The creation of the city of the birds; The Birds, Aristophanes

 Why you might read The Birds?

You might find you actually enjoy it. The Birds is a comedy and quite fantastical and quite enjoyable. It shows us that comedic plays did not have to be satirical to get written or performed in the ancient Greek world.

For my Self Education project, it is part of the whole picture of Aristophanes. Who so far is a comedic and satirical writer, but unafraid to upset the apple cart.

The Story of The Birds

It starts with our main character Peisthtaerus and a friend, both from Athens. They are looking for a prince who has been turned into a bird. They are scaling a cliff.  In an attempt to make more noise they start baning on what turns out to be the prince's kitchen door. Eventually, his servant rouses him and he meets with the two Athenians. After a bit of chatter, Peisthtaerus asks him where they can go that is a nice peaceful city. The prince gives him several options but he turns them all down. He then proposes that the birds make a city in the air. He convinces the prince to call the other birds.

The other birds arrive and are angry that he has invited two humans. they make to attack the two but are eventually persuaded to listen and kill them later. Peisthtaerus spins a yarn about how the bird used to be above the gods. As well as how they were there before the world began and they should take back their rightful place. The birds lap it up and appoint him to make it so.

Once the walls are built Iris is caught traveling through the city and is chased away. Peisthtaerus also declares war on the gods. He sets himself up to give out wings to those who would join the city and recruits a young rebel to the cause. He is then troubled by a slew of grifters from other cities. He chases them away with the very wings he has to give out, seeming to want this to be a more peaceful city.

Prometheus shows up and says the gods will come to ask for peace. He says that Peisthtaerus should ask for the scepter and Sovereignty as his wife.

The gods send Heracles and Poseidon to sue for peace after they have not received sacrifices for a while.  They eventually concede to Peisthtaerus' requirements. They then take him to Olympus to collect his wife. The play ends with them returning to the bird city and getting married.

Reflection on The Birds

The Birds overall is an absurd premise, how you build walls in the sky I do not know. How they keep people out in three dimensions I know even less. But this seems to be part of Aristophanes' design in the play. It is a comedy meant to entertain and that it still does. That the gods could be overthrown so easily is an interesting conceit as well. 

The parade of the birds and the fact that they are all named explicitly at the start is interesting. To bother with this Aristophanes must have been persuaded that his audience knew all these types of birds. Their costumes must have been something to see as well!

That Heracles is part of the diplomatic party is a surprise. He shows that he doesn't really have the temperament for it in his comments on them while looking for Peisthtaerus. He is not known as a thinker or a talker but as a doer. That being said he ends up being the voice of reason to just get the peace treaty done. Eventually, he convinces Posideon to also agree.

What others have to say about The Birds

"First performed in 414 BC at the City Dionysia (where it won the second prize), The Birds is the longest of Aristophanes’ surviving comedies, and perhaps the most acclaimed one." From Greek Mythology

"Unlike the author’s other early plays, it includes no direct mention of the Peloponnesian War, and there are relatively few references to Athenian politics" From Classical Literature

Comparisons with other texts

Unlike Lysistrata or The Achanians, there is no mention of the Peloponnesian war. Even though The Birds was written and performed during the war. In fact, it is a straight-up comedy with no political references. Though there are references to particular people in Athens.

Like Lysistrata or The Achanians, it is a light-hearted work without death and despair. By contrast, we see both of these in the tragedies of Euripides like The Children of Heracles. It also has a looser grasp on reality and is more fantastical than any of these other works.

Conclusion

The Birds is a comedic play that is quite an enjoyable read. It covers the creation of a bird city in the sky and is quite fantastical with talking birds. It is the first comedy we have seen without political aspects woven into it. It was written and performed while the Peloponnesian war was going on.

Have you read The Birds? If so what did you think of it? 
 
Want to read The Birds but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of The Birds.