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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
1/21
merican Philological ssociation
The Politics of Aristophanes' WaspsAuthor(s): David KonstanSource: Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), Vol. 115 (1985), pp. 27-46Published by: The Johns Hopkins University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/284188 .
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
2/21
TransactionsftheAmerican
hilological
ssociation
15
1985)
27-46
THE
POLITICS
OF ARISTOPHANES' WASPS
DAVID
KONSTAN
Wesleyan
niversity
Mypurposenthispaper s to showhowAristophanes'
Wasps
is politi-
cal.
I
shall
rgue
hat
he
complex
f
traits
y
which
he
major
harac-
ters nd the chorus re
constructed,
nd which
nables
he
movement
of the
plot, xpresses
specific
olitical
onception
f
the role of
the
courts
n
Athens. shall not seek
to
determine,
n the first
nstance,
whether hance
okes or
remarks
may
betray
he
author's
wn
voice
or
opinions.
Rather, propose
o show that
political
r
ideological
perspective
n
the court
ystem
s
implicit
n the basic
narrativend
dramatictrategies-whatmaybe called the deep structure-ofhe
Wasps.
It
has
frequently
een observed
hat he
Wasps
falls nto wo
parts.
The
initial
ction s built n
a
straightforwarday upon
the
formula
of containment:ll else
having
failed,
Bdelycleon
as
locked his
fa-
ther n
the house and
placed slaves to
guardhim, while
Philocleon
makesvarious
ttempts
o
escape.1
The
situation
ends
tself
o
farce,
which
Aristophanes
arieswith
horal
ong and
theformal
ebate
of
the
agon. The
containment
atterns
a
vehicle
for the
characteriza-
tionof Philocleon nd his son. Philocleon's assionfor the courts-
to
beginwith
him-is
represented
s
something uite
differentrom
the
motivation f
any
other
comic
protagonistn
Aristophanes.
hi-
locleon s
introducedo
the
audience s
sufferingrom
strange
is-
ease
(noson
allokoton
nosei,
71), a
descriptionhat s
fixed
by repe-
tition; oward he
end of
the play though
n
another
ontext)he
is
called
downright
ad
(manias arche, 1486).2 The idea
of sickness
r
insanitys reinforced
y the
suggestion
t
thevery
beginning f the
playthat hebeingwithinhehouse is somekindofdangerous eastor monster
knodalon,
4). As forthe natureof
Philocleon's
esire,
I
Citationsf the
Waspsare
according
o thetext f
DouglasM.
MacDowell,
d.,Aris-
tophanes
Wasps
Oxford
971),
unless
therwise
ndicated. n
this
kind f
ack-in-the-box
farce,
ee
MacDowell d vv.
139-229, .
149.
2
In
addition o
the
passages
oted n
the
text, f.,
n
disease:
7, 80,
87, 114,
651; on
madness: 44.
See
also K.
J.
Dover,
Aristophanic
omedy
Berkeley
972) 127;
Lutz
Lenz,
Komik
nd
Kritikn
Aristophanes'
Wespen',
Hermes
108
1980)
39-40.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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28 David Konstan
it
is described s
a
form
f
er6s,
he
strongest
erm n Greekfor
n
obstinate nd unruly assion (89, 753),
and the
term
philliast is
coined o name t (88). It is clearwhatAristophaness depictingere:
an
obsession.
Among he surviving lays f Aristophanes,hen, he
Waspspre-
sentsuswith unique nstance
f
a type
o whichwe can
anachronisti-
cally pply heRenaissanceabelof a humor.3t may
be worth eflecting
that hehumor ad a special unctionn a kind f
comedy
hat
was
self-
consciouslyatirical, or t is by its satirical pirit, believe,thatthe
Wasps, nd two otherAristophanicomedieswritten
bout the same
time s the Wasps
Knights,
24; Clouds, 23), are set off rom
what
we
may allthe utopian omedies.4t is the narrowingle-mindednessf a
passion hatmarks hehumor.
A
desire orpeace and plenty,
r
for he
restorationf civicand poeticdecorum, s in the Frogs,however n-
tense,willnot yield
humor
nless t is represented
s a pureobses-
sion,detached,n the ast nalysis, rom he
acknowledgedublic
alue
of
ts goal. Aristophanesrdinarilyhose not to make uch motives he
subject
f
his comedy. hathe did so in respect o
a
passion
or
he aw
courts s an indicationf his ntentions.5
3
In
English
enaissance
omedy,
he
figure f
the humor s examined
xhaustively
n
Ben
Jonson'sveryMan in
His
Humour
1598),
andEvery
Man Out of His Humour
1599);
comedies f humours
re
those
in
which
achcharacter
s
a
type
ominated
y
ruling
passion r
obsession,
Michael
Jamieson,
Introduction,
en
Jonson: Three
Comedies
(Harmondsworth
966)
10.
Jonson
abelled
isearly lays,
n which he
ype
f
the
humor
wasparamount,
comical
atires.
4
Broadly peaking,
classify
s
utopian
omedies
he
Acharnians,
Peace, Birds,
Lysi-
strata,
Ecclesiazusae,
ndFrogs.For
the dea, ee Jean
Claude Carriere,
e
Carnaval et la
politique:
ne
introduction
la
comedie
recque,
Annales itteraires
e
l'universitee Besan-
con212 (Paris1979)85-110;Paul Handel,
ormen ndDarstellungsweisennderaristopha-
nischen
Komodie
(Heidelberg
963) 226-27;
Karl
Reinhardt,
Aristophanes
nd
Athen,
Europaische
evue
14 (1938)
754-67
=
Tradition ndGeist:
Gesammelte
ssays
zur
Dichtung
(Gdttingen
960)
257-73,esp.
263-65;
F.
Richter,
ie Frische und
der
Typ
der
aristopha-
nischen
omodie
Diss.
Frankfurt
933).
5 In
differentays,
rnst-Richard
chwinge,
Kritik
nd
Komik:
Gedanken
u
Aris-
tophanes'
Wespen, nDialogos: Fur
Harald
Patzer um65.
Geburtstag,
dd.
Justus obet,
Rudiger
eimbach, nd Ada
B.
Neschke-Hentschke
Wiesbaden 975)
35-47,
and Klaus-
Dietrich
och,Kritischedee
and
Komisches
Thema:
Untersuchungenur
Dramaturgie nd
zum
Ethosder
Aristophanischen
omodie
Bremen 965)
74-79
=
Jahrbuches
er
Wittheit
u
Bremen
(1965)118-23,have raised hequestionf therelationshipetween hecritical
or
satirical
hrustf
Aristophanic
rama,
nd
the
utonomous
omic
lementsn
the
plays.
Schwinge, ith
pecial
referenceo
the Wasps,
locates
the
division
etween he
two
moods
or momentsn
the
structuref the
play,
which
roceeds, y
way
of
a
paratragic
conversionn
the part
f
Philocleon, rom
political
ritique f
the ury
ystem o
the
exemplificationf a
bomolochusype, ow
reduced o an isolated
nd
purely rivate
ig-
ure. The
crucial
hift ccurs
n the agon;
after
hat,
delycleonan
indulge
is father's
passion,
ow
reduced o a
Privattick, ith he
mock-trialn
his own
home
see esp.
pp.
41-42).
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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30
David
Konstan
has
kidnapped
rather
s a lovesick
youth
with stern
ather
alks
n
much ater
omedies. 9
Ifyou'llbe nicetomenow, s soon asmy on'sdead 'll redeem
you
from
our
wner, iglet,
nd
have
you
as
a
concubine. s
it
is, I
don't
have control ver
my
own
money;
'm
young,
you
see,
and
hedged
n
prettytrictly.
t's
my
on who
keeps
n
eye
on
me,
and
he's
a
hardman
and a real
kinflintnto
he
bargain.
