American Philological Association

The Politics of Aristophanes' Wasps

Author(s): David Konstan
Source: Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), Vol. 115 (1985), pp. 2746
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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115 (1985) 27-46

Transactions
Association
oftheAmerican
Philological

THE POLITICS OF ARISTOPHANES' WASPS

DAVID KONSTAN
WesleyanUniversity

My purposein thispaperis to showhow Aristophanes'Wasps is political. I shallarguethatthe complexof traitsby whichthe majorcharactersand the chorusare constructed,
and whichenablesthe movement
of the plot,expressesa specificpoliticalconceptionof the role of the
courtsin Athens.I shall not seek to determine,
in the firstinstance,
whetherchancejokes or remarksmay betraythe author'sown voice
or opinions.Rather,I proposeto show thata politicalor ideological
on the courtsystemis implicitin the basic narrativeand
perspective
dramaticstrategies-whatmay be called the deep structure-ofthe
Wasps.

It has frequently
been observedthatthe Wasps fallsintotwoparts.
The initialactionis builtin a straightforward
way upon the formula
of containment:
all else havingfailed,Bdelycleonhas locked his fatherin the house and placed slaves to guardhim, whilePhilocleon
makesvariousattemptsto escape.1The situationlends itselfto farce,
whichAristophanes
varieswithchoralsong and the formaldebateof
the agon. The containment
patternis a vehiclefor the characterization of Philocleonand his son. Philocleon'spassionfor the courtsto beginwithhim-is represented
as somethingquite different
from
the motivation
of any othercomic protagonist
in Aristophanes.
Philocleonis introduced
to the audienceas suffering
froma strangedisease (noson allokotonnosei, 71), a description
thatis fixedby repetition;towardthe end of the play (thoughin anothercontext)he is
called downright
mad (manias arche, 1486).2 The idea of sicknessor
insanityis reinforced
by the suggestionat the verybeginningof the
playthatthe beingwithinthe house is some kindof dangerousbeast
or monster(knodalon, 4). As for the natureof Philocleon'sdesire,
I Citations
of the Wasps are according
to thetextof DouglasM. MacDowell,ed., AristophanesWasps (Oxford1971),unlessotherwise
indicated.
On thiskindofjack-in-the-box

farce,see MacDowellad vv. 139-229,p. 149.

2 In addition
to thepassagesnotedin thetext,cf.,on disease:77, 80, 87, 114,651; on
madness:744. See also K. J.Dover,Aristophanic
Comedy(Berkeley
1972) 127; Lutz Lenz,
"KomikundKritikin Aristophanes'
'Wespen',"Hermes108 (1980) 39-40.

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28

David Konstan

termin Greek foran

it is describedas a formof er6s,the strongest
obstinateand unrulypassion (89, 753), and the termphilliasts is
is depicting
here:
coinedto name it (88). It is clearwhatAristophanes
an obsession.
Amongthe surviving
playsof Aristophanes,
then,the Waspspresentsus witha uniqueinstanceof a typeto whichwe can anachronisticallyapplytheRenaissancelabelofa humor.3
It maybe worthreflecting
thatthehumorhad a specialfunction
in a kindof comedythatwas selfconsciouslysatirical,forit is by its satiricalspirit,I believe,thatthe
Wasps,and two otherAristophanic
comedieswrittenabout the same
timeas the Wasps(Knights,
424; Clouds,423), are set offfromwhatwe
It is thenarrowsingle-mindedness
of a
maycall theutopiancomedies.4
passionthatmarksthehumor.A desireforpeaceand plenty,or forthe
restoration
of civicand poeticdecorum,as in the Frogs,howeverintense,willnot yielda humorunlessit is represented
as a pureobsession,detached,in thelastanalysis,fromtheacknowledged
publicvalue
of itsgoal. Aristophanes
ordinarily
chosenot to makesuch motivesthe
subjectofhiscomedy.Thathe didso in respectto a passionforthelaw
courtsis an indication
ofhis intentions.5
3 In EnglishRenaissance
comedy,thefigure
of thehumoris examinedexhaustively
in
BenJonson'sEveryMan in His Humour(1598),and EveryMan Out of His Humour(1599);
"comediesofhumours"arethose"in whicheachcharacter
is a typedominated
bya ruling
passionor obsession,"MichaelJamieson,"Introduction,"
Ben Jonson: Three Comedies
(Harmondsworth
1966) 10.Jonsonlabelledhisearlyplays,in whichthetypeofthehumor
wasparamount,
"comicalsatires."
4 Broadly
speaking,I classify
as utopiancomediesthe Acharnians,Peace, Birds, Lysistrata,Ecclesiazusae,and Frogs.For theidea,see JeanClaudeCarriere,
Le Carnaval et la
politique:une introduction
a la comediegrecque,Annaleslitteraires
de l'universite
de Besancon 212 (Paris1979) 85-110; Paul Handel,Formenund Darstellungsweisen
in der aristophanischenKomodie (Heidelberg
1963) 226-27; KarlReinhardt,
und Athen,"
"Aristophanes
EuropaischeRevue 14 (1938) 754-67 = Tradition
und Geist:Gesammelte
EssayszurDichtung
(Gdttingen
1960) 257-73,esp. 263-65; F. Richter,Die Frische und der Typder aristophanischenKomodie (Diss. Frankfurt
1933).
5 In different
ways,Ernst-Richard
Schwinge,"Kritikund Komik:Gedankenzu Aristophanes'Wespen,"in Dialogos: Fur Harald Patzerzum 65. Geburtstag,
edd. JustusCobet,
RudigerLeimbach,and Ada B. Neschke-Hentschke
(Wiesbaden1975) 35-47, and KlausDietrichKoch, KritischeIdee and KomischesThema: Untersuchungen
zur Dramaturgieund
zumEthosderAristophanischen
Komodie (Bremen1965) 74-79 = Jahrbuches
der Wittheit
zu
Bremen9 (1965) 118-23,haveraisedthequestionof therelationship
betweenthecritical
or satirical
thrust
ofAristophanic
comicelementsin theplays.
drama,andtheautonomous
Schwinge,withspecialreference
to the Wasps, locatesthe divisionbetweenthe two
moodsor momentsin the structure
of the play,whichproceeds,by wayof a paratragic
conversion
on thepartof Philocleon,froma politicalcritiqueof thejurysystemto the
exemplification
of a bomolochustype,nowreducedto an isolatedand purelyprivatefigure.The crucialshiftoccursin the agon; afterthat,Bdelycleon
can indulgehis father's
passion,now reducedto a "Privattick,"
withthe mock-trial
in his own home (see esp.
pp.41-42).

