This book provides a new interpretation of the nature of Old Comedy and its place at the heart of Athenian democratic politics. Professor Sidwell argues that Aristophanes and his rivals belonged to opposing political groups, each with their own political agenda. Through disguised caricature and parody of their rivals' work, the poets expressed and fuelled the political conflict between their factions. Professor Sidwell rereads the principal texts of Aristophanes and the fragmented remains of the work of his rivals in the light of these arguments for the political foundations of the genre.

Contents

Part I. Setting the Stage:
1. Getting to grips with the politics of Old Comedy
2. Metacomedy and politics
3. Metacomedy and caricature
Part II. The Poets' War:
4. Acharnians
5. Metacomedy, caricature and politics from Knights to Peace
6. Metacomedy, caricature and politics from Autolycus to Frogs
Conclusions and consequences: Appendix 1. The view from the Theatron
Appendix 2. Metacomedy and caricature in the surviving fourth century plays of Aristophanes
Appendix 3. Timeline and proposed relationships between comedies
Bibliography.