That's
whyhe's so
afraid
'll
go
[to]
the
bad;
I'm
the
only
ather
he'sgot.
Philocleon
akeshis
dependent
egal
status
s
license o
behavechild-
ishly.
onventionally,
t
s
adults
who
have
a
responsible
osition
n
the
community,nd arethus xpectednd nclinedorepresentnd defend
its
norms.
oung
men,
who follow
esire
n
despite
f
aw,
are
not
yet
full
members f
society,
nd
are,
accordingly,
ess
nhibited
y
tsrules.
In
New
Comedy,where uch
youths
lourish,
t s
presupposed
hat
hey
some
day
will be.
This
temporal
ector,
by
which
the
young
must
mature nd
assume
their
roper tation
n
the
community,
onditions
the
nature f
the
tension
etween
athers
nd
sons, and
renders
os-
siblethe
anticipated
esolution
f
the comic
ension,
which
s
expressed
as a reconciliationetween enerations.ons are,in the final nalysis,
heirs,
who
will,
t the
right
ime,
ome
into
their
patrimony,
patri-
mony hat
ncludes
nd
rests
ponthe
rightsnd
duties fthe
ocialized
adult.
Philocleon, n
contrasto
this
new
comic
pattern,
as no
public
status
o
grow
nto
save
thatof
retired
entleman f
leisure,
without
responsibilityn
the
political
ommunity.
his
s, I
imagine,
mong
he
reasons
why
he
play nds
in
an
antinomian
oment
ather
han
n a
resolutionhat
ffirms
he
social
order.
t also
puts nto
question
ny
interpretationf the play, uchas Whitman's,hatmakes ts theme
education, or
education hould
mean
preparationor
responsibility.'0
When
the
young
iscipline
he
old, t s
not a
matter
f
moral
progress
but
change
f
social
order.
We
may
observe
hat
he
nstancesn
New
Comedy
f
an
errant
enex,
s in
Plautus'
Asinaria,
asina,
or
Merca-
tor, re
not
really
nalogous
o
the
Wasps, or
here he
amorous
lder
is
restored
ohis
proper
tation,
ndin
eachcase,
significantly,
here s
a
wife o
act n oco
arentis.
As a juror,however, hilocleon etains n important easure fsocial uthority,
nd,from
ne point
f
view,
his
son's
efforts
o
dissoci-
9
Dover
(above,
note 2)
122;
the
translation
f
verses 1351-59
that
follows
s
Dover's.
W.
J.
M.
Starkie,
The
Wasps
of
Aristophanes
London
1897),
quotes
the
scholiast d
1355:
dis
paides
hoi
gerontes.
10
Whitman
(above,
note
7) 144
followed
by
Vaio
(below, note
23) 335
and
Lenz
(above,
note
2)
32-43,
who
develops
the
theme
most
fully.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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The
Politics f
Aristophanes'Wasps 31
ate
himfrom he
courtsmay
be construeds an
attempt
o make
Philo-
cleon's
retirement
omplete
nd
consistent.
owever
generous
Bdely-
cleon'sintentiono support isfathermay be, itwhollybolishes he
old man's
ndependence,
nd
Philocleon
s clearthat
he
does
not
want
that. Dramatically,
here
s
an
implicitogic
at
work,
ccording
o
which
Philocleon, aving ivenup
the
power
ver his
own
household
and
surrendered
o the dominion
f his
son,
becomes ike an
adoles-
cent,wilful
nd subject
o an
arbitraryassion,
nd
this
very
haracter-
ization orroborates
he
sense
that
Philocleon
s
unfit o
perform
he
responsible utiesofa
juror.This
logic
has its roots
n
the
deological
premisehat hecity-state
s
an
association
f
heads
of
household,
hose
who are, n Greekterms, yrioiver their ikos, ndthat, ccordingly,
old
men
who
have
relinquished
uthority
n
domestic ffairs re no
longer uited
o
preside
ver
affairs
f
state.
Much of what
eems
silly
or
corruptn
the
pleasures hatPhilocleon erives t
court
nvolves
childish
esirefor
flattery548-630)
that
ransparentlyetrays
he
pa-
thetic elf-importancef the weak and
helpless. delycleon
ill
expose
his
father's retensions
s
a
servile ependency
pon
Cleon and other
demagogues,
ut
t
s importanto
recognize
hathis
plan
for hilocleon
offers imonly change fmasters,t least until hecomedy akes
newdirection
n
the
concludingpisodes.12
Of
course,Bdelycleonoes
not think o
suggest
hatyoungermen,
or
legally
esponsible ouseholders,
hould
take over
the role
of
di-
casts.13 s a
number
f
critics
ave
pointed ut,
Bdelycleon
oes not
expose
the
faults
r
inadequacies
f
thecourt
ystem
n
order
o recom-
mend
remedies, ome
of
which,given
the
arguments e
employs,
mightwellrun counter o
views
that
may be plausibly
ttributedo
Aristophanes imself,
s in thematter f pay for
urors.14
hus, who
willreplace he old urorsonceBdelycleonersuades hem o retire s
no
concern
f
his.
Within
he play,
which
o
some extent ndoubtedly
reflects
he socialreality,he courts
re treated s
an oldman's forum.
As such,
however,
hey re also representeds
an
institutionf the
relatively
owerless,
powerlessnesshat s
symbolized y a waning
vigor f
bodyand mind,but which
lso
correspondso an outmoded
way of
life characteristic,o
Aristophanes
uggests, f a generation
whose ime
has
nassed_
11
Bdelycleon's
ntentions:
36-40,
1004-6, cf.
478-79,
506,
720-24;
Philocleon's
e.
fusal:
41,cf.
612-18.
12
Cf.
784-85,
where
hilocleon
onsents o
receiving is
wages
misthon)rom
is son
On the
Athenian
ttitude
oward
ages,
ee G. E. M.
de Ste.
Croix,The
Class
Struggle
the
Ancient reek
WorldIthaca,
N.Y.
1981)
182-91; on
surrenderf
kyriotes,ee
Mac-
Dowell d
613.
13
Cf.
Dover
above,
note
2) 128.
14
See
Lenz
(above,
note2) 25
for
urther
iscussion.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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32
David
Konstan
This
opposition
f
generations,
n
a
sense that
s socialrather
han
personal
r
archetypal,
s
presented
hroughontrasting
raits f
charac-
ter.While t is only n thecase of Philocleonhathis commitmento
the
courts s
represented
s
an
addiction
r full-blownbsession
we
shall
consider
he
reasons
for this
presently),
e shares the
uror's
temperamentith he old men
who
make
up
the chorus
f the
Wasps.
Their ld-fashionedastofmind
s indicated
y
a
preference
or
Phryni-
chus,
nd
for raditionalrt
forms
n
general,
s
well s
by
their
isposi-
tion to reminisce bout
campaigns
n
the Persianwar-Aristophanes'
benchmarkor
he good
old
days-and
other
arly
ampaigns.15
ut the
testy ombativenessf
Philocleon nd the
chorus,
heir
proudanger
whicil s so intimidatingo those who must plead their ase before
them,
nd a
rough-and-ready
thic
hat
an condone rankishhefts
nd
candidly elfish ehaviorwith
no
seeming wareness f the threat
t
might ose
to civic
olidarity,re also
signs
f
theancient ode or
style.
A
proper
nderstandingf these traits
will put the
character f the
jurors
n
a new
perspective
nd
dispel ertain
misapprehensions
oncern-
ingPhilocleon's ature s
well.
