The Acharnians (Ancient Greek: / Akharneĩs) is an Old Comedy by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. Written and performed during the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, it is famous for its nominally anti-war stance. Produced in 425 BC by Callistratus, it won Aristophanes first place at the Lenaea festival.
The play is set in contemporary Athens and is a hard-hitting attack on the politicians of the time, with some satire against the tragedian Euripides thrown in for good measure. Athens is at war with Sparta, and has declared a trade embargo on neighboring Megara. Dicaeopolis (Greek: Δικαιόπολις, "Just City" - sometimes rendered Dikaiopolis), a war veteran himself and representative of an average Athenian, is tired of war. Having failed to persuade the city Assembly to put an end to the conflict, which is patently being run for the benefit of political insiders, he declares an independent truce with the enemy, and opens up his home as a sort of free-trade zone.
Throughout the...
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