Reviews

Clouds by W.J. Hickie, Aristophanes, Kenneth James Dover, Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel

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saraf7990's review against another edition

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challenging funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition

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3.0

This review is of the translation by K.J. Dover.

Ugh this edition is so sexy... I mean, that introduction talking about the history of Aristophanes, his plays, the lost plays, and the two variations of Νεφέλαι itself; the history of ancient Greek theatre in general; contemporary politics and philosophy; the concepts of Right and Wrong as adduced in Νεφέλαι; staging, production, and reception; metrical analysis, textual analysis, linguistic analysis...? Come on! The line-by-line commentary? Yes please!

Aristophanes's Νεφέλαι is a partially revised version of an earlier play which was poorly received upon its first production. The play's enduring notoriety is largely due to its portrayal of Socrates as an atheist and general peddler of dishonest and manipulative rhetoric who is justly punished by the gods whom he refuses to recognise. In short, the play argues that the charges brought against Socrates for "corrupting the youth of Athens" were not only legitimate but morally defensible. The word νεφέλαι, from νέφος (cloud), is a cognate with Latin nebula, and the etymological ancestor of English nephology. The similarity with Hebrew nephilim is a false cognate.