What makes a “good” argument?
Can vengeance be an act of justice?
How does madness subvert free will?
Do outside opinions shape you?
Join us Tuesday evenings on Zoom, starting February 9th, from 7- 8 PM EST as we discuss these and more fundamental questions raised by these Greek plays:
Aristophanes’ The Clouds
Euripides’ Medea
Euripides’ The Bacchae
Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriazusae
We will spend two weeks on each play, for a total of eight sessions. In the course of our discussion we will read many scenes aloud together, bringing to life some of the most important moments!
The Clouds by Aristophanes
“…the highest good is victory in action, in deliberation and in verbal wars.”
Estimated reading time of one hour.
Produced at the City Dionysia in 423 BC to mixed reviews, and revised a few years later, Aristophanes’ comedy The Clouds tells the tale of a father greatly in debt, who requests his son to join the Thinkery, a school of sophists skilled in winning legal battles even when in the wrong. When he refuses, the father enters the school himself, meeting Socrates. But will he learn enough to best his creditors?
Medea by Euripides
“Mortal fate is hard, you’d best get used to it.”
Estimated reading time of an hour and a half.
Produced by Euripides in 431 BC, Medea is a retelling of the myth of Jason (of the Golden Fleece) and his wife Medea. Jason re-marries for political gain, and leaves Medea behind. Her vengeance is swift and deadly, as she murders not only Jason’s new wife but others in his family in order to increase his pain. Is she justified?
The Bacchae by Euripides
“Apart from wine, there is no cure for human hardship.”
Estimated reading time of one hour and a half.
Written by Euripides while away in Macedonia and premiered after his death in 405 BC, this play is based on the Greek myth of King Pentheus of Thebes. Dionysus, eager to refute the slander that he is not the son of Zeus, introduces Dionysian rites to the city to chaotic and deadly effects. Unique for its positioning of god and chorus as characters, this play is highly renowned.
Thesmophoriazusae by Aristophanes
“What we don’t possess by nature we must acquire by imitation”
Estimated reading time of an hour.
Likely produced in 411 BC at the City Dionysia, this comedy by Aristophanes begins with a bang: the women of Athens seek to kill Euripides for his portrayal of the female sex in his plays. Anxious to subvert his death, Euripides sends a male representative to the Thesmophoria, a female-only fertility festival. Will he escape with his life?