The Birds & The Frogs

Hardcover Cloth 52 & 62 pages. Condition Very Good Issued with NO Dust Jacket Slipcase Very Good. Heritage Press Reprint edition 1959. Beautiful brown quarter spine with decorated tan boards and gold embossing shows off this Clean, tight, square copy with no marks, highlights or bookplates. Two sided Book Well kept and carefully stored in unread condition. Slight shelf wear. Slipcase is discolored with age with slight shelf wear - a few scrapes and stains. Not an ex-library, book club or remainder copy. Laid in Sandglass Number I:25 Aristophanes (Greek: Αριστοφάνης; c. 446 BCE – c. 386 BCE) was a playwright of ancient Athens. About 11 of his works are known in full, and they are the only plays of the "Old Comedy" style to have survived. They are The Acharnians, The Birds, The Clouds, The Ecclesiazusae, The Frogs, The Knights, Peace, Plutus (Wealth), The Thesmophoriazusae, and The Wasps. These plays have been translated into many languages and continue to be staged or adapted for theatrical productions. Aristophanes satirized the political and social issues of 5th-century-BC Athens, such as the ongoing Peloponnesian War, the structure of the city-state, the role of women in public life, and the influence of philosophers (notably Socrates) in shaping public opinion. Aristophanes' play "The Birds" is a comedy that tells the story of two Athenians, Peisthetairos and Euelpides, who are tired of the human race and decide to seek out the birds in order to establish a new city in the sky. Along the way, they encounter various bird-gods and ultimately convince the birds to build the city, called "Nephelokokkygia," in the clouds. The play satirizes various aspects of Athenian society and politics, as well as the idea of creating utopia. The play was originally performed in 414 BC and is considered one of Aristophanes' most popular plays. The Frogs is a comedic play written by Aristophanes, in which the god Dionysus travels to the underworld in search of a new playwright to bring back to the living world. He encounters a chorus of frogs, who mock him and his quest, and ultimately chooses the playwright Euripides to return with him. Along the way, there are satirical jabs at various figures and institutions in ancient Greece, including the political and cultural elite, as well as a commentary on the state of the theater and the role of playwrights in society. Ultimately, the play is a humorous and irreverent take on the serious topic of death and the afterlife.