Certainlyhe most
noticeable
eature
n
the temperamentf
the
dicasts s theirharp emper.he term rge,which ike heEnglishword
temper
was moreor less obsolete n
the sense of
temperamentnd
normallyonnoted
nger,
s
applied
o
them dozen
times
r
so,
along
withvarious
ynonymous
xpressionsike
chole
bile ), menos,
nd
thymos.'6ords r prefixes
enoting
cerbity,oughness. r plain
rasci-
bility estify
o their
arsh
pirit,s do
images fknitted rows,
ooking
daggers
literallymustard,
ardama),ating ne's
heart ut,
barking
outcries,ndnettles.'7
may ppear o be
belaboringheobvious:
mong
15
Phrynichusthetragedian):19-20,269-72,1490,1524 on 1490, ee E. K. Borth-
wick,
The
Dances
of
Philocleonnd
the
Sons
of
Carcinusn
Aristophanes'
Wasps,
CQ
n.s.
18
[19681
4-45);
traditionalrt
forms:
18-19,
1479-81.
Campaigns:
f.
236,
where
the
ction
t
Byzantium
resumably
vokes
he
Great
War,
specially
n
ight
f
Xanthias'
image f
Persian ttackn
11-12; cf.
lso 355,
the
ubjugation
f
Naxos,
which
ccurred
somewhereround
70
B.c.;
439, where hilocleon
aments is
defeat t the
hands
f
barbarians
his laves re the
mmediate
eference,
ut
suspect
here
s an
implicit
istor-
ical
allusion s
well);
the
referenceo
Athens'
ole n
repelling
he
barbarians
t
1077-
1101;
note lso
the
pun
on
the
great
ing
t
1124,
Philocleon's
uspicion
f
Persian
ttire
in
1136-38,
nd
Bdelycleon's
eferenceo
Marathon
n
711.
16
Orge includingormsftheverb,orgizo): 23,243,404,424,425,431, 560,574,
646,
727,
883,
1083;
chole:
03; menos:
24; thymos:
67,648.
17
OXys:
226
and 407, of
the
wasps'
ting;
ompounded ith
hymos:
06,
455,
501;
with
kardia,
30; cf.
lso
471,
1082,
1105,
1367;drimys:
46,
277.
Toughness:
rinodes,
83,cf.
877;
dyskolia:
82, 942,
1105; cf. 1356.
Knitted
brows:
655;
blepont6n
ardama,
455; con-
suming neself:
83-87,
tc.;
barkingries:
98,
226,
415,
1311,
f.
596
of
Cleon;
nettles:
884. n
general,ee the
hapter
n
La
col&e,
in
Jean
aillardat,
es
mages
'Aristophane:
Etudes
e
langue t de
style
Paris
1962)
esp.
pp.
194-220; as
Taillardat
otes
p.
211,
note
1), the
Wasps
urnishes
particularly
arge
umber
f
llustrationsn
this
ategory.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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The Politics f Aristophanes'
Wasps
33
thefaults hat
Aristophanesastigates
n the
urors
s an
uncompromis-
ing
severityhat akes
delight
n
the
sufferings
f
defendantsnd cares
nothing orthe usticeof their ause. But thiswaspish ispositiono
anger s
not n
abstractmoral
law,
or
may
t
be
reduced
ntirely
o
an
old
man's
crotchetiness.or
there s
also
an admirable
spect
o
orge,
high-spirited
apacity
or
ndignation
hat as
something
f
a
hero's
pride
about
t
and compared
ithwhich
n
accommodatingood
nature ould
be
a feeble nd
contemptiblehing.
hus
Aristophanes
oasts
f
having
an
anger
ike
that f
Hercules hathas
enabled
himfromhe
beginning
of
hiscareer o stand
p againsterious pponents
ikeCleonrather
han
prostitutingis
muse
n
pettyibes; MacDowell
ightlylossesorge
here
as spirit r courage.18ristophanes adethesameclaim n thesame
words year ater
n the parabasisf the Peace,
where gain he
proper
significancef orge
s,
as Platnauer
ominents,
not
anger,'
but
spirit,'
'courage'. 9
his
s
the
kind
f
anger
nd
sharpness
ithwhich
he
old
dicasts, hewing
heir
ips and stingingway,fought
he
Persians rom
their and
1082-90),
and it s
this.
ame sharp
nd irritable
pirit
hich,
as
they aunt, hey
arry
nto he
ourtroom
1104-5).
t
s as
though,
n
the
parabasis,
ristophanes
ere
doing reprise f the
vocabulary
elat-
ingto wrath,norder o reveal ts ntimateonnection ith hevirtues
of
the
age
of
Marathon.
he
complementf
this
proud
age
s
fearless-
ness,
s the
old men
ay 1091).
Slaves
nd
demagogues
re
afraidn the
Wasps 427, 715); Philocleon's
rowningrgument
n
defense f
the
juror's ife
s that
veryone,
ven
his
own
on, fears im,buthe
himself
woulddie didhe
fear isson (628-30).20
Recognizing
hat he urors' nger s part f a
style f behavior
hat
summons
up an old-fashioned,
ugged
pontaneity
nd
individualism
may lso help
us to
understandhevery rominent
ole that heft
lays
in the Wasps.References o stealing ccurnearlywenty imes n the
course
f
the
play.21
over
ncludesheftn
a
kind f formal
ndictment
of
the characterf
Philocleon, ndhe confesses
imself
astonished t
the
hidden
trengthf antinomianentiment
hichhis sympathy
nd
affectionor he
old reprobate
mply.22over tentativelyuggests
hat
the
sickness r
insanity fPhilocleon's esirefor
ury-service ay
be
18
HLrakleous
rgen,
1030;
MacDowell d
ioc.
19Peace, v. 752;
M. Platnauer,
ristophaneseace
(Oxford 964)ad loc. Cf.also
Ly-
sistrata
550
and
1113
orgontas),
with
Rogers' omment n
the
atter erse:
the
word
conveys o
idea
of
anger,
Benjamin
ickley
ogers, he
Lysistrata
f
Aristophanes
Lon-
don
1911).
20
The
ambivalent
ature fthe
wasps'
ggressiveness
s
broughtut
clearlynd
cogently
by
Lenz
(above,
note
2) 42-43.
21
Verses
57,
238,
354,
357, 363,
449,
554,
556,
759, 928,
933, 953,
958,
1101,
1200-1201,
227,1345,
1369,
1447.
22
Dover
above,
note
2)
126-27.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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34
David
Konstan
Aristophanes'
ignal
hat
his
offenses
re n
quite
nother
ategory
rom
the
bravado f other
omic
heroes uch as
Dicaeopolis
r
Trygaeus
n
the Acharnians nd the
Peace.23
Philocleonndeed
eminisces
istfully
bout
he
days
whenhe
could
make
way
with
ome small
pits,
while
now,
s
he
adds,
he is
watched
likea
ferret
hat
has stolen he
meat
356-64).
But the
recollection
s
inspired y
the
chorus,
who
themselves
hink ack
fondly pon
their
youth
whenthey tolea
mixing
owl
236-38).
Philocleon
eminds
is
slave of
his
kindness
whenhe
caught
im
stealing
rapes 448-50:
the
joke
there s
that
e
gave
him
good
beating),
nd
claims hat
is
bravest
exploit
was
the theft f
some
vine-poles
1200-1201).
He
caps
off
hese
achievementsycarryingff he flute irlfrom hedrinkingartyo
which
his
son
had
invited
him
(1345,
1369). But
such
escapades re
clearly
egarded, t
least
by
the
older
generation,
s
proper
o
young
men-in
the
scene
with
he
flute
irl,
Philocleon
hinks
f
himself
s
again
youthful,
s
we
have
seen.
