Wasps was first produced at the Lenaea festival of 422 BC. The play is at once a political satire and also, like Clouds and the lost Banqueters, a comedy on the theme of the conflict of generations. The play follows the efforts of a mischievous and mercurial old man to escape the control of a stern and heavy son. In its political aspect it attacks the leading Athenian politician Cleon, as Knights had. But Wasps represents a departure as it concentrates less on Cleon personally, and more on his and his associates' alleged domination of the law courts and the men who served in them as jurors. Fi ... More
Keywords: Wasps, political satire, play, Lenaea festival, comedy, generational conflict, Athenian politician, Cleon
| Print publication date: 1983 | Print ISBN-13: 9780856682124 |
| Published to Liverpool Scholarship Online: February 2021 | DOI:10.3828/liverpool/9780856682124.001.0001 |
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