THE WASPS – a sick city

1. THE WASPS – a sick city THE PLAY produced in 422 winter Lenaia (so not so many-out-of-towners) The cities political/social woes in the gun (a lull in the pelop. war) Attacks those who abuse the legal system for their own ends, esp. paid jurors who were open to manipulation by Cleon (& the demagogues) THE COURTS No police, legal action up to the individual, laws were old and not consistent. From high treason to mugging – all cases tried before the people (juries of citizens) Very big(500-1500) paid juries (to prevent bribery), mainly old guys (their income) Chairman (magistrate), no judge, no lawyers (spoke for yourself), no legal advice to jury. Use of speech writers, manipulation of jury for sympathy.

2. THE WASPS – a sick city PROCEDURE IN COURT Cases took 1 day, time limit on prosecutor and defenders speeches, jury “pebble” voted. No rules of evidence that we would understand, if penalties not fixed, it the jury voted on it. Penalties: fine, loss of citizenship, property, exile, death (poison, cudgelling, starving board). Seldom a long imprisonment. THEMES OF “WASPS” Looks back to golden days of Athens when ‘men were men’ victors over the Persians, valuing strength, truth, honesty compared to “ringlets, fashions, and pederastic passions of the mamby pamby youngsters of today” Illustrates the generation gap between Bdelycleon (Cleon hater) and his father Philocleon (Cleon lover). Mocked the corruption in the courts (and therefore the democracy) under the rule of deagoues wh maipulated the people

3. THE WASPS – a sick city Prologue (pp 40-47): The old jurymen come to accompany Philocleon (the old man- ‘lover of Cleon’) to the courts Aristophanes needs to “catch” his audience – some would not have been v well educated.- 422BC the 9th year of the war - Pericles died 7 years ago in the devastating plague - Athens is full of informers, and political opportunists - Jurymen - the heart of the democracy have been bought by Cleon the demagogue (3 obols per day to convict his enemies – up from 2 obols in Pericles day) - His critics are called monarchists and anti democrats, and enemies of the state - the city is divided - anti-war/pro-war, rich/poor, old marathon men/mamby pamby youngsters - Aristophanes presented it in the 422 Lenaea (winter) festival. - any similarities with today?  - Bdelycleon (‘Hater of Cleon’) - the son , and Xanthius & Sosias (the 2 slaves) guard the house to keep in Philocleon the father - What do the names of father and son tell us? - Philocleon represents those in the city who have been duped by the demagogues - he is sick - a "trialophile" a "litigious maniac" (lover of trials.) - he loves to convict, and to give long sentences. - The city is also sick (images of confusion in the household - son rules father, monsters, hunting, wild images suggest wilderness has invaded civilisation - slapstick comedy results as he gets more desperate to escape the house to get to the courts. His great inventiveness and energy have been perverted by the politics of the day.

4. Wasps 1: Prologue Skene decked out as a war-time house, the master sleeping on the roof, his slaves sleeping in front surrounded with hunting nets => wilderness has invaded the civilised polis Xanthius is ‘relieving’ himself against the house [pun], they are guarding a ‘monster’ within who turns out to be the fat old juryman [anticlimax] Both fall asleep and have bad nightmares about the Demagogue, Cleon & his supporters Xanthius dream: a giant eagle which drops a snake (aspis – which also means shield) who turns into a Cleon supporter – Cleonymus “the great shield dropper [hyperbole]” – draft dodger) Sosias dream: on the Pnyx, sheep (dressed in short brown cloaks) are being harangued by a monsterous rapacious monster whale-bodies, sow-voiced- stinking like a tanners yard. A dog (kuon) is worrying the sheep. He is flaying the “body politic” and weighing out its fat. [caricature] Cleon was known as the dog, stank of his poor origins, also call the ‘roarer’. The Sheep are non-thinking assemblymen and jury men (known by their brown shirts). He is handing out the cities wealth to supporters. We meet Alcibiades (the golden boy still) whose lisp makes the word for raven into wav’in (flatterer) into a pun (Korax in gk) about Theorus, another Cleon supporter. Aristophanes calls his audience to attention to this work - “ just a little fable with a moral” – he will educate as well as entertain, not just crude laughs, but not too highbrow. The actors ask of real people in the audience to guess Philocleon’s illness and ribs and mocks them.

5. Wasps 1: Prologue Introducing the names ‘Philocleon’s and ‘Bdelycleon ’ makes sure the political target is well identified. Now Philocleon’s illness is identified as a “trialophile” [neologism – new word], who longs for the ‘slot’ of the voting urn [bawdy]. Evidence of this illness– he has a ‘beach’ of voting pebbles inside his house, and has wax under his fingernails meaning he always scratches long on his wax tablet - (meaning maximum penalties ) [hyperbole] Hence all escape fromthe house has had to be blocked to keep this ‘monster’ from going to the law courts, and the slaves are his sleepy guards. Next we get some slapstick humour when Philocleon wakes up and tries to escape in all sorts of ways gnaws through the net, down the drain pipe, through the roof, under the belly of a donkey (Odysseus) but has stuffed his head up the Donkeys ... ! –Bdelycleon refers to his dad as a ‘crafty’ old man [allusion] Bdelycleon is worried his dad’s friends and fellow jurymen will arrive to take him to the court. He shows he is progressive hating the old sickly songs and indicating the city is also sick Divided generationally, and also into war and anti-war parties War: Cleon and his old marathon-men supporters like Philocleon Antiwar: younger and aristocratic men whose faith in democracy has been ruined by the way Cleon has subverted it.