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

29

the anWithPhilocleoncast as a humoi or obsessionalcharacter,

tagonisticrole of the son who confineshim to his house is correenhanced.In Aristophanic
spondingly
comedy,thereis commonlya
generalizedresistanceto the hero's ambitionforpeace or prosperity,
some of whomyield
over severalcharacters,
but it is usuallydiffused
to persuasion,while othersare laughedoffaftera briefappearance:
generals,informers,
and the like.In the utopiancomedies,
sycophants,
and even
thereis no singleopponentmatchedwiththe protagonist,
the Knightsand the Cloudslack the well-defined
pair of antagonists
in the Wasps.
thatwe have in thepersonsof Philocleonand Bdelycleon
The names themselves,ratherlike the fatherand son pair Demipho
and Antiphoin Terence's Phormio,
couplethe two as complementary
agents.
Whilethe function
of the antagonist
mayvary,he willoften,as in
New Comedy,representtraditional
values,or at leasthave the weight
of social conventionon his side. This is particularly
true wherethe
obstacleresidesin a paternalfigurewho opposesan illegitimate
or illconsideredunionforhis son.6It has been observedthatAristophanes,
in the Wasps,reversesthisformula:"The ethicwhichquestionedthe
authority
of custom-law
and affirmed
the necessityof fulfilling
nature
was ordinarily
associatedwiththe youngergeneration,while the old
educationaimed at instilling
the values and behaviorof tradition."7
Aristophanes
facilitates
and embellishesthis reversalthroughintimationsof the old man's senility,in partevidentin the comicinconseof his quips,or his sillypostureunderneath
quentiality
a donkeyas he
imitates
OdysseusescapingfromtheCyclops'cave.8
The reversalof roles,by whicha soberson restrains
an impulsive
father,is further
sanctionedby the legal circumstance
thatPhilocleon
has surrendered
controlofhis householdto his son (cf.612-13), whois
thusthe masterof the householdslaves (67, 142), whilePhilocleonis
theirold or formermaster(442). Towardthe end of theplay,whenhe
is drunkand feelingrejuvenated,Philocleontalksto the slave-girl
he
See DavidKonstan,RomanComedy
(Ithaca,N.Y. 1983) 117-18,122.
CedricH. Whitman,Aristophanesand the Comic Hero, MartinClassicalLectures19
(Cambridge,
Mass. 1964) 145.
8 Whitman(above,note7) 163 notesthatPhilocleonis "imagistically
identified"
with
variousanimals,which,he says,"tendto be of thesmall,canny,and busykind,except
thedog,and theyserveto characterize
Philocleonfromthe pointof viewof poneriaand
I wouldadd thatthereis also an implicit
persistence."
suggestion
of infantilism
in the
comparisons.
Thereis perhaps,too,in thechoiceofwaspsas thesymbolof thedicasts,a
oftheirsocialor political
suggestion
interest
and solidarity;
thusPlato,Phaedo82A1O-B8,
remarks
thatthosewho have cultivated
publicand civicvirtue(tendemotiken
kaipolitiken
areten)in thislife,albeitwithout
philosophical
understanding,
returnin theformof bees
or waspsorants,whichPlatocalls"political
and domesticated"
species(politikon
kai hemerongenos),or else as humanbeings.
6

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30

David Konstan

has kidnapped"ratheras a lovesickyouthwitha sternfathertalksin

muchlatercomedies."9
Ifyou'llbe niceto me now,as soonas myson's dead I'll redeem
youfromyourowner,piglet,and haveyouas a concubine.As it
is, I don't have controlover myown money;I'm young,you
see, and hedgedin pretty
It's myson who keepsan eye
strictly.
on me, and he's a hardmanand a realskinflint
intothebargain.
That'swhyhe's so afraidI'll go [to] thebad; I'm theonlyfather
he's got.

Philocleontakeshis dependentlegal statusas licenseto behavechildit is adultswhohave a responsible

ishly.Conventionally,
positionin the
and are thusexpectedand inclinedto represent
community,
and defend
itsnorms.Young men,who followdesirein despiteof law,are notyet
fullmembersof society,and are,accordingly,
less inhibited
by itsrules.
In New Comedy,wheresuchyouthsflourish,
itis presupposed
thatthey
some day will be. This temporalvector,by whichthe youngmust
matureand assume theirproperstationin the community,
conditions
the natureof the tensionbetweenfathersand sons, and renderspossibletheanticipated
of thecomictension,whichis expressed
resolution
as a reconciliation
betweengenerations.
Sons are, in the finalanalysis,
heirs,who will,at the righttime,come intotheirpatrimony,
a patrimonythatincludesand restsupontherightsand dutiesof thesocialized
adult.
Philocleon,in contrastto this new comic pattern,has no public
statusto growinto save thatof retiredgentlemanof leisure,without
responsibility
in the politicalcommunity.
This is, I imagine,amongthe
reasonswhythe playends in an antinomian
momentratherthanin a
resolutionthataffirms
the social order.It also putsintoquestionany
interpretation
of the play,such as Whitman's,thatmakes its theme
education,foreducationshould mean preparation
forresponsibility.'0
Whentheyoungdiscipline
the old, it is nota matterof moralprogress
buta changeof socialorder.We mayobservethattheinstancesin New
Comedyof an errantsenex,as in Plautus'Asinaria,Casina, or Mercator,are notreallyanalogousto the Wasps,fortheretheamorouselder
is restoredto his properstation,and in each case, significantly,
thereis
a wifeto act inlocoparentis.
As a juror,however,Philocleonretainsan important
measureof
socialauthority,
and,fromone pointofview,hisson's efforts
to dissoci9 Dover (above, note 2) 122; the translationof verses 1351-59 thatfollowsis Dover's.
W. J. M. Starkie, The Waspsof Aristophanes
(London 1897), quotes the scholiastad 1355:
dispaides hoigerontes.
10 Whitman (above, note 7) 144 followed by Vaio (below, note
23) 335 and Lenz
(above, note 2) 32-43, who develops the theme most fully.

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

31

as an attempt
ate himfromthecourtsmaybe construed
to makePhiloHowevergenerousBdelycleon's retirement
completeand consistent.
to supporthis fathermaybe, it whollyabolishesthe
cleon's intention
old man's independence,
and Philocleonis clearthathe does not want
thereis an implicitlogic at work,accordingto
that." Dramatically,
whichPhilocleon,havinggivenup the powerover his own household
to the dominionof his son, becomeslike an adolesand surrendered
cent,wilfuland subjectto an arbitrary
passion,and thisverycharacterthe sense thatPhilocleonis unfitto perform
izationcorroborates
the
responsible
dutiesof a juror.This logichas its rootsin the ideological
of headsofhousehold,those
premisethatthecity-state
is an association
who are, in Greekterms,kyrioi
overtheiroikos,and that,accordingly,
in domesticaffairsare no
old men who have relinquishedauthority
of state.Much of whatseems silly
longersuitedto presideover affairs
or corruptin the pleasuresthatPhilocleonderivesat courtinvolvesa
childishdesireforflattery
(548-630) thattransparently
betraysthe patheticself-importance
of the weakand helpless.Bdelycleonwillexpose
his father'spretensions
as a serviledependency
upon Cleon and other
butit is important
demagogues,
to recognizethathis planforPhilocleon
offershimonlya changeof masters,at least untilthe comedytakesa
in theconcluding
newdirection
episodes.12
Of course,Bdelycleondoes not thinkto suggestthatyoungermen,
or legallyresponsiblehouseholders,should take over the role of dicasts.13As a numberof criticshave pointedout, Bdelycleondoes not
exposethefaultsor inadequaciesof thecourtsystemin orderto recommend remedies,some of which,given the argumentshe employs,
mightwell run counterto views thatmay be plausiblyattributed
to
Aristophanes
himself,as in the matterof pay forjurors.14
Thus, who
willreplacethe old jurorsonce Bdelycleonpersuadesthemto retireis
no concernof his. Withinthe play,whichto some extentundoubtedly
reflects
the socialreality,thecourtsare treatedas an old man's forum.
As such, however,theyare also represented
as an institution
of the
relatively
powerless,a powerlessness
thatis symbolizedby a waning
vigorof bodyand mind,but whichalso corresponds
to an outmoded
way of life characteristic,
so Aristophanes
suggests,of a generation
whosetimehas nassed_
11 Bdelycleon's
intentions:
736-40, 1004-6,cf. 478-79, 506, 720-24; Philocleon'sre.
fusal:341,cf.612-18.
12 Cf. 784-85,wherePhilocleon
consentsto receiving
his wages(misthon)
fromhis son
On theAthenianattitude
towardwages,see G. E. M. de Ste. Croix,TheClassStruggle
i
theAncient
GreekWorld(Ithaca,N.Y. 1981) 182-91; on surrender
of kyriotes,
see MacDowellad 613.
13 Cf.Dover (above,note2) 128.
14 See Lenz (above,note2) 25 forfurther
discussion.

