Questions? Call us
toll free:
1-800-856-3060
Why Should I Buy This Book?
Greek Classics have long been the bedrock of a proper and thorough education. Reading about the tracks and lives of our ancestors cannot help but uplift us in our current life's path as it arms us with lessons of the past. Tomes have been written on the subject, but to put it in very modern, even economic terms, a recent article in the NY Times put it into such a perspective with an article on what books one finds on the shelves of the world’s most successful CEO’s. The article points out that one doesn’t find “how-to-business books” on their shelves, but rather works of philosophy, poetry, Greek classics, and other books of general knowledge.
Frogs is by common consent one of the finest achievements of
Aristophanes (456 BC to 386 BC), the greatest writer of comic drama in
classical Athens and among most famous writers of dramatic comedy in our
Western tradition. The play was first performed at a Festival of
Dionysus in Athens in 405 BC, at a time when the disastrous
Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta was nearing its end. The
production so popular that it received the extraordinary honor of a
second production and Aristophanes received a special honor from the
city.
In the play the god Dionysus, in the form of a middle-aged human being,
insists on travelling to Hades to bring back the tragic poet Euripides
(who had died the year before), so that Athens can once again enjoy fine
poetry. His slave Xanthias accompanies him. The trip is full of robust
comical encounters with a range of characters, including Hercules,
Charon, the famous Chorus of the Frogs, various underworld figures, and,
finally Euripides and Aeschylus, who stage a debate over which of them
is the greatest poet, an argument which has them mercilessly satirizing
each other’s work
For all its extremely funny stage business, Frogs raises some important
and still relevant questions about the nature of dramatic art and the
role of the dramatist. It also explores and exposes the self-serving
attitudes of citizens during a time of war.
This play can be previewed by following the link to the preview page for this title.
Sign up to receive notice of free eBooks, new releases and special subscriber-only offers.
(You can unsubscribe at any time)