Bdelycleon,y
comparison,
eems
pre-
maturely
traitlaced.
heir
ndulgent
ttitude
oward
etty
xpropriations,
which
hey ook
upon
s
signs f
a
mettlesome
emper,
oes
not
prevent
either
hilocleon r
the
chorus rom
eeling
utrage t
thekind
f
theft
that esultsn arge calesocial nequities,ncethey ecome ware f t.
Thus,after
hilocleon
s
persuaded y
his
sonthat
Cleonhas
systemati-
cally
defrauded he
dicasts,he
would
ike
the
chanceto
condemn he
man
(758-59).
The
chorus s
similarly
esentful
t the
thought
hat
young nd
unscrupulous en
have
cheated
hem ut of
thefruits
f
the
empire
cquired
by their
abors
1098-1101), and
they re
quitepre-
pared
o
attack
aches
for
llegal
ccumulationf
wealth
240-44).
And
yet, t
the
ame
time,
hilocleon,y
his
own
admission,
s
receptive
o
an
appeal
for
ympathyy
an
embezzler
f
state
funds n
the
grounds
thathe himselfmust t sometime rotherhaveshaved bitoff rom
provisions
orhis
unit
when
he was
in
charge
f
mess
funds
553-57).
Here,
perhaps, s
the
nub
of the
ssue: not
that
Philocleon r
the
old
jurors
re
scoundrels, ut
that
heir
rank
cceptance f
the
mpulse
o
takewhat
ne
can
get s no
longer n
adequate
thic n a
society
where
a
developed
tate
machinerynd
the
financial
esources
f an
empire
are
a
basis
of
real
class
power
or
hose
who can
control
hem.24
ithin
23
Ibid.,127.On the motif f theft, ee also JohnVaio, Aristophanes' asps:The
Relevance of
the
Final
Scenes,
GRBS 12
(1971)
343.
As a
caution
against
too
high-
minded
condemnation
f
stealingn
comedy,
we
may
note
that
heft,
articularly
f
food,
eems
to
have
been a
feature
f
certain
ultic
ractices,
nd
that
here
may
have
been
ertain
esturesnd
dances n
Old
Comedy
hat
epresented
uch
theft;ee
Lillian .
Lawler,
The
Dance
of
the
Ancient
Greek
Theater
Iowa
City
1974)
79-80.
24
It
is
true
hat
Bdelycleon,
n
exasperation,
alls
his
father
oneros
192-93,
214;
cf.
243)
and
even
miarotatos
397);
also,
the
old
man
comically
onfesses
o
an
urge
for
mischief
kakon,
22,
340;
cf.
168).
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
10/21
The Politics f
Aristophanes'
Wasps
35
the
deology rojectedy
the
play,
he
old men
represent way
of
life
thatreceives
certain
ostalgic
espect
ut is
fundamentally
nsuited
to the position f political owerwhich heirrole as dicasts onfers
upon
them,
nder
ocial onditions
hat
hey
annot
learlyomprehend
or
control.
Having grown
up
at a
time
when therewas
no
thought
for hetoricr
sycophancy1094-97), they
re
now
easy prey
or
dem-
agogues.
I
am inclined lso to read
Philocleon's tatementhat
s a
young
man he
could,
when on
campaign,
un
away
with
mpunity357-59),
not
as a mark
f
cowardice,
s
Dover
charges,
ut
rather
s
an
indica-
tion that
disposition
o
go
where
one
pleased
was not
incompatible
withthe interests f the group n former imes,when no one was
postedto
guarddiscipline.
am not fora
moment
uggesting,
o
be
sure,
hat
o sublime
harmony
etween
rivate
esires
nd
communal
needs actually btained
t
the timeof
the Persian
nvasion,
nly
that
the
mage
of
such
a
harmony as available nd effective
n
setting
ff
perceived
ensions
n
Aristophanes'
wn
society.
Within he world f
the
play,
t
anyrate, here s
no hint
hat
Philocleon's
militaryeport-
ment
s
anything
ike
Cleonymus',
who
is accused
of
abandoning is
shieldnbattle15-27,822-23).25
There
s
a
way,
hen, n which hilocleon
nd the urors
tandnot
for
ntinomianismr
someabstract
tateof nature ut
for
n
anterior
social
order,
however
dealized nd
even
falsified
t
mayhave come to
be.
The reversal fnarrative
aradigm
ywhich
young
man
disciplines
an
old does notwhollynvert
he
values that onventionally
ttach o
senes nd
adulescentes,herebyhe
eldergeneration
s theguardian f
tradition
hile heyoungers
moved o
passionateransgressions.ris-
tophanes'
atterns
a
complex ne, n which
hilocleon,
owevernfan-
tile, also representsn ethic and a tradition hich re nevertheless
contained
r reduced
ythe ction f theplay.
If
urors n the Wasps re seen
as aged and
old-fashioned,hey lso,
with he
kindofoverdetermination
hat s
characteristicf all ideologi-
cally harged
iterature,epresent
he socialclass
of poorfree itizens.26
25
Compare
lso
the
uninhibited
ttitude f
the old
men toward
ex
and
pleasure
n
general,
s
indicated y
theuses
of
thewords
hedone r
hedomai,
.g. 272,
510-12, 605,
641,
1534, 1667;
cf. 1006.
Elizabeth
arter as
suggested o
me
that his
spect f
the
characterfPhilocleonmaybecompared ith hetricksterype epresentedyOdysseus,
as
opposed
o
the
ragicmodel
f
Achillean
eroism.
26
For
the
theoretical
resuppositionshat re
guidingmy
conception f
the
complex
determinationf
thecharacter
f the
chorus,
hilocleon,nd
other
igures
n
the
Wasps,
see
Pierre
Macherey,
Theory f
Literary
roduction,
ransl.
Geoffrey all
(London
1978):
Whatbegs
to
be
explainedn
the work
s
not that
alse
implicity
hich
erives
from he
apparent
nity f
ts
meaning,
ut the
presence
f a
relation,
r an
opposition,
between
lements f the
exposition
r
levelsof the
composition,
hosedisparities hich
point
o a
conflictf
meaning....
The
book s
not he
xtensionf
meaning;
t s
gener-
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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36
David
Konstan
The
dialogueduring
he
parodos
between he
chorus nd their
young
sons
who lead them n makes
their tation
bundantly
vident:
hey
worryboutwastingampoil (251-53), consider riedfigs n extrava-
gance,
consume heir
meager
uror'spay
on
barley
nd
firewood,
nd
are
at a
loss how
to
provide inner
hould he courtnot
sit
that
day.27
Mention f weather
eads,
as
though
y reflex,
o
thoughts
f
crops
(264-65), which
uggests
hat
hey
re
farmers. ut in
the
main
they
think f
themselvesimply
s
the
poor toispenesin,
63;
cf.
703),
and
Bdelycleon
an
even compare hem
o olive
pickers,
hat
s to
say,day
laborers r hiredhands,the
most despised
formof
labor,
for
their
dependency pon
wages
712).