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32

David Konstan

in a sense thatis socialratherthan

This opposition
of generations,
is presented
traitsof characpersonalor archetypal,
through
contrasting
to
ter.Whileit is onlyin the case of Philocleonthathis commitment
obsession(we
the courtsis represented
as an addictionor full-blown
shall considerthe reasons for this presently),he shares the juror's
temperament
withtheold menwho makeup thechorusof the Wasps.
forPhryniTheirold-fashioned
castof mindis indicated
bya preference
chus,and fortraditional
artformsin general,as wellas bytheirdisposition to reminisceabout campaignsin the Persianwar-Aristophanes'
benchmark
forthegood old days-and otherearlycampaigns.15Butthe
testycombativeness
of Philocleonand the chorus,theirproudanger
whicilis so intimidating
to those who must plead theircase before
them,and a rough-and-ready
ethicthatcan condoneprankish
thefts
and
candidlyselfishbehaviorwithno seemingawarenessof the threatit
mightpose to civicsolidarity,
are also signsof theancientcode or style.
A properunderstanding
of these traitswill put the characterof the
and dispelcertainmisapprehensions
jurorsin a newperspective
concerningPhilocleon'snatureas well.
Certainlythe most noticeablefeaturein the temperament
of the
dicastsis theirsharptemper.The termorge,whichliketheEnglishword
"temper"was moreor less obsoletein the sense of temperament
and
normally
connotedanger,is appliedto thema dozen timesor so, along
withvarioussynonymous
expressionslike chole ("bile"), menos,and
thymos.'6
Wordsor prefixes
denoting
acerbity,
toughness.or plainirascito theirharshspirit,as do imagesof knitted
bilitytestify
brows,looking
daggers(literally
"mustard,"kardama),eatingone's heartout, barking
I mayappearto be belaboring
outcries,
and nettles.'7
theobvious:among
15 Phrynichus
(the tragedian):
219-20, 269-72, 1490, 1524 (on 1490,see E. K. Borthwick,"The Dancesof Philocleonand theSons ofCarcinusin Aristophanes'
Wasps,"CQ
n.s. 18 [1968144-45); traditional
artforms:318-19, 1479-81.Campaigns:
cf.236, where
theactionat Byzantium
presumably
evokestheGreatWar,especially
in lightof Xanthias'
imageofa Persianattackin 11-12; cf.also 355, thesubjugation
ofNaxos,whichoccurred
somewhere
around470 B.c.; 439, wherePhilocleonlamentshis defeatat the handsof
barbarians
(hisslavesaretheimmediate
butI suspectthereis an implicit
reference,
historical allusionas well); the reference
to Athens'role in repelling
the barbarians
at 10771101;notealso thepunon thegreatkingat 1124,Philocleon'ssuspicionofPersianattire
in 1136-38,andBdelycleon's
reference
to Marathon
in 711.
16 Orge(including
formsof the verb,orgizo):223, 243, 404, 424, 425, 431, 560, 574,
646,727,883, 1083;chole:403; menos:424; thymos:
567,648.
17 OXys: 226 and 407, of thewasps'sting;
compounded
withthymos:406, 455, 501; with
kardia,430; cf.also 471, 1082,1105,1367;drimys:
146,277.Toughness:prinodes,
383,cf.

877; dyskolia:882, 942, 1105; cf. 1356. Knittedbrows:655; blepont6n

kardama,455; con-

sumingoneself:283-87,etc.;barking
cries:198,226,415, 1311,cf.596 ofCleon;nettles:
884.In general,
see thechapter
on "La col&e," inJeanTaillardat,
Les Imagesd'Aristophane:
Etudesde langueet de style(Paris 1962) esp. pp. 194-220; as Taillardatnotes (p. 211,
note1), the Waspsfurnishes
a particularly
largenumber
ofillustrations
in thiscategory.

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

33

in thejurorsis an uncompromisthefaultsthatAristophanes
castigates
of defendants
and cares
ingseverity
thattakesdelightin the sufferings
nothingforthe justiceof theircause. But thiswaspishdispositionto
moralflaw,normayit be reducedentirely
to an
angeris notan abstract
For thereis also an admirableaspectto orge,a
old man's crotchetiness.
ofa hero'spride
forindignation
thathas something
high-spirited
capacity
aboutitand comparedwithwhichan accommodating
good naturecould
boastsof having
be a feebleand contemptible
thing.Thus Aristophanes
an angerlikethatof Herculesthathas enabledhimfromthe beginning
likeCleonratherthan
ofhiscareerto standup againstseriousopponents
prostituting
hismusein petty
jibes; MacDowellrightly
glossesorgehere
as spiritor courage.18
made the same claimin the same
Aristophanes
wordsa yearlaterin the parabasisof the Peace, whereagainthe proper
of orgeis, as Platnauercominents,
"not 'anger,'but'spirit,'
significance
'courage'.""9This is thekindofangerand sharpnesswithwhichtheold
dicasts,chewingtheirlipsand stinging
away,foughtthe Persiansfrom
theirland (1082-90),and it is this.same sharpand irritable
spiritwhich,
as theyvaunt,theycarryintothecourtroom
(1104-5). It is as though,in
theparabasis,Aristophanes
weredoinga repriseof thevocabulary
relatingto wrath,in orderto revealitsintimate
connection
withthe virtues
of theage of Marathon.The complement
of thisproudrageis fearlessness,as theold mensay (1091). Slavesand demagoguesareafraidin the
Wasps(427, 715); Philocleon'scrowning
argumentin defenseof the
evenhisownson,fearshim,buthe himself
juror'slifeis thateveryone,
woulddie didhe fearhisson (628-30).20
Recognizing
thatthejurors'angeris partof a styleof behaviorthat
summonsup an old-fashioned,
ruggedspontaneity
and individualism
mayalso helpus to understand
theveryprominent
rolethattheftplays
in the Wasps.Referencesto stealingoccurnearlytwentytimesin the
courseoftheplay.21Dover includestheftin a kindof formalindictment
of the character
of Philocleon,and he confesseshimself"astonishedat
the hiddenstrength
of antinomian
sentiment"
whichhis sympathy
and
affection
forthe old reprobateimply.22
Dover tentatively
suggeststhat
the sicknessor insanityof Philocleon'sdesireforjury-service
maybe
18 HLrakleous
orgen,1030;MacDowellad ioc.
19 Peace, v. 752; M. Platnauer,
Aristophanes
Peace (Oxford1964) ad loc. Cf. also Lysistrata550 and 1113 (orgontas),withRogers'comment
on the latterverse:"the word
conveysno idea of anger,"BenjaminBickleyRogers,The Lysistrataof Aristophanes(Lon-

don 1911).
20 The ambivalent
natureofthewasps'aggressiveness
is brought
outclearlyandcogently
byLenz (above,note2) 42-43.
21 Verses 57, 238, 354, 357, 363, 449, 554, 556, 759, 928, 933, 953, 958, 1101,
1200-1201,1227,1345,1369,1447.
22 Dover (above,
note2) 126-27.

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34

David Konstan

are in quiteanothercategory
Aristophanes'
signalthathis offenses
from
the bravadoof othercomicheroessuch as Dicaeopolisor Trygaeusin
the Acharniansand the Peace.23

