The life of Aristophanes spanned the last half of the fifth century B.C. and extended into the fourth century B.C. The exact dates of his birth and death are not known.
He was an Athenian citizen, and wrote comedies for the education and entertainment of his fellow citizens. Aristophanes wrote most of his plays during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (431-404 B.C.). One of his objectives was to promote peace.
The salient characteristic of his work is biting satire of prominent men. One of his favorite targets was Cleon the Tanner, a prominent Athenian political and Military leader during the early years of the Peloponnesian War. Nor did he spare the wise old Socrates. In “Frogs,” his chief target is the tragedian Euripides.
Euripides died in 406 B.C. According to “The Complete Plays of Aristophanes,” Euripides presented “Frogs” in 405 B.C. This date can more or less be adduced from the political situation revealed by the text of “Frogs.” Athens has recently won a naval victory, and there is no reference to the final defeat of the Athenian navy at Aegospotami, which took place in 405 B.C. Athens obviously had not suffered its final humiliation when “Frogs” was written.
As the play opens, Dionysus, the Greek god associated with wine, is pretending to be Hercules. He is carrying a club, and his apparel includes a lion’s skin. He is accompanied by Xanthias, his slave, who rides on a donkey. He tells jokes and complains about the heavy luggage that rests on his shoulders.
They arrive at the house of Hercules, who laughs heartily when he answers the door. Dionysus, who does not have a muscular physique, looks odd when he tries to play Hercules.
Dionysus tells Hercules that he wants to go to the world of the dead to fetch Euripides, since the tragedians that are currently alive do not have very much skill. He asks Hercules how he can reach his destination quickly. He asks this because Hercules himself has visited the underworld on a previous occasion and therefore knows how to get there.
Hercules suggests that Dionysus hang himself, drink a poison called hemlock, or plunge to his death from a high tower. Since Dionysus does not like any of these suggestions, Hercules describes the path he used when he traveled to the world of the dead.
They first have to cross a lake. Charon, the ferryman, allows Dionysus to cross in his boat, but forces the corpulent god to do the rowing. Charon refuses to take Xanthias, who must walk around the lake and meet Dionysus on the other side.
As Dionysus rows across the lake, he hears a chorus of frogs, who repeatedly croak: “Brekekekex koax koax.” Dionysus is irritated and vainly asks the frogs to stop. Then he himself starts shouting: “Brekekekex koax koax.” He outdoes the frogs, and the frogs become silent.
When Dionysus crosses the lake and rejoins Xanthias, the latter frightens Dionysus by claiming to see a shape-changing monster. The pathetic god reacts with comic cowardice.
They then encounter a chorus of mystics. They make humorous comments on the political situation at Athens.
When Dionysus knocks at the door of Pluto’s house and claims to be Hercules, Aeacus, one of the judges of the Greek underworld, expresses indignation over how Hercules had treated the dog Cerberus on his previous visit. He threatens dire punishment and leaves.
With comic cowardice, Dionysus tells Xanthias to pretend that he is Hercules and gives him the lion’s skin and club.
A servant favorable to Hercules then appears. Since Xanthias is now posing as Hercules, he is invited to enjoy good food and entertainment by pretty girls. At this point, Dionysus insists that Xanthias give him the club and lion’s skin so that he can play Hercules.
In his previous visit, Hercules has angered the landlady of a boarding house by eating voraciously. After the landlady and her helper Plathane briefly appear and make threats, Dionysus forces Xanthias to play Hercules again.
When Aeacus returns and wants to arrest the supposed Hercules, Xanthias assumes a defensive posture. He claims to be innocent of any wrongdoing and suggests that Aeacus could find out whether he was telling the truth by torturing his slave, meaning Dionysus.
At this point, Dionysus identifies himself, saying: “I am Dionysus, the son of Zeus.”
This leads to a comic contest. Xanthias is supposedly the god Hercules, and Dionysus now claims that he is a god. To determine who the real god is, Aeacus hits one of them and then the other with powerful blows. If one of them reacts with a single tear, he is not a god. Aeacus hits both of them several times, but he cannot determine which one is a god. So he decides to submit the matter to Pluto and Persephone.
When the truth is sorted out, Aeacus, who is somewhat of a rascal himself, admires Xanthias and the two become friends.
In the meantime, Dionysus has become a judge in a contest between Aeschylus and Euripides. When the tragic poets are invited for dinner, Aeschylus has the seat of honor at Pluto’s side. The famous tragedian Sophocles admires Aeschylus and does not try to supplant him, but Euripides wants the seat of honor. So the two are about to engage in a contest of poetic skill, and Dionysus is going to be the judge.
A chorus describes the ensuing contest as a “duel ‘twixt power and guile. The tragedies of Aeschylus are characterized by powerful expression while Euripides treats the tragic material in a more subtle fashion.
In general, Euripides complains that the works of Aeschylus are pompous and turgid. He does not like it that Aeschylus sends an Achilles or a Niobe on stage, only to stand there in profound silence while the chorus comments on the scene. Euripides boasts that his characters speak and are active throughout his dramas. In reply, Aeschylus emphasizes the moral laxity of Euripides plays. Aeschylus boasts that his plays filled the spectators with “passion for war and deeds of daring.”
Each contestant tries to prove the excellence of his own plays and illustrate the deficiency of his opponents by clever, often humorous quotations of individual lines.
Dionysus attempts to decide the matter by weighing the competing tragedies in a scale. He wants each of the contestants to recite a verse from one of his dramas so that the scale may weigh its worth. Euripides recites a verse that mentions the Argo, which is a very heavy ship. Aeschylus wins by reciting a verse that mentions the river Spercheius. When Euripides complains, Dionysius explains why Aeschylus’ verse is weightier, saying: “Because he injected a river, like a wool merchant wetting his wares to make it weigh more. You put wings on yours.” (The following is the verse quoted by Euripides: “Would that Argos had never winged its way…” Dionysus says that the wings made the ship lighter.)
In the end, Dionysus is not able to decide between the two contestants. Pluto encourages Dionysus to make a decision. Pluto will allow Dionysus to take the victor back to Athens.
To decide, he asks each of the two contestants to express themselves on two questions relating to current Athenian politics. After they answer, Pluto orders Dionysus to make his decision. Dionysus awards the victory to Aeschylus.
Before leaving, Aeschylus states that Sophocles may occupy his seat of honor until he returns to the underworld.
Since I do not have access to the original Greek, this article is based on two English translations, one of which was translated by Ian Johnston. For the sake of consistency, all quotations in this article come from the same source: “The Complete Plays of Aristophanes,” edited by Moses Hadas. In this collection, “Frogs” was translated by Robert Henning Webb.
References:
“The Complete Works of Aristophanes”; Moses Hadas editor; 1962
Vancouver Island University: Aristophanes Frogs, translated by Ian Johnston
http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/aristophanes/frogs.htm
