The Frogs ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Βάτραχοι , translit. Bátrakhoi ; Latin : Ranae , often abbreviated Ran. or Ra. ) is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes . It was performed at the Lenaia , one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens , in 405 BC and received first place.
151-467: The play features the comical katabasis of the god of theater Dionysus , with his slave Xanthias , in order to revive the late tragedian Euripides . Dionysus is frustrated with tragedy's decline in quality after the playwright's recent passing, and concerned about theatre's future as the city of Athens struggles in the Peloponnesian War . During the pair's journey through the underworld ,
302-518: A bident , though the ornamented tip of his scepter may have been misunderstood at times as a bident. In the Roman world, the bident (from bi- , "two" + dent- , "teeth") was an agricultural implement. It may also represent one of the three types of lightning wielded by Jupiter , the Roman counterpart of Zeus, and the Etruscan Tinia . The later notion that the ruler of the underworld wielded
453-536: A "chthonic Zeus." That the trident and bident might be somewhat interchangeable is suggested by a Byzantine scholiast , who mentions Poseidon being armed with a bident. In the Middle Ages, classical underworld figures began to be depicted with a pitchfork. Early Christian writers had identified the classical underworld with Hell, and its denizens as demons or devils. In the Renaissance, the bident became
604-459: A "son of Pluto." In his 14th-century mythography, Boccaccio records a tradition in which Pluto was the father of the divine personification Veneratio ("Reverence"), noting that she had no mother because Proserpina (the Latin name of Persephone) was sterile. In The Faerie Queene (1590s), Edmund Spenser invents a daughter for Pluto whom he calls Lucifera. The character's name was taken from
755-479: A benefactor in the twelfth month, implicitly ranking him as one of the twelve principal deities. In the Attic calendar , the twelfth month, more or less equivalent to June, was Skirophorion ; the name may be connected to the rape of Persephone. In the theogony of Euhemerus (4th century BC), the gods were treated as mortal rulers whose deeds were immortalized by tradition. Ennius translated Euhemerus into Latin about
906-473: A black pig " if the curse is fulfilled by the desired deadline. The pig was a characteristic animal sacrifice to chthonic deities, whose victims were almost always black or dark in color. A set of curse tablets written in Doric Greek and found in a tomb addresses a Pasianax, "Lord to All," sometimes taken as a title of Pluto, but more recently thought to be a magical name for the corpse. Pasianax
1057-555: A certain amount of knowledge, so as not to appreciate the fine points of what you say, don't worry about that, since that is no longer the case. For they are seasoned veterans and each one has a book and understands the clever stuff. Their minds are superior anyway, but now they're really sharpened. So fear not, but scrutinize every topic, for the audience's sake at least, since they're so sophisticated." -Chorus, The Frogs ( lines 1110-1118 ) In an Athens filled with educated citizens, dramatic performance traditions can be scrutinized for
1208-561: A clear distinction between Pluto and "chthonic Zeus" confuses the question of whether in some traditions, now obscure, Persephone bore children to her husband. In the late 4th century AD, Claudian's epic on the abduction motivates Pluto with a desire for children. The poem is unfinished, however, and anything Claudian may have known of these traditions is lost. Justin Martyr (2nd century AD) alludes to children of Pluto, but neither names nor enumerates them. Hesychius (5th century AD) mentions
1359-502: A conventional attribute of Pluto. In an influential ceiling mural depicting the wedding of Cupid and Psyche , painted by Raphael 's workshop for the Villa Farnesina in 1517, Pluto is shown holding the bident, with Cerberus at his side, while Neptune holds the trident. Perhaps influenced by this work, Agostino Carracci originally depicted Pluto with a bident in a preparatory drawing for his painting Pluto (1592), in which
1510-507: A cypress, consumed by grief over the accidental death of a pet stag . A "white cypress" is part of the topography of the underworld that recurs in the Orphic gold tablets as a kind of beacon near the entrance, perhaps to be compared with the Tree of Life in various world mythologies. The description of the cypress as "white" (Greek leukē ), since the botanical tree is dark, is symbolic, evoking
1661-587: A desire for the presence of a deity, and has been compared to a similar epiclesis in the Acts of Thomas . The names of both Hades and Pluto appear also in the Greek Magical Papyri and curse tablets , with Hades typically referring to the underworld as a place, and Pluto regularly invoked as the partner of Persephone. Five Latin curse tablets from Rome, dating to the mid-1st century BC, promise Persephone and Pluto an offering of " dates , figs , and
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#17327732358761812-408: A diverse number of religions from around the world. The hero or upper-world deity journeys to the underworld or to the land of the dead and returns. The nature of the quest differs; sometimes an object or the rescue of a loved one is sought, while in other stories knowledge and secret revelations is the goal. The ability to enter the realm of the dead while still alive, and to return, is proof of
1963-405: A first attempt to end the debate, a balance is brought in and each are told to tell a few lines into it. Whoever's lines have the most "weight" will cause the balance to tip in their favor. Euripides produces verses of his that mention, in turn, the ship Argo , Persuasion and a mace . Aeschylus responds with the river Spercheios , Death and two crashed chariots, each with a dead charioteer. Since