Philocleonindeedreminisces
aboutthedayswhenhe could
wistfully
makeawaywithsome smallspits,whilenow,as he adds, he is watched
like a ferretthathas stolenthe meat (356-64). But the recollection
is
inspiredby the chorus,who themselvesthinkback fondlyupon their
youthwhentheystolea mixingbowl (236-38). Philocleonremindshis
slave of his kindnesswhenhe caughthimstealinggrapes(448-50: the
joke thereis thathe gavehima goodbeating),andclaimsthathisbravest
exploitwas thetheftof some vine-poles(1200-1201).He caps offthese
achievements
by carrying
offthe flutegirlfromthe drinking
partyto
whichhis son had invitedhim (1345, 1369). But such escapadesare
clearlyregarded,at least by the oldergeneration,
as properto young
men-in the scene withthe flutegirl,Philocleonthinksof himselfas
againyouthful,
as we have seen. Bdelycleon,
bycomparison,
seemsprematurely
straitlaced.
Theirindulgent
attitude
towardpettyexpropriations,
whichtheylookuponas signsofa mettlesome
temper,does notprevent
eitherPhilocleonor thechorusfromfeelingoutrageat thekindof theft
thatresultsin largescalesocialinequities,
once theybecomeawareof it.
Thus,afterPhilocleonis persuadedbyhisson thatCleon has systematicallydefraudedthe dicasts,he wouldlike the chanceto condemnthe
man (758-59). The chorusis similarly
resentfulat the thoughtthat
youngand unscrupulous
menhavecheatedthemout of thefruits
of the
empireacquiredby theirlabors (1098-1101),and theyare quite preparedto attackLaches forillegalaccumulation
of wealth(240-44). And
yet,at thesame time,Philocleon,byhis ownadmission,is receptiveto
an appealforsympathy
by an embezzlerof statefundson the grounds
thathe himselfmustat some timeor otherhave shaveda bitofffrom
provisions
forhis unitwhenhe was in chargeof mess funds(553-57).
Here, perhaps,is the nub of the issue: not thatPhilocleonor the old
jurorsare scoundrels,but thattheirfrankacceptanceof the impulseto
takewhatone can get is no longeran adequateethicin a societywhere
a developedstatemachinery
and the financial
resourcesof an empire
are a basisof realclass powerforthosewho can controlthem.24
Within
23

Ibid., 127. On the motifof theft,see also JohnVaio, "Aristophanes'

Wasps:The

Relevance of the Final Scenes," GRBS 12 (1971) 343. As a caution against too high-

mindeda condemnation
of stealingin comedy,we maynote thattheft,particularly
of
food,seemsto have been a featureof certainculticpractices,
and thattheremayhave
beencertain
gestures
anddancesin Old Comedythatrepresented
suchtheft;see LillianB.
Lawler, TheDance of theAncientGreekTheater(Iowa City 1974) 79-80.

24 It is truethatBdelycleon,
in exasperation,
calls his fatherponeros(192-93, 214; cf.
243) and even miarotatos
(397); also, the old man comicallyconfessesto an urgefor
mischief
(kakon,322,340; cf.168).

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

35

a wayof life
the ideologyprojectedby the play,the old men represent
thatreceivesa certainnostalgicrespectbut is fundamentally
unsuited
to the positionof politicalpowerwhichtheirrole as dicastsconfers
thattheycannotclearlycomprehend
uponthem,undersocialconditions
or control.Havinggrownup at a time when therewas no thought
forrhetoric
or sycophancy
(1094-97), theyare noweasy preyfordemagogues.
I am inclinedalso to read Philocleon'sstatementthatas a young
man he could,whenon campaign,run awaywithimpunity
(357-59),
not as a markof cowardice,as Dover charges,but ratheras an indication thata dispositionto go whereone pleasedwas not incompatible
withthe interestsof the groupin formertimes,when no one was
to be
postedto guarddiscipline.I am not fora momentsuggesting,
betweenprivatedesiresand communal
sure,thatso sublimea harmony
needs actuallyobtainedat the timeof the Persianinvasion,onlythat
the imageof such a harmonywas availableand effective
in settingoff
own society.Withinthe worldof
perceivedtensionsin Aristophanes'
the play,at anyrate,thereis no hintthatPhilocleon'smilitary
deportmentis anything
like Cleonymus',who is accusedof abandoninghis
shieldin battle(15-27, 822-23).25
Thereis a way,then,in whichPhilocleonand thejurorsstandnot
forantinomianism
or some abstractstateof naturebut foran anterior
socialorder,howeveridealizedand even falsified
it mayhave come to
be. The reversalofnarrative
paradigm
bywhicha youngmandisciplines
an old does not whollyinvertthe values thatconventionally
attachto
senesand adulescentes,
wherebythe eldergeneration
is the guardianof
tradition
whiletheyoungeris movedto passionatetransgressions.
Aristophanes'pattern
is a complexone, in whichPhilocleon,howeverinfantile, also representsan ethic and a traditionwhichare nevertheless
containedor reducedbytheactionoftheplay.
Ifjurorsin the Waspsare seen as agedand old-fashioned,
theyalso,
withthe kindof overdetermination
thatis characteristic
of all ideologicallychargedliterature,
represent
thesocialclass of poorfreecitizens.26
25
Comparealso the uninhibited
attitudeof the old men towardsex and pleasurein
general,as indicated
by theuses of thewordshedoneor hedomai,
e.g. 272, 510-12,605,
641, 1534,1667; cf. 1006.ElizabethCarterhas suggestedto me thatthisaspectof the
character
ofPhilocleonmaybe compared
withthetrickster
typerepresented
byOdysseus,
as opposedto thetragicmodelofAchilleanheroism.
26 For the theoretical
presuppositions
thatare guidingmy conception
of the complex
determination
of thecharacter
of thechorus,Philocleon,
and otherfigures
in the Wasps,
see PierreMacherey,A Theoryof Literary
Production,
transl.Geoffrey
Wall (London
1978): "Whatbegsto be explainedin theworkis not thatfalsesimplicity
whichderives
fromtheapparent
unityof itsmeaning,butthepresenceof a relation,
or an opposition,
betweenelementsof theexposition
or levelsof thecomposition,
thosedisparities
which
pointto a conflict
ofmeaning.... The bookis nottheextension
ofa meaning;it is gener-

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36

David Konstan

The dialogueduringthe parodosbetweenthe chorusand theiryoung

sons who lead themin makes theirstationabundantly
evident:they
worryaboutwastinglampoil (251-53), considerdriedfigsan extravagance,consumetheirmeagerjuror'spay on barleyand firewood,
and
are at a loss how to providedinnershouldthe courtnot sit thatday.27
Mentionof weatherleads, as thoughby reflex,to thoughtsof crops
(264-65), whichsuggeststhattheyare farmers.
But in the mainthey
thinkof themselvessimplyas the poor (toispenesin,463; cf.703), and
can even comparethemto olive pickers,thatis to say,day
Bdelycleon
laborersor hiredhands, the most despisedformof labor,for their
dependency
upon wages (712). Consistentwiththeirpoverty,
theysee
the richas theirnaturalantagonists,
instantly
suspecting
Bdelycleonof
collusionwiththe class of wealthycitizenssubjectto liturgies
forthe
rigging
of shipswhentheylearnwhyhe is confining
his father(34243).28 In a similarvein, Philocleon sees among the great meritsof jury

dutytheopportunity
of contemning
therich,and his changeof gearat
theend of theplay,whenhe has givenup servingin thecourts,marks
him as havingjoined the wealthyset.29The chorus'srepeatedcharge
thatBdelycleon
is aspiring
to tyranny
in attacking
thejurorsis a political
expressionof theirsense of social identity
cast in the contemporary
formulaof classconflict.30
Bdelycleon
effectively
ridiculestheaccusation
by observingthateveryvegetabledealerscreamstyranny
if one shops
nextdoor (488-507), butthepoint,thoughwitty,
revealsonlythatthe
chorusis mistaken
aboutBdelycleon's
personalmotives,which,he says,
are to provideforhis father'scomfort(503-6). Aristophanes
thereby
geniallyfinessesthefactthatthedicasts,as poorpeople,see thecourts
as a bulwarkof theirdemocracy.
This rousingof the chorus'spolitical
apprehensions,
only to dissolvethemthrougha comic turnof arguevasionofthesocialissue.
ment,is an artful
ated fromthe incompatibility
of severalmeanings,the strongest
bond by whichit is
attached
to reality,
in a tenseandever-renewed
confrontation"
(79-80).
27 Verses293-316;cf. 1112-13,wheretheirprouddemeanor
does notconcealthefact
thattheymaketheirlivingin thecourts.
28 For the readingvJcwz,
see MacDowellad 343; Bentley'sconjecturevE'WV,
proposed
independently
byFridericus
HenricusBothe,ed., Aristophanis
vol. 2 (Leipzig
Comoediae,
18452)ad 355-56,remainsattractive.
29 Contemning
therich:575-76,cf.626; changeof gear:1168,1171,1309.Ad 1309,cf.
luliusRichter,
ed., Aristophanis
Vespae(Berlin1858),andVaio (above,note23) 340.
30 417, 464-70,474, 487; cf.342-45,411-14.MacDowell,
whosecommentary
on thisas
on otherpointscharacteristically
depoliticizes
Aristophanes'
argument,
remarks
ad 345 on
"the tendency
in AthensduringthePeloponnesian
Warto accusea political
opponentof
or 'tyranny'
'conspiracy'
withlittleor no justification,"
and citesa selectionof passages;
butthechargesoftyranny
andconspiracy
werecharacteristically
levelledbyrepresentatives
of the demosagainstoligarchical
groups;see RobertAlexanderNeil, ed., TheKnights
of
Aristophanes
(Cambridge
1901)ad 235-36,Richter
ad 417.

