Citation with persistent identifier: Buis, Emiliano J. “The Lord of the Wings: Political Leadership and the Rhetorical Manipulation of Athenian Law in Aristophanes’ Birds.” CHS Research Bulletin 2, no. 1 (2013). Introduction §1 The importance of law in Old Comedy is reflected by the numerous legal terms mentioned in Aristophanes’ plays,[1] but there have rarely been literary interpretations of comedies that take into account the juridical phraseology and imagery as a comic device. It is my opinion that, in comic drama, the frequent appearance of legal expressions and forensic vocabulary indicates that playing with contemporary law was considered useful as a source for laughter. §2 Under this general framework, my specific purpose here is to provide a comprehensive reading of juridical references in Aristophanes’ comedy Birds (414 BCE). My point of departure is the well-stated conclusion that the protagonist of the play, Peisetaerus —not surprisingly named “he who persuades his companions”—,[2] becomes […] more![]()
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