Consistent
ith
heir
overty,
hey
ee
therich s their aturalntagonists,nstantlyuspecting delycleonf
collusionwith he
class
of
wealthy
itizens
ubject
o
liturgies
or
the
rigging
f ships
whenthey earnwhyhe
is
confiningis father 342-
43).28 In a similarvein,
Philocleon sees
among the great merits
of ury
duty he
opportunity
f
contemninghe rich, nd
his change f
gear t
theend of the
play,whenhe
has givenup servingn
thecourts,marks
him as
having oinedthe
wealthy
et.29 he
chorus's
repeated
harge
that
Bdelycleon
s
aspiring
o
tyranny
n
attackinghe
urors s
a
political
expression f their ense of social identityast in the contemporary
formula f
class
conflict.30
delycleon
ffectively
idicules
he
accusation
byobserving
hat
veryvegetable
ealer
creams
yranny
f
one shops
nextdoor
488-507),but the
point,
houghwitty,eveals nly
hat he
chorus
s mistakenbout
Bdelycleon's
ersonal
motives,which, e says,
are
to
provide
or
his father's
omfort
503-6). Aristophanes
hereby
geniallyinesses he
fact
hat
hedicasts, s poor
people, ee
the courts
as
a
bulwark f their
emocracy. his
rousing fthe chorus's
political
apprehensions,
nly
to
dissolvethem
through comic
turnof argu-
ment,san artfulvasion fthe ocial ssue.
ated
from
he
incompatibility
f
several
meanings,
he
strongest
ond
by
which t
is
attachedo
reality,
n a
tense nd
ever-renewed
onfrontation
79-80).
27
Verses
293-316; cf.
1112-13,
where heir
roud emeanor
oes not
conceal
he
fact
that
heymake
heir
iving
n
the
ourts.
28
For
the
reading
Jcwz,ee
MacDowell
d 343;
Bentley's
onjecture
E'WV,
roposed
independently
y
Fridericus
enricus
othe,
d.,
Aristophanis
omoediae,
ol. 2
(Leipzig
18452)
d
355-56,
remainsttractive.
29
Contemningherich: 75-76, f.626; change fgear:1168,1171,1309.Ad 1309, f.
lulius
Richter,
d.,
Aristophanis
espae
Berlin
858), nd
Vaio
(above,note
23)
340.
30
417,
464-70,474,
487; cf.
342-45,
411-14.
MacDowell,
whose
ommentaryn
this
s
on
other
oints
haracteristically
epoliticizes
ristophanes'
rgument,
emarks
d
345
on
the
tendency
n
Athens
uring he
Peloponnesian ar
o
accuse
political
pponent
f
'conspiracy'r
tyranny' ith
ittle
r
no
ustification,nd
cites
selection
f
passages;
but he
harges
f
tyranny
nd
conspiracy
ere
haracteristically
evelled
y
representatives
of
the
demos
gainst
ligarchical
roups; ee
Robert
Alexander
eil, ed.,
The
Knights
f
Aristophanes
Cambridge
901)ad
235-36,
Richterd 417.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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The
Politics f
Aristophanes'
Wasps
37
Bdelycleon's
ilial
nterest, y whichthe chorus's
suspicions
re
deflated, oints
o
a
fundamental
nconsistency
n thecharacterization
f
the urors, kindoffissuren the text hat s a mark f ts deological
burden.3
or
all
Philocleon's
xemplary
tatus s
spokesman
or
the
jurors'wayoflife nd
most
crid
oul
among
hem
277),
he
alone
is
not
dependent
pon
the courts
or
his
living.
or
him, ury
ervice
s
merely personal
assion.
His
fanatical
evotion
o the
uror's
ife
may
be
represented
s an
obsession
r
humor
recisely
ecause nother
nd,
by
universal
onsent,
more comfortableife s
open
to
him.32 hilo-
cleon's bond with
hechorus
s
primarily
entimental,ased
on
their
common ge
andshared
xperiences
f an
earlier
nd
idealizedmoment
in Athenian istory.33ractically,owever, e is the retired ead ofa
relativelypulent
ousehold
nd has access,
through is
son's connec-
tions, t
least,
to
circles f
considerablenfluencen the
state.The
dicast's ife s at
odds
with
hilocleon's
ocial
lass.
By
a
sleight
f hand
that
s
proper
o
comedy, hilocleon's onver-
sion from he
rigors
f
the courts o the
easy
ife hat
his
son
promises
carries he
chorus
with
t,
eventhough or
hem
here s no
possibility
of a
comparablehange
n
circumstances.
heyregard
he
agonbetween
Philocleonnd Bdelycleon s a debateon ultimateocial ssues,upon
the
outcome
f which
heir wn fatewill
depend.34
he
debate tself
s
cleverly ast
as
an
argumentbout
power:
Bdelycleon ets
the
terms,
and
Philocleon
ises to the
challenge
515-19). Philocleon
makes
his
case
essentially
n
the
deference
hown o urorsby
men of
allclasses,
but
above
all
by
the rich
nd
powerful
553-58,575,
592-602); as an
afterthoughte
adds the
domestic
ndependence
hathe
derives rom
his uror's
pay 605-18).
Philocleon's
rgument ests
n his
identifica-
tion
with he
common eople.35
delycleon'snswer
s that
he urors'
authority, hich hey egards royal 546,549, cf.587) andeven god-
like 571,
619), is
illusory,ecause
thepay
that hey eceive
epresents
only
small
fractionf
the state's
revenues
656-718). To
the
extent
31
Concerninghe
relationship
etween
issures,
uts,
or
inconsistenciesn
a
text nd
ideology,
he
clearest
xposition
know s that f
James
.
Kavanagh,
'Marks
of
Weak-
ness':
deology,
cience,
nd
Textual
riticism,
raxis
(1981)
23-38.
must
mphasize
that uch
fissuresre
not
to
be
taken s
faults r
signs
f
bad
craftsmanship;
n
the
con-
trary,
hey re
the
places t which
rt
eveals ts
perations.
32
Cf.1453-73; tmaynowbeseen how hecharacterizationfPhilocleons a humors
bound
p
with
Aristophanes'
trategy
or
esolving
henarrative
ensionn the
Wasps:
t
s
the ign f
Philocleon's
solation
rom
he
horus f
dicasts.
33
Philocleon's
astes, or
xample
is
uspicionf
wine
nd
citharas
1253,
989; cf.
959),
reflect
imultaneously
n
old-fashioned
thic
nd a
class
hostility
oward
ristocraticym-
posia.
The
complex
eference
f such
ignifiers
nables he
ross-characterization
f
Philo-
cleon.
34
Cf.
535, peri
t6n
hapant6n;
lso518,
540-47.
35
Cf.
593,
tou
plethous; 94,
t6idemoi.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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38
David
Konstan
that
Philocleon's
assion
for the courts
s
a
reflex f
pure
egotism,
Bdelycleon's
rguments
telling,
eaving
side
the
silly
conomics
f
his
calculations.36s an address o classinterests, oreover, delycleon's
rhetoric
s
effective
n
two
ways:
t
undermines
he
confidencef
the
jurors
n
the
men
they
have taken o be
their
eaders,
nd it
suggests,
by ts
display
f
mathematical
omputations-however
ubious he
rea-
soning
mayreally
e-that the
strong
nd
spontaneous
motions
f
the
old
men
cannot
protecthem
gainst
he wiles of
modern
oliticians.
Throughout
hilocleon's
resentation,
delycleon
ad
been
taking
otes
with
stentatious
eliberateness
529,
538, 559,
576), and
his
emphasis
on careful
alculation
656;
cf.
745)
exhibits
hesort
f
mind
neededto
reckonwith hedemagogues.37hus,persuaded f thefutilityftheir
judicial
owers, he
chorus
wholeheartedly
ndorse
Bdelycleon's ffero
support is
father,
nd
go
so
far
s
to
wish
they
had a
relativewho
could
offeruch
advice
731-32),
not
pausing
o
reflecthat
etirement
from
ury
servicewill not
solve
the problem f
their
poverty.
ater,
when
they
observethe
conveniences
f
Philocleon's
rivate ourt
t
home,
they
prayApollo
to
grant
hem ll
respite rom
wandering,
nd
conclude
hat
Bdelycleon
s the
best
friend
he
common
eople
have n
hisgeneration869-73,887-90). Indeed, fterheagontheclassstatus
of
the
chorus s
quietlylided
n
favor f
their
dentification
s
genuine
Athenians
f
theold
stripe
1060-1121).