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

37

Bdelycleon'sfilialinterest,by whichthe chorus's suspicionsare

in thecharacterization
deflated,
pointsto a fundamental
of
inconsistency
thejurors,a kindof fissurein the textthatis a markof its ideological
burden.3"
For all Philocleon'sexemplary
statusas spokesmanforthe
jurors'wayof lifeand mostacridsoul amongthem(277), he alone is
not dependentupon the courtsforhis living.For him,juryserviceis
devotionto thejuror'slifemay
merelya personalpassion.His fanatical
as an obsessionor humorprecisely
be represented
becauseanotherand,
life is open to him.32Philoby universalconsent,more comfortable
cleon's bond withthe chorusis primarily
sentimental,
based on their
commonage and sharedexperiences
ofan earlierand idealizedmoment
in Athenianhistory.33
Practically,
however,he is the retiredhead of a
relatively
opulenthouseholdand has access,throughhis son's connections,at least, to circlesof considerableinfluencein the state.The
dicast'slifeis at oddswithPhilocleon'ssocialclass.
By a sleightof handthatis properto comedy,Philocleon'sconversionfromtherigorsof thecourtsto theeasylifethathis son promises
carriesthechoruswithit,even thoughforthemthereis no possibility
ofa comparable
changein circumstances.
Theyregardthe agonbetween
Philocleonand Bdelycleonas a debateon ultimatesocial issues,upon
the outcomeof whichtheirown fatewilldepend.34
The debateitselfis
cleverlycast as an argumentabout power:Bdelycleonsets the terms,
and Philocleonrises to the challenge(515-19). Philocleonmakes his
case essentially
on the deference
shownto jurorsby men of all classes,
but above all by the richand powerful(553-58, 575, 592-602); as an
afterthought
he adds the domesticindependence
thathe derivesfrom
hisjuror'spay (605-18). Philocleon'sargument
restson his identificationwiththe commonpeople.35
Bdelycleon's
answeris thatthejurors'
authority,
whichtheyregardas royal(546, 549, cf.587) and even godlike (571, 619), is illusory,
becausethepaythattheyreceiverepresents
onlya smallfraction
of the state'srevenues(656-718). To the extent
31 Concerning
the relationship
betweenfissures,
cuts,or inconsistencies
in a textand
ideology,
theclearestexposition
I knowis thatofJamesH. Kavanagh,"'MarksofWeakness': Ideology,
Science,andTextualCriticism,"
Praxis5 (1981) 23-38. I mustemphasize
thatsuchfissures
are notto be takenas faultsor signsof bad craftsmanship;
on thecontrary,
theyare theplacesat whichartrevealsitsoperations.
32 Cf. 1453-73;it maynowbe seen howthecharacterization
ofPhilocleon
as a humoris
boundup withAristophanes'
forresolving
strategy
thenarrative
tensionin the Wasps:it is
thesignofPhilocleon'sisolation
fromthechorusofdicasts.
33 Philocleon's
tastes,forexamplehissuspicion
ofwineandcitharas(1253,989; cf.959),
reflect
an old-fashioned
simultaneously
ethicand a class hostility
towardaristocratic
symposia.The complexreference
ofsuchsignifiers
enablesthecross-characterization
ofPhilocleon.
34 Cf.535, perit6nhapant6n;also 518, 540-47.
35 Cf. 593, touplethous;594, t6idemoi.

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38

David Konstan

thatPhilocleon'spassionfor the courtsis a reflexof pure egotism,

Bdelycleon's
argument
is telling,leavingaside thesillyeconomicsofhis
calculations.36
As an addressto class interests,
moreover,Bdelycleon's
rhetoricis effective
in two ways:it undermines
the confidence
of the
jurorsin the men theyhave takento be theirleaders,and it suggests,
by itsdisplayof mathematical
computations-however
dubiousthe reasoningmayreallybe-that thestrongand spontaneousemotionsof the
old men cannotprotectthemagainstthe wiles of modernpoliticians.
Throughout
Philocleon'spresentation,
had been takingnotes
Bdelycleon
withostentatious
deliberateness
(529, 538, 559, 576), and his emphasis
on carefulcalculation(656; cf.745) exhibitsthesortof mindneededto
reckonwiththe demagogues.37
Thus, persuadedof the futility
of their
judicialpowers,thechoruswholeheartedly
endorseBdelycleon's
offerto
supporthis father,and go so faras to wishtheyhad a relativewho
couldoffersuchadvice (731-32), notpausingto reflect
thatretirement
fromjury servicewill not solve the problemof theirpoverty.Later,
when theyobservethe conveniencesof Philocleon'sprivatecourtat
home,theyprayApolloto grantthemall respitefromwandering,
and
concludethatBdelycleonis the bestfriendthecommonpeoplehave in
his generation
(869-73, 887-90). Indeed,afterthe agontheclassstatus
of thechorusis quietlyelidedin favorof theiridentification
as genuine
Atheniansof theold stripe(1060-1121).
Logically,as Lutz Lenz has observed,the chorusmighthave respondedto Bdelycleon'sargumentby demandingan increasein the
juror'sdailyfee; at all events,theymighthave contemplated
usingtheir
legal role to controllarge-scalepeculation.38
It was surelynot beyond
Aristophanes
to have stagedthe idea of all Athenianslivingin luxury
offstateincomein one of his utopiancomedies(compare,forexample,
the Ecclesiazusae
or the Wealth),and Xenophonwas to proposesomethingof the sortin all seriousnessin the middleof the following
century(Poroi).39
GivenAristophanes'
generally
critical
attitudetowardthe
courts,however,itis safeto saythathe wouldnothave lookedto them
foran instrument
of utopianreform.40
In the Wasps,the overdeter36 On the
sleightof handin Bdelycleon's
argument,
see the sensibleremarks
of Dover
(above,note2), 129-30.
37 Note also Philocleon's
instinctive
associationof writing
withdoingharm,960-61;
Adolph Roemer, Studienzu Aristophanes
und den altenErkldrern
Desselben,Part 1 (Leipzig
1902) 104-5,assertsthatthereis a reference
hereto logographers.
38 See Lenz (above,note2) 25.
39 On the Wealth,
see David Konstanand MatthewDillon,"The Ideologyof Aristophanes' Wealth,"AJP102 (1981) 371-94; on the Poroi,M. M. Austinand P. Vidal-Naquet,

Economicand Social HistoryofAncientGreece,transl.M. M. Austin (Berkeley1977) 316-19.

40

For passagesin whichAristophanes

in one wayor anothermocksthe courts,see

G. E. M. de Ste. Croix, The Originsof the PeloponnesianWar (Ithaca, N.Y. 1972) 362,

notes8, 10.

