Aristophanes: Frogs

Fascinating and weird. The Ancient Greek theater was full of sex jokes and potty humor, easy pratfall gags, and so on. One can imagine portions of this playing out on late night television tonight. This play features an early version of a “celebrity freestyle battle” between playwriters Aeschylus and Euripides, as well as jokes and commentary on then contemporary military battles and politicians. This is all tied together by the overarching story of Dionysus making a parodical journey to the underworld of Hades.

The edition I read, translated and notated by Peter Meineck, was perhaps not the most traditional or faithful to the original translation, but the footnotes were very informative and helpful, as was the lengthy introduction. All in all, it was a great little read and a fun experience.