Publication Date

Spring 4-25-2026

Disciplines

European History

Abstract

At the end of the fifth century BC, Greek society underwent major changes as a result of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. While the origin of the war and its course of events are described in contemporary sources, the impact of the war on Athenian society is mostly overlooked. However, another contemporary source, the comedies of the Athenian playwright Aristophanes, provides an alternative perspective from which to consider Athenian society. A thematic study of Aristophanes’ eleven extant plays offers a window into changes in various aspects of Athenian society during and immediately after the Peloponnesian War, such as class divisions, the roles of women in society, the Athenian legal and political systems, and generational divisions within Athenian society.

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