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

39

minedstatusof the chorus-the conflationof class and generational

a semanticslide by whicha problemof class
characteristics-enables
tensionis illusorily
resolvedby the prospectof comfortable
retirement,
even thoughthispossibility
can be realizedby onlyone of thejurors,
namelyPhilocleon.The Waspsthus raises the issue of class only to
conjureitawaybyan imageofindividual
withdrawal.
Underthe post-Periclean
Atheniandemocracy,
however,suchindividualwithdrawal
itselfhad a politicalaspect.Donald Lateinerhas recentlypointedout thatAristophanes
and Euripides"represent
an important,ifcontroversial,
forpoliticsthatis clearlyevidentby
disinclination
thebeginning
of the Peloponnesian
War.""4"Most richmen," Lateiner
notes,"rarelyknownas activedemocrats,findit usefulto assertthis
quietlackof involvement"
(5). Lateinerquotesfroma speechof Lysias
(19.55): "For I have reachedthe age of thirtywithoutever having
talkedback to my father.No citizenhas ever haled me into court.
Althoughour house neighborson the Agora,I have nevereven been
seen nearthelawcourtor theCouncil'shallbeforethissuitfellon me"
(7). The reasons for this superiormodestyare again best given in
Lateiner'sown words:"The democratization
of Athens,the relaxation
of traditional
social and politicalconstraints,
the emergenceof a new
class of politicians-allmovementsdependentto some degreeon the
growth,success,and revenuesof the Athenianempire-encouraged
a
retreatbythesociallyand economically
advantagedclassfromtheworld
of politicsand politicalmanoeuvring
in the courts.... As the men of
traditional
statuswere deprivedof theirmonopolyof politicalpower,
theycameto devaluepoliticalparticipation."42
The lowerclasses,on the
contrary,
perceivedthe courtsas a bulwarkof popularrights,and not
onlybecause the verypoor or decrepitmightsupplementtheirlivelihood by thedicast'sfee of threeobols a day.The chorusin the Wasps
instinctively
regarda criticof the jury systemlike Bdelycleonas an
enemyof the people.43The chorus'sapprobation
of Philocleon'swithdrawalfromthecourts,whichpresentsitselfas thecureto his personal
obsession,is on thesociallevelan endorsement
of a classalternative
in
political
style.
Insofaras thechorusevokesa timeof naturalsolidarity,
whenthere
was no needofcourts,thereis a speciousidentity
ofinterests,
or at least
of pointofview,betweentheoldjurorsand Bdelycleon,
in hisadvocacy
41 DonaldLateiner,
"'The Man Who Does Not Meddlein Politics':A Toposin Lysias,"
CW 76 (1982) 4.
42 Lateiner(above, note 41) 11; see also W. R.
Connor,TheNewPoliticians
of FifthCentury
Athens(Princeton1971) 175-94,and Donald Lateiner,"An Analysisof Lysias'
PoliticalDefenseSpeeches,"RSA 11 (1981) 151-52,158.
43 Cf. 473, misodemos;
411, misopolis;
contrast,
afterthechorushas been persuadedby

Bdelycleon'sarguments,tondemonphilountos888-89, and philopatrian

1465.

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40

David Konstan

That is to say, the genteelclass

fromjudicialactivities.
of withdrawal
couldcloakits withdrawal
frompubliclifeand encountersat law in an
idealizedmemoryof a time beforethe law, representing
theirclass
attitude
as a gestureof pristine
socialharmony.
Democraticlitigiousness
couldbe seen as the oppositebothof earlycommunality
and of aristocraticaloofness,all the moreeasilyto theextentthatthe upperclasses
succeededin castingthemselvesas the bearersof traditional
ways.The
difference
lies,ofcourse,in thecombative
ofthearistocratic
significance
ofthecourts,and manifests
denigration
itselfin Bdelycleon's
mastery
of
forensic
has no choicebutto enterintoa contestof
rhetoric.
Bdelycleon
persuasion
in orderto revealthedangersinherent
in persuasion
itself;he
mustprovehimselfsuperiorto Cleon and his sortat theirown game.
Whatdistinguishes
Bdelycleon
frompopulardemagoguesis therationalitythatis assignedto his discourseby the termsof the play,which
indeedannouncesitselfas "a littleargument
thathasjudgment."44
In the parabasis,Aristophanes
associateshis own good judgment
withhisrefusalto submitto pressurefromanysource(1027). The word
forsubmitor obeyis of coursethemiddleformof theverbmeaningto
persuade;the chorusemploysit twiceof Philocleon,as theyencourage
himto yieldto the arguments(logoi) of his son (729, 747). The idea
thatthechorusand even Philocleoncan recognizethe betterargument
shouldsanctiontheirroleas dicasts,save thatBdelycleon's
reasoningis
designedto subverttheircommitment
to thejurysystem.Thereis an
ambivalencehere concerning
persuasionas a forceforgood and evil
thatis reminiscent
of the Clouds,and whichthreatens
ultimately
to call
intoquestionthe authority
of reasonitself.45
WhileAristophanes
does
not,to be sure,deconstruct
his own discoursein so radicala fashion,
thereis perhapsa sign in the textof the failureof confidence
in an
authorizing
logicor rationality
in thefactthatone of thewordssignifyingpersuasion,
bywhichPhilocleonthefather
acknowledges
hissubmission to his son (anapeitho,
784), is employedalso in thesense of "suborn" (101; cf.278).46
44 Logidion
gnomenechon,64; see KennethReckford,"Catharsisand Dream-Interpretation
in Aristophanes'Wasps,"TAPA 107 (1977) 291, 299, fordiscussionof this
phrase.
45 Notethealmost
magicaleffect
on thechorusofPhilocleon's
argument,
636-41.
46 The ideaofdeconstruction,
and theirreducibility
ofambiguous
or contradictory
terms,
I takeof coursefromthe workof JacquesDerrida;a brief,accessiblesummary
of his
methodsis Jonathan
Culler,"JacquesDerrida,"in JohnSturrock,
ed., Structuralism
and

Since: From Levi-Straussto Derrida (Oxford 1979). See also JonathanCuller, On Deconstruction:
Theoryand Criticism
AfterStructuralism
(Ithaca, N.Y. 1982), esp. 180-225, fora

moreextendedtreatment.
I shouldmakeit clear,however,thatmineis a political
appropriation
of Derrida'sapproach,inasmuchas I holdthe sourceof the tensionaroundthe
conceptofpersuasion
to lie in theclassconflict
overcontrol
ofthemeansof persuasion,
a
struggle
which,in itsverynature,mustresortto disguise.

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

41

WhenBdelycleon
perceivesthathisarguments
in the agon,whichis
itselfa kindof triai,have convincedhis fatherbut stillnot freedhim
fromhispassionforjurying,
he proposesto stagea trialat home,witha
farcical
mock-upof courtparaphernalia.
a brilliant
This introduces
bitof
in whicha dog is accusedof stealinga pieceof Sicilian
comicinvention,
cheese.The scenehas multiple
withintheplay.It is a satirical
functions
enactment
of the "prejudiceand irresponsibility"
of Athenianjurors,as
Aristophanessaw them;47with transparent
allegory,it caricaturesa
disputebetweenCleon and Laches,a generalclose to the conservative
leaderNicias,largelyto the advantageof the latter;it servesa second
and decisivedefeatto Philocleonwhen he is trickedinto votingfor
acquittalby a switchin balloturns-an unpardonable
violationof his
principles
thatbreakshis will.48
We mayobservealso thatit achieves
Bdelycleon'soriginalobject of confining
his fatherat home, a point
emphasizedbythecontrast
betweentheadverbs"here" (enthade,765),
thatis, in the house, and "there" (ekeise,765; ekei,767, 770), in the
actualcourt.49
The entireconceitas suchof a trialat homeis thusthefor while it allows Philocleona while longerto
maticallysignificant,
exercisehis mania in a harmlessway, and gives him a taste of the
comfortshis son can provide,it also dissociatesPhilocleonfromthe
collective
aspectof thejurysystemwhichis fundamental
to itsnatureas
an institution
of the democracy,
and, in effect,atomizesand domesticatesthe jurors.50
The reductionof publiclife to the scope of the
individualhouseholdrealizesthe kindof privatization
affected
by the
classof whichBdelycleonis a symbol,a styleavailablein an exemplary
wayto the well-to-do.
The ideologicalequationof householdand citystate,whichin the utopianplayslike the Ecclesiazusaecould be exploitedto expresstheessentially
communalidentity
of thecitizenbody,
is heredeployedto dissolvethecivicsolidarity
embodiedin thejudiciary
of the populaceintothe autarkyfeltand enjoyedby people
institutions
of means,and partof the ideal to whichall classesaspired.Philocleon
even alludesto an oracleaccording
to whicheveryonewillhave his own
littlecourtwithinhis gate (799-804),a commentwhich,addressedas it
47 MacDowell(above,note 1) 249 with
apparent
credencein thecharge.It is interesting
to observe,although
thereis no needto document,
howfrequently
thechargeofirresponsibility
againstAthenian
jurorsis acceptedamongcommentators
as valid.For a rareand
salutary
reminder
of theanti-democratic
bias of our sources,see A. H. M. Jones,"The
Athenian
Democracy
and itsCritics,"CambridgeHistoricalJournal9 (1953) 1-26 = Athenian Democracy(Oxford1975) 41-72.
48 Verses999-1002,1008;cf.973-74.On themetaphorical
density
ofthescene,see also
Newiger(above,note18) 130.
49 The contrasting
particles
are notedbyMacDowellad 765.
50 Thispointis brought
out verywellbySchwinge(above,note5) 41-42; cf.also Whitman (above,note7) 155: "Formerly,
as a judgePhilocleonhad been partof society,not,
as he thought,
themaindriving
gear,butonlya cog; still,a part."

