Frogs (Clarendon Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Aristophanes (Author), Sir Kenneth Dover (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0198150059 | ISBN-13: 978-0198150053

Among extant Greek comedies, the Frogs is unique for the light it throws on Classical Greek attitudes toward tragedy and literature in general. It merits a much more extensive commentary than it has so far received, and the establishment of the text itself has rested for over a century on collations which were inadequate and inaccurate. At the same time, its most problematic passages have been the subject, in recent years, of more scholarly articles than those of any other Greek play. In this introduction, edition, and commentary, Sir Kenneth Dover presents the relevant data, arguments, and considerations as fully as can reasonably be done in one volume.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One again [Kenneth Dover] shows himself master of comedic commentary--original, incisive, detailed, sensible, witty....This is extraordinary monument to its author and to the craft of positivist scholarship."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Dover has given us an edition to Frogs that is just as masterful, and in its own ways just as innovative, as his Clouds....An outstanding work by a great classical scholar, and it belongs in the library of every serious student of Greek literature."--Classical Bulletin

"An edition like Dover's Frogs is an education in Greek diction, grammar, style and meter....This is a great work of scholarship."--The Classical Review

Language Notes

Text: Greek
Introduction: English

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 29, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198150059
• ISBN-13: 978-0198150053
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,048,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of his best, August 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Frogs (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

In "Frogs" (Batrakhoi), the god Dionysus, complaining that the art of poetry has declined, goes down to Hades to bring the playwright Aeschylus back from the dead. Once he gets there, however, Euripides (one of Aristophanes' favorite targets) claims that he is better than Aeschylus, and a contest of wits ensues. This my favorite of Aristophanes' plays and has a tidier ending than most of them. Watch out, though-this book (ed. Kenneth Dover) is the original Greek text. If you don't know Greek, buy the Penguin translation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful edition, and a wonderful play., September 13, 2002

By 

S. Bergstrom (Lexington, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frogs (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

As a struggling (college) student of Classical Greek, I found K.J. Dover's edition of Frogs to have a wonderful amount of translation help and historical notes, without being overwhelming (or overly expensive). Since the second half of the play is a gentle parody of Aeschylus and Euripides, it helps to have read those authors (preferrably in the original) to get some of the jokes -- if you're new to Greek Comedy, take a look at K.J. Dover's edition of Clouds, which I haven't yet tackled, but intend to. (That one parodies Plato and Socrates...)

N.B. -- this edition doesn't include a translation, which is how I prefer it, but some may not.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great comedy has no expiration date......, June 10, 2003

By 

B. Morse (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Frogs (Clarendon Paperbacks) (Paperback)

I re-read this play recently after being asked to submit a few choices to direct at a local theater, and fell in love with the humor of Aristophanes all over again.

His comedies are virtually unparalelled in the surviving classical works. The humor of the plays, particularly the Frogs, is just as fresh and vibrant today as it was thousands of years ago.

Dionysus, Greek God of theater, has grown despondant that upon the death of Euripides there are no great poets left on Earth. He resolves to travel to Hades and beg Pluto to allow him to resurrect Euripedes so that he might continue his work.

Dionysus, accompanied by his faithful porter Xanthias, travels first to the house of Heracles, dressed as the Greek hero, to ask his advice...as well as directions. Heracles suggests conventional methods (death by ones own hands) before he reveals the path he himself followed.

The two then set out to rescue Euripides. Xanthias, being a slave, is given a foot route to follow, while Dionysus enjoys a boat ride courtesy of Charon, the ferryman of the dead. Upon arrival at Pluto's house, and after a case of mistaken/disguised identity ends up in a draw, Dionysus finally meets up with Euripides.

However, Aeschylus isn't about to give up without a fight...Pluto has arranged for a contest between the two famed poets to determine the better of them...as Aeschylus decries Euripides as merely a 'flavor of the month' among the people of Hades. A dialogue ensues between he and Euripides, with Dionysus left to judge the merits of each.

Full of delightful comic insight into the works of both poets, The Frogs is a completely accessible foray into classical theater that you don't need to be a scholar to understand. While a basis of Euripides and Aeschylus helps to augment enjoyment of the work, it stands apart on its own.

An enchanting, intriguing, and entertaining read.