Aristophanes: Knights

Aristophanes' Knights was a sensation in its time, famous for its assault on the Athenian politician and demagogue Cleon in the first comic drama devoted to a sustained, open satire of an individual political figure. It is also the first play Aristophanes produced in his own name, and the one that solidified his reputation as a leading comic dramatist. This is the first full-scale commentary on Knights in over a century. The Greek text is based on a fresh analysis of the manuscripts, papyri and other ancient sources. The extensive commentary situates the play in its linguistic, literary and intellectual context and allows full appreciation of its original performance context. Particular attention is paid to the poet's language and to the social and literary traditions of his time, and abundant citations and quotations of parallel passages ranging far beyond the comic poets are offered, with all Greek translated.

• Provides a freshly re-edited Greek text based on collations of all the major manuscripts, with results fully represented in the apparatus criticus
• Includes an exhaustive commentary addressing all aspects of language, literary background, historical and social context
• Introductory essays cover a range of topics relevant to the play and its times, especially its place in Aristophanes' oeuvre and its political significance both ancient and modern