The Clouds
by Aristophanes · Νεφέλαι
Assigned by 4 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 423 BCE
- Form
- Comedy
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Short · 90 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendFour Texts on Socrates, translated by Thomas G. West and Grace Starry WestCornell University Press, 1998Literal translation printed alongside Plato's Apology, Crito and Euthyphro, which is how most programs read it.
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The old farmer Strepsiades, ruined by his son's taste for horses, enrols at Socrates' Thinkery to learn the argument that makes the worse cause appear the better, so he can cheat his creditors. Socrates is discovered suspended in a basket studying the heavens and worshipping the Clouds. Strepsiades proves too stupid and sends his son Pheidippides instead, who learns so well that he beats his father and proves it just. Strepsiades burns the Thinkery down. The surviving text is a revision; the original placed third in 423 BCE.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Clouds are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
