Aristophanes and de Ste. Croix: the value of old comedy as evidence for Athenian popular culture

Pritchard, David (2012) Aristophanes and de Ste. Croix: the value of old comedy as evidence for Athenian popular culture. Antichthon, 46 : 14-44.

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Author Pritchard, David
Title Aristophanes and de Ste. Croix: the value of old comedy as evidence for Athenian popular culture
Journal name Antichthon  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank A)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2012
Sub-type Article
Volume number 46
ISSN 0066-4774
Start page 14
End page 44
Total pages 31
Place of publication Bundanoon, NSW, Australia
Publisher Australasian Society for Classical Studies
Collection year 2013
Language eng
Abstract De Ste. Croix famously argued that Aristophanes had a conservative political outlook and attempted to use his comedies to win over lower-class audiences to this minority point of view. The ongoing influence of his interpretation has meant that Old Comedy has been largely ignored in the historiography of Athenian popular culture. This article extends earlier critiques of de Ste. Croix by systematically comparing how Aristophanes and the indisputably popular genre of fourth-century oratory represented the social classes of the Athenians and political leaders. The striking parallels between the two suggest that Aristophanes, far from advocating a minority position, exploited the rich and, at times, contradictory views of lower-class citizens for comic and ultimately competitive ends. As a consequence his plays are valuable evidence for Athenian popular culture and help to correct the markedly fourth-century bias in the writing of Athenian cultural history.
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Official 2013 Collection
School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics Publications
 
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Created: Wed, 03 Oct 2012, 15:48:32 EST by Anthony Yeates on behalf of School of History, Philosophy, Religion & Classics