Logically,
s Lutz
Lenz has
observed,
he
chorus
might
ave
re-
spondedto
Bdelycleon's
rgument
y
demandingn
increase n
the
juror's
daily
ee;
at
all
events, hey
might ave
contemplated
sing
heir
legal
role
to
control
arge-scale
eculation.38
t
was
surely
not
beyond
Aristophanes
o have
staged he
idea of
all
Athenians
ivingn
luxury
off
tate
ncome
n
one of
his
utopian
omedies
compare, or
xample,
theEcclesiazusaer the Wealth),ndXenophonwasto propose ome-
thing f
thesort n all
seriousnessn
the
middle
f
the
followingen-
tury
Poroi).39 iven
Aristophanes'
enerally
ritical
ttitude
oward he
courts,
owever,
t
s safe
o
saythat
he
would
not
have
ooked o
them
for
an
instrument
f
utopian
eform.40
n
the
Wasps, he
overdeter-
36
On
the
leight f hand n
Bdelycleon's
rgument,
ee the
sensible
emarks
f
Dover
(above,
note
),
129-30.
37
Note
also
Philocleon's
nstinctive
ssociation
f
writing
ith
doing
harm,
60-61;
AdolphRoemer, Studien u AristophanesnddenaltenErkldrernesselben,Part
1
(Leipzig
1902)
104-5,
sserts
hat
here s
a
reference
ere
o
ogographers.
38
See
Lenz
(above,
note
2) 25.
39
On
the
Wealth,
ee
David
Konstan
nd
Matthew
illon,
The
Ideology
f
Aristopha-
nes'
Wealth,
JP102
1981)
371-94;
on
the
Poroi,
M.
M.
Austin
nd
P.
Vidal-Naquet,
Economic
nd
Social
Historyf
Ancient
reece,
ransl.
M. M.
Austin
Berkeley
1977)
316-19.
40
For
passages
n
which
Aristophanes
n
one
way or
another
mocks
he
courts,
ee
G. E.
M.
de
Ste.
Croix,
The
Origins f
the
Peloponnesian
War
(Ithaca,
N.Y.
1972)
362,
notes , 10.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
14/21
The
Politics f
Aristophanes'
Wasps 39
mined
status
of
the
chorus-the
conflation
f class
and
generational
characteristics-enablessemantic lide
by
which
problem
f
class
tensions illusorilyesolved ytheprospectfcomfortableetirement,
even
though
his
possibility
an be realized
yonly
one
of the
urors,
namelyPhilocleon. he
Wasps
thus
raises
the
issue of
class
only
to
conjure
t
awayby
an
image
f
ndividual
ithdrawal.
Under
he
post-Pericleanthenian
emocracy,owever,
uch ndi-
vidualwithdrawal
tself ad
a
political
spect.Donald
Lateiner
as re-
cently ointed
ut that
Aristophanes
nd
Euripides
represent
n
impor-
tant,
f
controversial,isinclination
or
politics
hat
s
clearly
vident
y
thebeginning
f
the
Peloponnesian
War. 4
Most richmen,
Lateiner
notes, rarely nown s activedemocrats, ind t useful o assert his
quiet
ackof
nvolvement
5). Lateiner
uotes
from
speech
f
Lysias
(19.55): For
I
have reached
the
age of thirty
ithout ver
having
talked
back
to
my
father.
No citizen
has
ever
haled
me
into court.
Although ur
house
neighbors
n
the Agora,
have
never ven
been
seen near he
aw court
r
the
Council's
hall
before
his uit
fell
n
me
(7).
The
reasons for
this
superior
modesty
re again
best
given in
Lateiner's wn
words:
The
democratizationf
Athens, he
relaxation
of traditionalocial and politicalonstraints,he emergence f a new
class
of
politicians-all
movements
ependent
o
some
degreeon
the
growth,
uccess,
nd
revenues
fthe
Athenian
mpire-encouraged
retreatythe
socially nd
economically
dvantaged
lassfromhe
world
of
politics
nd
political
manoeuvringn
the
courts....
As the
men of
traditional
tatus
were
deprived f
their
monopoly f
political
ower,
they ame to
devalue
political
articipation. 42
he lower
lasses,
n the
contrary,erceived
hecourts
s a
bulwarkf
popular
ights, nd
not
onlybecause the
verypoor
or
decrepit
might
upplement
heir iveli-
hoodbythedicast's eeofthree bolsa day.The chorus n the Wasps
instinctively
egard
critic f
the
urysystem
ike
Bdelycleon
s an
enemy
f
the
people.43
he
chorus's
pprobationf
Philocleon's
with-
drawal rom
he
courts,which
resentstselfs
the
cure tohis
personal
obsession,
s on
thesocial
evel
an
endorsement
f a class
alternativen
political
tyle.
Insofar s
the
chorus
vokes
time f natural
olidarity,hen
here
was no
need of
courts,
here s a
specious
dentityf
nterests,
r at least
ofpoint fview,betweenheold urors ndBdelycleon,nhisadvocacy
41
Donald
Lateiner,
'The
Man
Who
Does
Not
Meddle n
Politics':
Topos n
Lysias,
CW 76
(1982) 4.
42
Lateiner
above,
note
41)
11;
see
also
W.
R.
Connor,
The
New
Politicians
f
Fifth-
Century
thens
Princeton
971)
175-94,
nd
Donald
Lateiner,
An
Analysis f
Lysias'
Political
efense
peeches, RSA 11
1981)
151-52,
158.
43
Cf.
473,
misodemos;11,
misopolis;
ontrast,
fter
he
chorus as
been
persuaded
y
Bdelycleon's
rguments,
on
demon
hilountos
88-89,
and
philopatrian
465.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
15/21
40 David
Konstan
of
withdrawalrom
udicial
ctivities.
hat
is
to
say,
the
genteel
lass
could
cloak ts
withdrawalrom
ublic
ife nd
encounters
t law
in
an
idealizedmemory f a timebefore he law, representingheir lass
attitude
s a
gesture
f
pristine
ocial
harmony.
emocratic
itigiousness
could
be seen as
the
opposite
oth
of
early
ommunality
nd of
aristo-
cratic
loofness,
ll the
more
asily
o
the
extent
hat
he
upper
lasses
succeeded
n
casting
hemselvess
the
bearers
f
traditional
ays.
The
difference
ies,
of
course,
n
thecombative
ignificance
f
the ristocratic
denigration
f the
courts,
nd manifests
tself
n
Bdelycleon's
masteryf
forensichetoric.
delycleon
as
no
choice
but
to
enter nto
contest f
persuasionn
order
o reveal he
dangers
nherentn
persuasion
tself;
e
mustprovehimselfuperioro Cleonand his sort t their wngame.
