Knights was the first play to be produced by Aristophanes on his own behalf. In it, he launched a violent attack on Cleon, the leading politician of the day, on the whole style of leadership that he represented and on a system which seemed to guarantee that a bad leader could be displaced by a worse. Knights was performed at the Lenaea of 424 B.C. and won first prize, defeating the Satyrs of Cratinus and the Porters of Aristomenes. It was produced as a violent attack on Cleon, who was credited for the victory at Pylos during the Peloponnesian War and became a national hero. This book begins wi ... More

Knights was the first play to be produced by Aristophanes on his own behalf. In it, he launched a violent attack on Cleon, the leading politician of the day, on the whole style of leadership that he represented and on a system which seemed to guarantee that a bad leader could be displaced by a worse. Knights was performed at the Lenaea of 424 B.C. and won first prize, defeating the Satyrs of Cratinus and the Porters of Aristomenes. It was produced as a violent attack on Cleon, who was credited for the victory at Pylos during the Peloponnesian War and became a national hero. This book begins with a criticism of the whole style of political leadership in Knights, of which Cleon was the foremost representative. It describes the deep pessimistic content of the play, in which the Athenian people are portrayed by the old man Demosthenes, who is shown as being so stupid and gullible. The book then presents the Greek text with facing-page translation, introduction, commentary and notes.