Knights
Knights (Hippēs; Equites) Author: Aristophanes
First Performance: 424 BC, Athens
First English Translation: 1820
Genre: Greek com. in verse
Setting: The household of Demos in Athens, 5th c. bc
Cast: 5 m, extras, chorus (m)
In the home of Demos all is not well: the slaves are tyrannized by the master's favourite, a ‘Paphlagonian’, a coarse and deceitful slave. Two of the slaves discover an oracle that foretells that the Paphlagonian will be overthrown by a sausage-seller. At that very moment a Sausage-Seller arrives, and the slaves inform him that he is destined to rule over Athens. Reluctant to confront the Paphlagonian, the Sausage-Seller is however emboldened by the arrival of a chorus of eager Knights. The Paphlagonian goes off to the Council to denounce the Sausage-Seller's conspiracy to overthrow...
[The entire page is 376 words long]
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