Ending the war by rescuing peace; Peace, Aristophanes

 Why you might read Peace?

Peace is another fantastical tale about how to end the war. As such it gives us insight into the war-weariness of the people. As well as how Aristophanes felt compelled and safe to criticize the war.

For my Self Education project, it is a great stepping stone toward modern plays and modern satire.

The Story of Peace

Peace is a play in two acts. The first takes place both on earth and in heaven. The second is restricted to the mortal coil. Peace starts with our main character Trygaeus being sick and tired of the war. He constantly looks up at the sky and talks to Zeus asking why he has forsaken Greece. He hatches a plan to go and see Zeus. He has an oversized flying dung beetle that he has his servants looking after. He mounts this and heads off to heaven. There are a few hiccups on the way with the beetle getting distracted.

Trygaeus arrives in heaven to find all the gods gone except Hermes who has been left to look after things. The gods have gone as they are sick of giving Greece chances for peace but one side or other choosing war. Trygaeus finds out that Peace has been put in a dark cave. He then gets the chorus together to remove rocks from the entrance and heave and pull Peace out. Peace turns out to be a statue with two girls in attendance. Hermes offers one, Harvest, as Trygaeus's wife. The other, Festival, Trygaeus takes to give to the assembly in Athens. Then having lost the beetle he heads for home by foot.

Once home these things are set into motion and a feast is prepared for the wedding. Before this, Trygaeus prepares a sacrifice to peace. An oracle comes and tries to first tell them that the war cannot be over and then tries to help them eat the sacrifice. He is blocked from the sacrificed food and drink. Then his is sent on his way with a beating after he refuses to take no for an answer. After the sacrifice but before the feast two merchants approach him to thank him for the peace. Their peaceful businesses have increased again. He is then accosted by three merchants who have lost business because they sell spears and armor. He mocks them and sends them on their way. He then invites all to the feast and has two young boys sing but both will only sing war songs so he quickly stops them. Peace ends with the wedding feast.

Reflection on Peace

Aristophanes is not afraid to venture into the realms of sex and innuendo. He is quite blunt about Trygaeus wanting to bed Harvest and she is described in rather sexual terms. Though this is more earthy in nature than we tend to see today. This was performed publically so it cannot have been seen as a lack of modesty or propriety. This would have been true at some other points in history. 

It is interesting that while Peace is just a statue her attendants are living girls. It is also interesting that while the other gods are portrayed as living Peace is just a statue. It also makes Trygaeus's sacrifice to Peace a little odd. I am surprised by it because while on the earth it was normal to portray a god as a statue. From most sources, we see that they were expected to be living in Heaven.

What others have to say about Peace

"Aristophanes is known to criticize war leaders, politicians, men of fame, philosophers, etc. directly through his plays – the two pestle reference is a direct attack on the Athenian leader Cleon and Spartan leader Brasidas who led the war for years. " From Classical Arts Universe

"First produced in 421 BC – just two weeks before a peace treaty that ended the first half of the Peloponnesian War" From Greek Mythology

Comparisons with other texts

This is not the first time we have seen a play by Aristophanes about creative ways to end the Peloponnesian war. In Lysistrata we also see him proposes a novel end to the war. The difference is that in Lysistrata it is people, in this case, the women, who bring this about. By contrast in Peace, it is in the realms of the gods that this is achieved.

We have also seen Aristophanes comment on the war before in The Acharnians. The Acharnians also deals with unusual peace but in this case, an individual sues for individual peace. By contrast, Peace gains peace for the whole of Greece. The war is a big part of daily life for Aristophanes as he spent the time to write many plays about it. 

Conclusion

Peace is another of Aristophanes' plays about possible ends to the Peloponnesian war. It covers what is happening in the realm of the gods rather than the realm of men. It is set right at what turned out to be the end of the war and is first performed mere weeks before the war ends. It portrays Peace as a statue lost in a cave. she is then restored and sacrificed to.

Have you read Peace? If so what did you think of it? 
 
Want to read Peace 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 Peace.