The Birds (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Aristophanes
- First Published: 414
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Social satire
- Time of Work: Second Peloponnesian War
- Setting: Athens and Nephelo-Coccygia, the city of the birds
- Genres: Satire, Drama
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, War, Gods or goddesses, Fratricide, parricide, or filicide, Human behavior, Birds, Greek or Roman times, Sacrifice, Animals, Greece or Greek people
- Locales: Athens, ancient
Characters Discussed
Pisthetærus (pihs-theh- TI-ruhs), an old man of Athens who has left his native city in disapproval because of the corruption, especially the litigiousness, of his countrymen. High-spirited, comically fantastic, and sometimes even vulgar, he nevertheless has an underlying vein of hardheaded good sense that makes him despise hypocrites and frauds. He uses his oratorical skill to convince the birds that they are the superiors of the gods, and he proposes the creation of Nephelo-Coccygia, or “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” the strategic location of which will give...
[The entire page is 857 words long]
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