What
distinguishes
delycleon
rom
opular
emagoguess the
rational-
ity
that s
assigned o
his
discourse y
the
terms f the
play,
which
indeed
nnouncestself
s a
little
rgumenthat
as udgment. 44
In the
parabasis,
Aristophanes
ssociates
his own
good
udgment
with
is
refusal o
submit o
pressure
rom ny
ource
1027). The
word
for
ubmit
r obey
s of
course he
middle
orm f
theverb
meaning o
persuade; he
chorus
mployst
twice
f
Philocleon,
s they
ncourage
himtoyield o theargumentslogoi) ofhis son (729, 747). The idea
that
hechorus
nd even
Philocleon
an
recognize
he
betterrgument
should
anction
heir ole
as
dicasts,
avethat
Bdelycleon's
easonings
designed o
subvert
heir
ommitmento
the
ury ystem.
here
s an
ambivalence
ere
concerning
ersuasion
s a
forcefor
good
and evil
that
s
reminiscent
f
the
Clouds,
ndwhich
hreatens
ltimately
o call
into
question
he
authorityf
reason tself.45
hile
Aristophanes
oes
not,
to
be sure,
deconstructis own
discoursen so
radical fashion,
there
s perhaps
sign
n thetext
of
thefailure f
confidencen an
authorizingogic rrationalityn thefact hat ne ofthewords ignify-
ing
persuasion, ywhich
hilocleonhe
father
cknowledges
is
submis-
sion
to
his
son
(anapeitho,
84), is
employed
lso in
the sense of
sub-
orn
(101;
cf.
278).46
44
Logidion
nomen
chon,64;
see
Kenneth
Reckford,
Catharsis
nd Dream-Inter-
pretation
n
Aristophanes'
Wasps,
TAPA 107
(1977)
291, 299,
for
discussion f
this
phrase.
45
Note
he
lmost
magical
ffectn
the
horus f
Philocleon's
rgument,
36-41.
46
The ideaofdeconstruction,ndthe rreducibilityfambiguousrcontradictoryerms,
I
take of
course
from
he
work f
Jacques
errida;
brief,
ccessible
ummaryf
his
methodss
Jonathan
uller,
Jacques
errida,
n John
turrock,
d.,
Structuralism
nd
Since: From
Levi-Strauss o
Derrida
(Oxford
1979).
See also Jonathan
Culler,
On
Decon-
struction:
heory nd
Criticism
fter
tructuralism
Ithaca, N.Y.
1982),
esp.
180-225,
for a
more
xtended
reatment.
should
make t
clear,
however,
hatmine
s a
political
ppro-
priationf
Derrida's
pproach,
nasmuch
s I
hold
the
source
f
the
tension
round
he
concept f
persuasiono
ie n
the
lass
onflictver
ontrol f the
means f
persuasion,
struggle
hich,
n
ts
very
ature,
must esort
o
disguise.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
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The Politics
f
Aristophanes'Wasps 41
When
Bdelycleon
erceives hathis
argumentsn
the
agon,
which
s
itself
kind
of
triai,
ave convinced is father ut stillnot
freed
him
from ispassion orurying,eproposesostage trial thome,with
farcical
ock-up
f court
araphernalia.
his
ntroduces
brilliantit
of
comic
nvention,
n
which
dog s
accused
f
stealing piece
of
Sicilian
cheese.
The scene has
multiple unctions
ithin
he
play.
t
is
a
satirical
enactmentf the
prejudice nd
irresponsibility
f
Athenian
urors,
s
Aristophanesaw
them;47with
transparent
llegory,
t
caricatures
dispute
etween leon
and
Laches,
a
general
lose
to
the
conservative
leaderNicias,
argely
o
the
advantage
f
the
atter;
t
serves second
and decisivedefeat
o
Philocleonwhen
he
is
tricked nto
voting
or
acquittal ya switchn balloturns-an unpardonableiolation f his
principles
hatbreakshis
will.48
We
may observe lso that t
achieves
Bdelycleon's riginal
bject
of
confining is father t
home,
a
point
emphasized
y
the
contrast
etween he
adverbs here
(enthade,
65),
that
s,
in
the
house,
and
there
ekeise, 65;
ekei,767,
770),
in
the
actual ourt.49he entire
onceit s such of a trial t
home
s thus he-
matically
ignificant,
or
while t allows
Philocleon
while
onger o
exercise
his
mania n a
harmless
way,
and
gives
him
a
taste
of
the
comforts is son can provide,t also dissociates hilocleon rom he
collective
spect
f the
ury ystem
hich
s
fundamental
o its
nature s
an
institutionf the
democracy,nd,
in
effect,
tomizes
nd domes-
ticates
he
urors.50
he
reduction
f
public
ife to
the
scope
of
the
individual
ousehold
ealizes
he kindof
privatization
ffected
y the
class
of
which
delycleons a
symbol,
style vailable n
an exemplary
wayto the
well-to-do.he
ideological
quation f
household nd city-
state,
which
n
the
utopian
plays
ike
the
Ecclesiazusae
ouldbe ex-
ploited o
express
he
essentially
ommunal
dentityf the
citizen
ody,
isheredeployedodissolve hecivic olidaritymbodied nthe udiciary
institutions
f
the
populace nto
the
autarkyelt nd
enjoyed ypeople
of
means,
nd
part
f
the deal to
which ll classes
aspired.
hilocleon
even
alludes
o an
oracle
ccording
o
which
veryone ill
have his
own
little ourtwithin
is gate
799-804), a
comment hich,
ddressed
s it
47
MacDowell
above,note
1)
249 with
pparent
redence
n
the
charge. t
is
interesting
to
observe,
lthoughhere
s
no
need
o
document,
ow
frequently
he
harge
f
rrespon-
sibility
gainst
Athenian
urors
s
accepted
mong ommentatorss
valid.
For a
rare
nd
salutaryeminderf theanti-democraticias of oursources, ee A. H. M. Jones, The
Athenian
emocracy
nd ts
Critics,
ambridge istorical
ournal
(1953)
1-26
=
Athe-
nian
Democracy
Oxford
975)
41-72.
48
Verses
99-1002,
008; f.
973-74.
On
the
metaphorical
ensity
f the
cene,
ee also
Newiger
above,note
18) 130.
49
The
contrasting
articles
re noted
y
MacDowell
d 765.
50
This point
s
brought
ut
verywell
by
Schwinge
above,
note
5) 41-42;
cf. lso
Whit-
man
above,
note
7)
155:
Formerly,
s
a
judge
Philocleon
ad been
part
f
society,
ot,
as
he
thought,
hemain
riving
ear,
ut nly
cog; still,
part.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
17/21
42
David
Konstan
seems
to
theaudience
Bdelycleon
as dashed nside he house
and
the
chorus s not
engaged
n the
action t
this
point)
and not
especially
wittynitself,erhaps efersoorparodies omeprophecyncirculation
just
then.51
or
Philocleon,
he
idea
of
the commonwealth
as
been
reduced
to the
individual,
hat
s,
himself,
lone
(cf.
toi
koinoi
',
emoi, 17).
If
it is correct o
see
a
political
r
social
meaning
n
Philocleon's
addiction
o jury
service-Bdelycleon
imself efers
o
it
as
a
disease
inveteraten the
city
651)-and to read
the
household rial s a
figure
for
the
domestication
f
a
popular
emocratic
nstitution
nd
the
con-
tractionf civic
onsciousness,
t
least
mong
he
upper
lasses,
o the
perimeterf thehouseholdwalls, hen hevictoryfBdelycleon'social
ideals
s
already
mplicit
n
the
trial
cene itself.We
may
accordingly
construe he trick f
the
voting rns
by
which
Bdelycleon
etermines
theverdict
s
an
emblem f
his
new
power.
He
has his fathert
home,
where
he
wants
him;
as
actual
master
f the
house,
he is
in
control
there; hecourt
s such
s
powerless,
nd
Bdelycleons in a
position
o
decide the
acquittal
f
Laches.
Philocleon's
reakdown,
nd
the
final
cure of
his
ury
mania,
re,from
socialpoint
fview,
imply y
way
ofacknowledginghisnewstate faffairs. hat smore, heconversion
of
class
allegiance
mplied n
Philocleon'snd
the
chorus's
withdrawal
from
he
public
nd
collective
ole of
urors
ignals
he
transition
o
the
final
cenes
of
the
play,
n
which
delycleon
ntroduces
is fathernto
vulgar
ravestyf
aristocratic
ocial
ife.
