Ari stophanes 'A charnians: Pursuing Peace with an Iambic Peitho Eleni Panagiotarakou A Thesis In the Special Individualized Program Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia Univeristy Montreal, Quebec, Canada May 2009 © Eleni Panagiotarakou Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63382-3 Our Tile Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63382-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT Aristophanes'Acharnians: Pursuing Peace with an Iambic Peitho Eleni Panagiotarakou, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2009 The focus of this dissertation is the Acharnians, a play written in 425 BC by the comic playwright Aristophanes. This comedy, or trugodia as Aristophanes refers to it, was written in the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War and revolves around the trials and tribulations of an Attic farmer named Dikaiopolis (Just Polis) in his quest for peace. Three main arguments are made in the course of this dissertation. The first is that the Acharnians is an anti-war/pro-peace play and not a pro-war or a neutral play. The second argument is that Dikaiopolis is a non-selfish, compassionate, conciliatory figure with a deep concern for the common good of his community. Dikaiopolis' deliberations about the war policies take place with Athens' well-being in mind. Dikaiopolis' preoccupation with his (seemingly) private welfare, I argue, is a dramatic, rhetorical ploy whose objective is to demonstrate that peace is preferable to war. My third argument is that Aristophanes had a clear intention in writing this play; the persuasion of the rural voting population, or, at the very least, the historical Acharnians, to the side of the "peace party". According to Dikaiopolis' political philosophy, the road to peace lies in a sustainable society which engages in just relations with other states. Part of that justice entails, among other things, not meddling into the affairs of other states. 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of a dissertation is a long journey of untold accumulating influences. To my principal advisor, Horst Hutter, I can find no words to express my profound debt and depth of gratitude. He was, and will always remain, my teacher. To Franziska Schlosser whose constructive comments and friendly advise was always there for the taking. To Charles Blattberg (Universite de Montreal) for his meticulous attention to detail and his perceptive comments. To Darlene Dubiel for her courteous assistance. To Efie Gavaki (Hellenic Scholarship Foundation) and Nikos Metallinos (Hellenic Studies Unit); I am grateful for the financial support of both scholarships. To the Chair, Peter Stoett, for making my defence an enjoyable experience. To Sean Gurd, Nikos Poulopoulos (McGill University) and Tom Darby (Carleton University) for kindly agreeing to act as my examiners (with special thanks to Tom Darby for his constructive remarks). I am grateful to all of the above for their thought-provoking comments which helped improve this dissertation. I remain solely responsible for any errors or omissions that may unwittingly remain. Thanks also go to my husband, Panagioti, and my children Yianni and Demetra for their patience, understanding and support. Exnv oucoysveia jxou crrnv 7ipd)xr| \iox> 7iaxpi8a, EXkada. Exov rcaxepa |xou Tvwpyo, xrjv urjxspa uou AuaXia, KOU GXIC; aSekiptc, uou Koovaxavxiva, BaaiA.iKf| Kai Eoqna. Urn uvf|un xtov yiayid8a)v uxn>, Kcovaxavxivaq icon Ektvr\q. Sxnv uvf|jjr| xou nannov u.ou, Mava>A.n; r\ 7ipoaco7riKf| xot> £7iippof| r|xav xepdcxia. Edv f|xav zrti C,(QX]c, stuai Pepain oxi 9a Ttspvdyaus ajxexpnxsq cbpec; ae OeoA.oyiKe<; cru£nxf|aeic; axiq 07iote<; u7iopei va Siacpcovouoaue eni £,ryzr\\ia (pvoxtcqc, r\Q\KX\q, aAXd stum aiyoupn oxi 9a ot>^(p(ovot)Gau£ £7ri xov XSAXKO OTOXO; JiayKOouia eipf|vn. iv DEDICATION Sxov yio (aot), Tidwri NiKfjxa Kai OTT|V Kopt] \iox>, Af||j.r|Tpa A\iakia. