CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS
486 Comedy officially introduced at Great Dionysia Festival.
445 Comedy officially introduced at Lenaea Festival.
446 Birth of Eupolis.
445 Birth of Aristophanes.
440 Pericles unsuccessfully attempts to restrain comedy. [several times in the 5th century there were attempts to muzzle the license that Attic comedy allowed. Later (Hellenistic) Greeks used the phrase μὴ κωμωδεῖν ὀνομαστί (me komodein onomasti — “not to write a comedy with individuals’ names”), but each time these decrees were passed, they were repealed shortly after. [See Stephen Halliwell “Comic Satire and Freedom of Speech in Classical Athens” Journal of Hellenic Studies cxi (1991) 48-70.]
427 Taxiarchoi of Eupolis. Attack on Pericles. Pro-war. inextant.
427 Banqueters of Aristophanes. His first production, on education
of children. inextant.
426 Babylonians of Aristophanes. Attack on Cleon. Aristophanes
criticized because Athenian allies in the audience say Cleon mocked. inextant.
425 Acharnians of Aristophanes. Attack on Cleon again, anti-war.
the private peace.
424 Knights of Aristophanes. Strong attack on Cleon, but a few
weeks later, the Athenians elected Cleon strategos for another year.
Playful attack on Cratinus.
424 Golden Age of Eupolis. Attacks Cleon. inextant.
423 Pytine of Cratinus. Response to Knights of Aristophanes,
wins first prize at Dionysia over Clouds of Aristophanes. inextant.
423 Clouds of Aristophanes (1st version). last place. It was
later re- written (ca. 419) but not performed in revised form.
422 Wasps of Aristophanes. Athenian love of litigation.
421 Peace of Aristophanes. 2nd prize. Eupolis won 1st. Peace
of Nicias in effect. Parody of Euripides’ Bellerophon. Riding a dung
beetle to heaven.
421 Flatterers of Eupolis. Attack on Sophists. inextant.
414 Birds of Aristophanes. Utopia in heaven run by Birds. 2nd
place. Surprisingly free of contemporary politics.
412 Demes of Eupolis. Great Athenians of the past upbraid contemporary
Athenians. inextant.
412 Death of Eupolis.
411 Thesmophoriazusae of Aristophanes. Women call for death of
Euripides.
411 Lysistrata of Aristophanes. Women’s sex strike for peace.
405 Frogs of Aristophanes. Tragic Poets Debate in Hades.
392 Ecclesiazusae of Aristophanes. Women take over and make
communistic state.
391 Phaon of Plato Comicus. Women’s sexual passions. inextant.
388 Plutus of Aristophanes. Blind old Wealth is made to see and
bring prosperity to Athens, and banishes Poverty, an ugly woman.
388-380 Death of Aristophanes.