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42

David Konstan

seemsto theaudience(Bdelycleon
has dashedinsidethehouse and the
chorusis not engagedin the actionat this point) and not especially
witty
in itself,perhapsrefersto or parodiessome prophecy
in circulation
just then.51For Philocleon,the idea of the commonwealth
has been
reducedto the individual,that is, himself,alone (cf. toi koinoig',
emoi,917).
If it is correctto see a politicalor social meaningin Philocleon's
addictionto juryservice-Bdelycleon
himselfrefersto it as a disease
inveterate
in the city(651)-and to read the householdtrialas a figure
forthe domestication
of a populardemocratic
and the coninstitution
traction
of civicconsciousness,
at leastamongthe upperclasses,to the
of thehouseholdwalls,thenthevictory
perimeter
of Bdelycleon's
social
ideals is alreadyimplicitin the trialscene itself.We may accordingly
construethe trickof the votingurnsby whichBdelycleondetermines
theverdictas an emblemof his newpower.He has his fatherat home,
wherehe wantshim; as actualmasterof the house, he is in control
there;thecourtas such is powerless,and Bdelycleonis in a positionto
decide the acquittalof Laches. Philocleon'sbreakdown,and the final
cureof hisjurymania,are, froma socialpointof view,simplyby way
ofacknowledging
thisnewstateofaffairs.
Whatis more,theconversion
of class allegianceimpliedin Philocleon'sand the chorus'swithdrawal
fromthepublicand collectiveroleofjurorssignalsthe transition
to the
finalscenesof theplay,in whichBdelycleon
introduces
his fatherintoa
vulgartravesty
ofaristocratic
sociallife.
In a paperon Aristophanes'Waspssubtitled"The Relevanceof the
Final Scenes," JohnVaio sets out severalmotifsthat link what he
identifies
as the firstand secondpartsof the play,thatis, the sections
beforeand afterthe greatparabasis,whichhe informally
labels "the
dicasticand symposiacpartsof the play."52Vaio indicateshow referencesto costume,manners,riddlesand wine,musicand dancegenerate
a contrastover the play betweenthe humblelives of jurorsand the
symposiato which"a largerpartof the social lifeof the nobleswas
devoted."53
In the openingscene,forexample,Philocleon'spassionfor
juryingis opposedto infatuations
withgambling,feasting,hospitality,
and drinking
thatare thecharacteristic
vicesof thegentleman
class,and
Vaio suggeststhattheinitialdialoguebetweenBdelycleon's
slaves,who
pose riddlesand are drowsywithdrink,maybe seen as "a servilesymposiumin whichone of the participants
apes the practicesof his bet51 MacDowell ad 799 thinksit is whollyinventedby Aristophanes,in this
followingthe
scholia, which also suggest that Philocleon is here speaking to himself;so, for example,
W. C. Green, Aristophanes:
The Wasps (Cambridge1868) ad loc.
52 Vaio (above, note 23), 335, note 1, and 342.
53 Vaio, p. 339, quoting Victor Ehrenberg,The People of
Aristophanes,
A Sociologyof Old
AtticComedy(New York 19612) 102.

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

43

ters."54ThomasBankshas sharpenedthe contrast:"The lawcourtand

thesymposium,
on thelevelof plot,clearlyrepresent
opposingwaysof
a socialconvention,
life,"he affirms,
addingthat"each is an institution,
and thereforea creatureof nomos."55 Banks maintainsthat "both insti-

tutionsprovidea means forsettlingdisputes";both,he says, "have

theirestablishedprocedures,"thoughthe courtsare of coursepublic
"withformally
structures,
legislatedrules,"whilesymposiaare private
and governedby etiquette;both,in short,"have a commonbasis,"
whichis socialform.56
BanksconcludesthatPhilocleonis alienatedfrom
both,and standsas a symbolof natureor physisagainstall claimsof
of Philocleonfromthe
nomosor convention(p. 84). But thedistancing
"communaland socialessence"of thelawcourts
is nota merefunction
of Philocleon'sirrepressible
character,his role as "naturalman," in
Jeffrey
Henderson'sphrase.57
Rather,it is predicated
on the real social
betweenPhilocleonand the jurors of the chorus,and is
distinction
engineeredby Bdelycleonin such a wayas to commandthe assentof
thechorusitself.Philocleonis priedloose fromthecourts,and ifAristophanesthenturnsto satirizing
the entertainments
of the nouveaux
riches,thisis in largemeasurea meansofexposingthesocialinferiority
ofCleonand his friends,
whoare namedamongthesymposiasts
(121921).58 Wealthand influencealone do not conferthe statusof gentleman.59
The caricature
of the drinking
partydoes score some hitsagainst
aristocratic
abuses,such as an ostentatious
affectation
of foreignstyles,
includingthatof the Spartans(1136-66), and an inclination
to treat
lowerclasscitizensin a violentor contemptuous
manner.The chargeof
hybris,"assault," is levelledfourtimesat the inebriatedPhilocleon
(1303, 1319, 1418, 1441). In part,thisspoofon upperclass arrogance
54 Vaio, p. 338. On the meaning of chreston,
80, as "well-born," see Vaio, p. 339 and
note 23, who convincinglyrefutesMacDowell's suggestionthat the term is sociallyneutral. Afterverse 76, there appears to be a lacuna, in which another vice beginningwith
philo- was mentioned. For a recent conjecture, see David Sider, "Aristophanes Wasps
74-77: The MissingVice," CP 70 (1975) 125-26 (philarchos).
55 Thomas R. Banks, "The Ephemeral,the Perennial,and the Structure
of Aristophanes'
Wasps," CB 56 (1980) 82.
56 Banks, pp. 82-83.
57

Banks,p. 83; Jeffrey

Henderson,TheMaculateMuse:ObsceneLanguageinAtticCom-

edy (New Haven 1975) 79. Cf. also Whitman(above, note 7) 157.
58 The mentionlater (1301-2) of other,more conservativeparticipants
in the symposium
widens the scope of the satire.This producesa certainappearance of even handedness in
the play, which has sometimes been applauded as a sign that Aristophaneswas above
partisanship.
59 Cf. kalos kagathos,1256; also Ste. Croix (above, note 40) 371-76 forfulldiscussionof
kalokagathiawithrelevantbibliography,and pp. 358-59 on Aristophanes'use of political
and moralterminology.