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE POLITICIZATION OF DIONYSUS 1 1.1 Methodology 4 1.2 Why Achamians and Why Now? 11 1.3 The Emergence of Democracy and Old Comedy in Athens 17 1.3.1 Dionysian Festivals & Drama 23 1.3.2 The Ritual Elements of Old Comedy 26 1.3.3 Old Comedy and the Peloponnesian War 33 1.4 Laughter & Comedy 38 CHAPTER II. A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: WAR & OLD COMEDY..... 42 2.1 The Peloponnesian War 42 2.2 Aristophanes" Babylonians 49 2.3 The Achamians 54 2.3.1 The "Achamians" and the Peloponnesian War 56 2.3.2 Aristophanes" Motivations in Naming his Achamians the "Achamians" 62 2.3.3 The Achamians: Summary Plot 64 CHAPTER III. DESIRING PEACE." . 67 3.1 Achamians' Opening Scene: Lines 1-60 67 3.2 Overconfidence and War. The Persian Embassy: Lines 61-134 80 3.3 Self-Reliance During War: The Thracian Mercenaries: Lines 135-173 93 3.4 A Just Treason? The Making of a Private Peace: Lines 174-202 105 3.5 The Anger of the Acharnian Chorus: Lines 203-279 115 3.6 The Achilles' Heel of Persuasion: Refusal to Listen: Lines 280-392 120 3.7 In Search of a Piteous Mask: Lines 393-479 132 CHAPTER IV. PERSUASION & SPEECH 139 4.1 Dikaiopolis" Defence Speech: Lines 480-556 139 4.2 A People Divided: The Split of the Acharnian Chorus 557-625 156 4.3 Aristophanes" Apology & Thucydides" Defence: Lines 626-718 168 4.3.1. Incantational Music Song and Dance in the Achamians 172 CHAPTER V. ARISTOPHANIC COMPASSION 194 5.1 The Megarian Trader: Lines 719-859 194 5.2 The Theban Trader: Lines 860-958 218 5.3 The Justice of Dionysus in Dikaiopolis" Agora: Lines 959-1068 224 5.4 The Pleasures of Peace Versus the Pains of War: Lines 1069-123 236 CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSION: A RECAPULATION 251 BIBLIOGRAPHY 262 APPENDICES 275 Appendix I. The Spartan Phalanx 275 Appendix II: The Agon Between Poetry and Philosophy 278 Appendix III: Cratinus and Aristophanes 282 Appendix IV: Trugodia 288 VI CHAPTER I. THE POLITICIZATION OF DIONYSUS War is not a mere act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means. Carl von Clausewitz1 War is not the continuation of politics with different means, it is the greatest mass-crime perpetrated on the community of man. Alfred Adler2 The focus of this dissertation is the Acharnians, a play written in 425 BC by the comic poet Aristophanes. This play was written in the sixth year following the onset of the Peloponnesian War, a 27-year war between the democratic city-state of Athens and the oligarchic city-state of Sparta. The plot of the play revolves around the trials and tribulations of a peace-seeking Attic farmer, Dikaiopolis (Just-Polis). His foremost desire is to return to his pre-war lifestyle in the countryside (making the historical setting a fundamental element). The play opens onto the Athenian Assembly, an inherently political space, making the Acharnians our first extant political comedy in the Western tradition as well as our earliest anti-war comedy. With the exception of Leo Strauss' insightful but short (barely 22 pages) commentary in Socrates and Aristophanes (1966), not much has been written about this play. Also, whatever has been written, has been for the most part critical. Classical scholars compare it to Peace, (421 BC) a later Aristophanic comedy, and find it lacking. 1 Carl von Clausewitz, On War, trans, and ed. Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976), 69. 2 Alfred Adler, "Psychology of Power" Journal of Individual Psychology 22 (1966): 166-172, 172. 1 Much of what has been written about the Acharnians takes two forms. The first format is that of articles that focus on parts of the play; for example, the Megarian episode. The second format is articles that focus on a specific theme; for example, the theme of justice. Very rarely does one find a work that analyzes the Acharnians as a comprehensive whole. The only two authors, that I am aware of, who do this are Alan Sommerstein and Leo Strauss.