Aristophanes (circa 448-385 BC) was an Athenian playwright, and is considered to be one of the greatest writers of comedy in literary history. His plays have been produced through the centuries and, because of their wit, comic invention, and poetic language, have remained popular.
He was noted for his conservatism, and favored aristocratic rather than democratic rule and the established philosophical and theological ideas rather than the new ideas of the Sophists. He wrote more than 40 plays, of which 11 still exist. The Clouds (423 BC) is a satire on the Greek philosopher Socrates, whose penetrating analysis of established values Aristophanes considered inimical to the interests of the state. The Birds (414 BC) ridicules the Athenian fondness for litigation. Lysistrata (411 BC), a satire on war in which women strike for peace by practicing celibacy, is his most famous work.
The Frogs (405 BC) - mentioned by Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance - includes attacks on Euripides.
The plays of Aristophanes exerted considerable influence on English satire, notably that of Ben Jonson in the 17th century and Henry Fielding in the 18th century.
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