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44

David Konstan

answersto the earliercritiqueof the democraticcourts,thoughit is

weakerinsofaras it is a former
dicasthimself
decidedly
who is themost
It fallsto Bdelycleonto offercompensation
egregiousoffender.
to an
outragedaccuser (1419-20), who professesa respectabledistastefor
lawsuits(1426). Philocleonmustagain be hustledoffinto his house,
whilethechorussingsan amusinginterlude
on thewonderful
transformationin his character
(1450-73).Thereseemslittlereasonto takethis
song, as MacDowell does, as an earnestcommenton "Philokleon's
probabledevelopment
in yearsto come."60It simplymarksthe end of
his juryingdays, as Philocleonhimselfhas testified(1335-40), his
lawlessnessconstituting
thefinalbreachwiththecourtsystem.The gay
finaleof thedancingcontest(1497) sublatesPhilocleon'sdrunkenescapadesontotheplaneof theDionysian,and all tensionsevaporatein the
generalhilarity.61
G. E. M. de Ste. Croixhas arguedvigorously
thatAristophanes
was
a conservative
politically
in themoldofCimon,and that"he used many
of his plays, even while theyof course remainedprimarilycomedies,as

vehiclesforthe expressionof seriouspoliticalviews."62Withrespectto

theAthenian
jury-courts,
he suggeststhatAristophanes
saw "thewhole
systemas a formof populartyranny,
and [was] out to discreditit by
ridicule"(362). I agree. I have, however,advancedthe discussion,I
believe,fromthe citationof scenesand commentsthatare derogatory
towardthecourts(excellently
summarized
by Ste. Croix) to an analysis
ofhowAristophanes'
ideologicalstanceconditions
theinnerstructure
of
the play.In particular,
I have attempted
to showhow the conflation
of
thematically
loaded characteristics
such as age, generation,
class, and
personalvagariesin Philocleonand othercharactersin the Wasps,
embeddedin an appropriate
and originalnarrativematrix,worksto
generateby a processof associationand semantictransference-a
kind
of semioticcatachresis,
so to say-a dramaticdenigration
of the court
systemand a valorization
of the upperclass ideals of withdrawal
and
privatism.
On thislevel,the argument
of Dover, forexample,thatthe
mode of the Waspsis "moralizing,
not politics,"and that"it belongs
MacDowell (above, note 1) 319 ad 1450-73.
Cf. the slave's invocationof Dionysus at 1474, and the puns on tryx,"wine dregs," at
1521 and 1537; see also Reckford(above, note 44) 302, 309-10. The motifof rejuvenation assists in the sense of festive renewal, as Whitman (above, note 7) 157-59, and
others have remarked. A. H. Sommerstein,"Notes on Aristophanes' Wasps," CQ 27
(1977) 268, suggests that the gesture of the chorus in casting down their sticks at 727
mightalso symbolizetheirrejuvenation;I suspect it representsas well the dicasts' submission to the argumentsof Bdelycleon,and theirimplicitrejectionof the juror's life, since
the staff,or bakteria,was et senectutiset munerisiudicialissignum,as Richter (above,
note 29) 147 observes.
62 Ste. Croix (above, note 40) 356; cf. also pp. 357-58, 370-71;
endorsed by Jeffrey
Henderson, "'Lysistrate': The Play and its Themes," YCS 26 (1980) 189.
60

61

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The PoliticsofAristophanes'
Wasps

45

... withinthe tradition

of didacticism
directednot towardsstructural
changebutuponhumanattitudes
and patterns
of behaviour,"fallsshort
of thetruth,forit is a judgment,howeversophisticated,
on the person
of Philocleon,his maniaand childishegotism,thatignoresthecomplex
ideologicaloperationthathas gone intoproducingthatpersona.63
It is
the businessof the literary
criticto dissolvethe made unityand coherence of character
and narrative
formand bringto lightthecomplexand
contradictory
elementsthat enter into theirconstruction.64
Such an
analytical
methodlaysbarethefundamentally
conservative
politicalidea
thatinforms
the Wasps.
But the effectof har-mony
or unityin a text,the success of its
ideological
strategies,
also has a socialbasis.I shouldliketo suggestthat
the collapseof class distinctions
in the Wasps,whichis latentin the
initialpresuppositions
of the plotand carriedthroughunderthe signof
persuasion,reflectson a certainlevel a genuineideologicalsolidarity
amongcitizensofall classesin Athens.As a culturalideal,thissolidarity
manifests
itselfas a commonaspiration
to autarky,
and findsexpression
in the conceptionof the stateas a unionof autonomoushouseholds.65
Socially,it is foundedat leastin partuponthestatusdistinction
between
citizensrichor poor,on the one hand,all of whombear the rightto
own property
in land, and on the otherhand, slaves or, to a lesser
extent,residentaliens. There are severalswipesat foreigners
in the
Wasps (cf. 82-84, 718, 1197, 1221), but the most tellinglines are
addressedby the chorusto a slave who has just emergedfromthe
house in whichthe symposium
is goingon, havingbeen beatenby the
rampaging
Philocleon:"Whatis it,boy?For it's rightto calleven an old
man boy ifhe takesa beating"(1297-98). The equationbetweenclass
and age grouphere is casuallyexplicit:the slave's want of freedom
leaves him foreverin the dependentconditionof the child.66Over
againstthiskindof infantilization,
citizensyoungand old are unitedas
adults,withrightsand responsibilities
in the state.Philocleon'saggresDover (above, note 2) 131.
It is in the broadly post-structuralist
approach to unity as an effectratherthan an
aestheticideal thatmy own approachdiffersfromthe problematicinauguratedby Schwinge
and Koch (above, note 5). See, forone statementof this approach,TerryEagleton, Literary Theory:An Introduction
(Minneapolis 1983) 81: "There is absolutelyno need to suppose thatworksof literatureeitherdo or should constituteharmoniouswholes"; the point
is thatunity,on thisview, is not normative.
65 On the Athenian oikos and the ideal of autarkv,see W. K. Lacey, The Familyin Classical Greece (London 1968); 15-24; Ste. Croix (above, note 12) 116-17; Helene P. Foley,
"The 'Female Intruder'Reconsidered:Women in Aristophanes' Lysistrataand Ecclesiazusae," CP 77 (1982) 18-19.
66 To be sure, pais was the common termof address to a slave, but here the contentof
the metaphoris laid bare: slaves are like childrenbecause theyare vulnerableto corporal
punishmentwithoutinstitutionsof redress.
63
64

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46

David Konstan

and he knockshis own son downwhenhe

sion is fairly
indiscriminate,
triesto takeawayhis flutegirl(1379-86), butviolenceagainsta fellow
The textinsistson persuasionas the
citizenwas an actionableoffense.67
meansof inducingthechorusand thenormally
Philocleon
unbudgeable
to desertthecourts.68
And yet, wordsprove effective
only afterthe show of forceby
whichPhilocleonis prevented
fromleavinghishometo attendthecourt
sessions.By this recourseto violence,in the restraints
placed upon
Philocleonwhenargument
wouldnotavail,and byitsprofound
ambivalence towardargument
itselfas a kindof charmand subversion,Aristophanes' Wasps-read politically-betrays
the stubbornfactof class
conflict
withinthecitizenbodyoftheAthenians.
The offense
is hybris;
see MacDowellad 1418.
For persuasion,
cf. 116,278, 471-72, 513, 668, 697, 713, 729, 743, 746-49,760-61,
763, 784, 974, 1470,and, in an ironiccontext,568, 573, 586. See also R. G. Buxton,
67

68

Persuasionin GreekTragedy:A Studyof Peitho (Cambridge 1982) 10-18, and Aristophanes

Frogs1395-96forpeithoas thelightest
or mostinsubstantial
ofthings.
Earlierversionsof thispaperwereread at Connecticut
Collegeand at BrynMawr
College. I wish to thankElizabethCarter,MichaelRoberts,Ellen Rooney,Khachig
T6llyan, and the editor,as well as twoanonymousrefereesof thisjournal,fortheir
helpful
comments.

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