In a
paper
n
Aristophanes'
Wasps
ubtitled
The
Relevance f
the
Final
Scenes,
John
Vaio
sets
out
several
motifs
hat
ink
what
he
identifiess
the
firstnd
second
parts f
the
play,
hat s,
the
sections
before
nd after
he great
parabasis,
whichhe
informally
abels the
dicastic nd symposiac arts f theplay. 52 aio indicates owrefer-
ences
to
costume,
manners,
iddles
ndwine,
music nd
dance
generate
a
contrastver
theplay
between
he
humble
ives
of
urors
nd the
symposia o
which a
larger art
of
the
social
lifeof
the
nobles
was
devoted. 53n
the
opening
cene,for
xample,
hilocleon's
assion or
jurying
s
opposed to
infatuations
ith
gambling,
easting,
ospitality,
and
drinking
hat
re
the
characteristic
ices
of
the
gentleman
lass,
nd
Vaio
suggests
hat he
nitial
ialogue
etween
delycleon's
laves,
who
poseriddlesndaredrowsy ith rink,maybe seenas a servileym-
posium
n
which
ne
of
the
participants
pes
the
practices
f
his bet-
51
MacDowell
ad 799
thinks
t
is
wholly
nvented
by
Aristophanes,
n
this
following
he
scholia,
which also
suggest that
Philocleon
is
here
speaking
to
himself;
o,
for
example,
W.
C.
Green,
Aristophanes:
he
Wasps
Cambridge
1868)
ad
loc.
52
Vaio
(above,
note
23),
335,
note
1,
and
342.
53
Vaio, p.
339,
quoting
Victor
Ehrenberg,
The
People
of
Aristophanes,
Sociology
f
Old
Attic
omedy
New
York
19612) 102.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
18/21
The
Politics f Aristophanes'Wasps
43
ters. 54
homas Banks
has sharpened
he
contrast:The lawcourt
nd
the
symposium,
n the
evel
of
plot,
learly epresent
pposingways f
life, heaffirms,dding hat each s an institution,social onvention,
and
therefore
creatureof nomos. 55
Banks
maintains
hat
both
insti-
tutions rovide means
for
settling isputes ;both,
he
says,
have
their stablished
rocedures, hough
he courts
re of
course
public
structures,
with
formallyegislated
ules,
while
ymposia
re
private
and governed y
etiquette; oth,
n
short,
have
a
common
basis,
which s socialform.56
anks oncludes
hat hilocleons alienated rom
both,
nd
stands
s
a
symbol
f nature r
physis gainst
ll
claimsof
nomos
r
convention
p. 84).
But the
distancing
f
Philocleon
rom he
communal ndsocialessence of the awcourtss nota merefunction
of
Philocleon's
rrepressibleharacter, is role as natural
man,
in
Jeffreyenderson's hrase.57
ather,
t
is predicatedn
the
real
social
distinction
etweenPhilocleon
nd the
urors
of
the
chorus,
nd is
engineered
y Bdelycleon
n
such
a
wayas
to
command
he
assent
of
the
chorus tself. hilocleons pried
oose from he
courts, nd ifAris-
tophanes
hen
turns
o
satirizinghe
entertainmentsf the nouveaux
riches, his s
in
largemeasure means f
exposing he
social nferiority
ofCleon and hisfriends, ho arenamed mong he ymposiasts1219-
21).58Wealth nd influencelone do
not confer he
status f gentle-
man.59
The caricaturef the
drinking
arty oes scoresome hitsagainst
aristocraticbuses, such
as an
ostentatiousffectationfforeigntyles,
including hat
of
the
Spartans1136-66), and an
inclinationo treat
lower
lasscitizens
n a
violent r
contemptuous anner.
he charge f
hybris,assault,
s
levelled four
times at the inebriated hilocleon
(1303,
1319, 1418,
1441). In part, his poofon upper
lass arrogance
54
Vaio,
p. 338.
On
the
meaning
of
chreston,
0, as
well-born,
see
Vaio, p.
339
and
note
23, who
convincingly
efutes
MacDowell's
suggestion
hat the
term
s
socially neu-
tral. After
verse 76,
there
appears
to
be a
lacuna,
in which
another
vice
beginningwith
philo-
was
mentioned.
For a
recent
conjecture, see
David
Sider,
Aristophanes
Wasps
74-77:
The
Missing
Vice,
CP 70
(1975)
125-26
(philarchos).
55
Thomas
R.
Banks,
The
Ephemeral,
the
Perennial,
nd the
Structure f
Aristophanes'
Wasps, CB 56
(1980) 82.
56
Banks, pp. 82-83.
57
Banks, . 83; Jeffreyenderson, heMaculateMuse:Obsceneanguagen Attic om-
edy New
Haven
1975)
79.
Cf.
also Whitman
above,
note
7)
157.
58
The
mention
ater
1301-2)
of
other,
more
conservative
articipantsn the
symposium
widens the
scope
of the
satire.
This
produces a
certain
ppearance
of
even
handedness n
the
play,
which
has
sometimes
been
applauded
as
a sign
that
Aristophanes
was
above
partisanship.
59
Cf.
kalos
kagathos,
256; also
Ste.
Croix
(above,
note 40)
371-76 for
full
discussion
of
kalokagathia
with
relevant
bibliography,
nd pp.
358-59 on
Aristophanes'
use
of
political
and
moral
terminology.
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8/19/2019 1985 - Konstan, D. - The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps
19/21
44
David
Konstan
answers
o the
earlier
ritique
f the
democratic
ourts,
hough
t
is
decidedly
eaker nsofars it s
a
former
icast
himself ho
s the
most
egregious ffender.t falls o Bdelycleono offerompensationo an
outraged ccuser
1419-20),
who
professes
respectable
istaste
or
lawsuits
1426). Philocleonmust
again
be hustled
ff nto
his
house,
while
hechorus
ings
n
amusing
nterlude
n the wonderful
ransfor-
mation n
his character
1450-73).
There
eems
ittle
eason
o
take
his
song,
as MacDowell
does,
as an
earnest
omment n
Philokleon's
probable
evelopmentn
years o
come. 60
t
simply
marks
he
end of
his
jurying
ays,
as
Philocleon
himself as
testified
1335-40),
his
lawlessness
onstituting
he final
reach
with hecourt
ystem.
he
gay
finale fthedancingontest1497) sublates hilocleon's runken sca-
pades
onto
the
planeof
the
Dionysian,
nd all
tensions
vaporate
n
the
general
ilarity.61
G. E.
M.
de Ste.
Croix
has
argued
igorously
hat
Aristophanes
as
politically
conservative
n
the
moldof
Cimon, nd that he
usedmany
of
his
plays,
even
while
they
of
course
remained
rimarily
omedies,
s
vehicles or
he
expression f
serious
olitical
iews. 62
With
espect
o
the
Athenian
ury-courts,e
suggests
hat
Aristophanesaw
the
whole
system s a form fpopular yranny,nd [was]out to discreditt by
ridicule
362).
I
agree.
have,
however,
dvanced he
discussion,
believe,
from
he
citation f
scenes
and
comments
hat
re
derogatory
toward he
courts
excellently
ummarizedy
Ste.
Croix)to
an
analysis
of
how
Aristophanes'
deological
tance
onditionshe
nner
tructure
f
the
play. n
particular,
have
attempted
o
show
how
the
conflation
f
thematically
Recommended