The Wasps

The Wasps
The Wasps
	The Chorus in The Wasps comprises elderly jurors who briefly resemble wasps in their behaviour (Painting: 'The Jury' by John Morgan 1861, Bucks County Museum, England). ; ; The Dramatis Personae in ancient comedy depends on interpretation of textual evidence. This list is based on David Barrett's translation.
Written by	Aristophanes
Chorus	Wasps (old men); Boys
Characters	Anticleon (Bdelycleon) a young Athenian; Procleon (Philocleon) his father; Sosias their household slave; Xanthias another household slave; First Dog; A reveller; A baking-woman; A citizen; Silent Roles Midas household slave; Phryx household slave; Masyntias household slave; Second Dog (Labes); Dardanis flute girl; Chaerephon the philosopher; Witnesses brought by the Citizen; Cooking utensils witnesses at trial of Second Dog; Puppies children to Second Dog; Revellers; Three sons of Carcinus;
Setting	before house of Anticleon

The Wasps (Classical Greek: Σφῆκες, romanized: Sphēkes) is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, during Athens' short-lived respite from the Peloponnesian War.

As in his other early plays, Aristophanes satirizes the Athenian general and demagogue Cleon. He also ridicules the law courts, one of the institutions that provided Cleon his power. The play has been thought to exemplify Old Comedy.^[3]

^ Aristophanes: Lysistrata, The Acharnians, The Clouds Alan Sommerstein, Penguin Classics 1973, p. 37
^ Aristophanes: The Frogs and Other Plays D.Barrett (ed.), Penguin Classics 1964
^ Amnon Kabatchnik, Blood on the Stage, 480 B.C. to 1600 A.D.: Milestone Plays of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem, p. 55.

[1] Aristophanes: Lysistrata, The Acharnians, The Clouds Alan Sommerstein, Penguin Classics 1973, p. 37

[2] Aristophanes: The Frogs and Other Plays D.Barrett (ed.), Penguin Classics 1964

[3] Amnon Kabatchnik, Blood on the Stage, 480 B.C. to 1600 A.D.: Milestone Plays of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem, p. 55.

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The Wasps
The Chorus in The Wasps comprises elderly jurors who briefly resemble wasps in their behaviour (Painting: 'The Jury' by John Morgan 1861, Bucks County Museum, England). The Dramatis Personae in ancient comedy depends on interpretation of textual evidence.^[1] This list is based on David Barrett's translation.^[2]
Written by	Aristophanes
Chorus	Wasps (old men) Boys
Characters	Anticleon (Bdelycleon) a young Athenian Procleon (Philocleon) his father Sosias their household slave Xanthias another household slave First Dog A reveller A baking-woman A citizen Silent Roles Midas household slave Phryx household slave Masyntias household slave Second Dog (Labes) Dardanis flute girl Chaerephon the philosopher Witnesses brought by the Citizen Cooking utensils witnesses at trial of Second Dog Puppies children to Second Dog Revellers Three sons of Carcinus
Setting	before house of Anticleon