2114-532: A helmet (kyneê) . The helmet Pluto receives is presumably the magical Cap of Invisibility (aidos kyneê) , but the Bibliotheca is the only ancient source that explicitly says it belonged to Pluto. The verbal play of aidos , "invisible," and Hades is thought to account for this attribution of the helmet to the ruler of the underworld, since no ancient narratives record his use or possession of it. Later authors such as Rabelais (16th century) do attribute
2265-583: A later Axe Yell rendering the last two segments "croax croax", which was used by the University of California and Stanford University . In his book Jesting Pilate , author Aldous Huxley describes listening to a performance of a poem on the subject of Sicily by the Panjabi poet Iqbal, recited by a Mohammedan of Arab descent at a party in Bombay. Huxley summarized the performance with the statement: "And in
2416-410: A less stubborn end to the war, Aeschylus' advice (1463–5) lays out a plan to win and not a proposition of capitulation. Also, The Frogs contains solid, serious messages which represent significant differences from general critiques of policy and idealistic thoughts of good peace terms. During the parabasis Aristophanes presents advice to give the rights of citizens back to people who had participated in
2567-446: A lion-hide and carrying a club. Heracles, upon seeing the effeminate Dionysus dressed up like himself, can't help laughing. Dionysus explains his motivation for travelling to Hades: to bring the playwright Euripides back from the dead, in order to correct what he sees as the sorry state of Athens' tragedians . When Dionysus asks which road is the quickest to get to Hades, Heracles tells him that he can hang himself, drink poison or jump off
2718-453: A list of all his scholarly achievements. Hope Mirrlees 's Paris: A Poem (1920) cites the chorus in the opening of her modernist poem: "Brekekekek coax coax we are passing under the Seine" (line 10), which also performs the sound of the metro train. Finnegans Wake references this play with the words "Brékkek Kékkek Kékkek Kékkek! Kóax Kóax Kóax! Ualu Ualu Ualu! Quaouauh!" The call of
2869-603: A number of other deities, including Summanus , the Roman god of nocturnal thunder; Februus , the Roman god from whose purification rites the month of February takes its name and an Etruscans god of the underworld the syncretic god Serapis , regarded as Pluto's Egyptian equivalent ; and the Semitic god Muth (Μούθ). Muth was described by Philo of Byblos as the equivalent of both Thanatos (Death personified ) and Pluto. The ancient Greeks did not regard Pluto as "death" per se. The best-known myth involving Pluto or Hades
3020-579: A pallor. Martianus Capella (5th century) describes him as both "growing pale in shadow, a fugitive from light" and actively "shedding darkness in the gloom of Tartarean night," crowned with a wreath made of ebony as suitable for the kingdom he governs. The horses of Pluto are usually black, but Ovid describes them as "sky-colored" ( caeruleus , from caelum , "sky"), which might be blue, greenish-blue, or dark blue. The Renaissance mythographer Natale Conti says wreaths of narcissus , maidenhair fern (adianthus) , and cypress were given to Pluto. In
3171-403: A tower. Dionysus opts for the longer journey, which Heracles himself had taken, across a lake (possibly Lake Acheron ). When Dionysus arrives at the lake, Charon ferries him across. Xanthias, being a slave, is not allowed in the boat, and has to walk around it, while Dionysus is made to help row the boat. The eponymous chorus of frogs (the only instance of frogs in the play) sing the parodos ,
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#17327732358763322-576: A trident or bident can perhaps be traced to a line in Seneca 's Hercules Furens ("Hercules Enraged"), in which Father Dis, the Roman counterpart of Pluto, uses a three-pronged spear to drive off Hercules as he attempts to invade Pylos. Seneca calls Dis the "Infernal Jove" or the "dire Jove" (the Jove who gives dire or ill omens, dirae ) , just as in the Greek tradition, Plouton is sometimes identified as
3473-423: A utopian land where heroes and good people reside. There, Aeneas finds his father, who tells him of the rich history of Rome to come. In Ovid 's poetic collection of mythological stories, he includes accounts of katabasis as well. In book 4, he includes an account of Juno's descent to Hades to bring her perceived justice to Ino. Ovid describes Juno's path to the underworld, noting Cerberus' presence. Juno seeks
3624-490: A young bride whose memory even the Lethe 's waters of forgetting have not erased from him. Pluto assures him that death will reunite them someday, but Protesilaus argues that Pluto himself should understand love and its impatience, and reminds the king of his grant to Orpheus and to Alcestis , who took her husband's place in death and then was permitted at the insistence of Heracles to return to him. When Persephone intercedes for
3775-549: Is monogamous , and is rarely said to have children. In Orphic texts , the chthonic nymph Melinoe is the daughter of Persephone by Zeus disguised as Pluto, and the Eumenides ("The Kindly Ones") are the offspring of Persephone and Zeus Chthonios , often identified as Pluto. The Augustan poet Vergil says that Pluto is the father of the Furies , but the mother is the goddess Nox ( Nyx ), not his wife Persephone.The lack of
3926-422: Is a sceptre , but he also often holds a full or overflowing cornucopia; Hades sometimes holds a horn, but it is depicted with no contents and should be understood as a drinking horn . Unlike Plouton, Hades never holds agrarian attributes such as stalks of grain. His chest is usually bare or only partly covered, whereas Plouton is fully robed (exceptions, however, are admitted by the author). Plouton stands, often in
4077-402: Is answered by the chorus "Brek-ek-ko-ex-ko-ex-SEX! Brek-ek-ko-ex-ko-ex-SEX!" Other colleges imitated or parodied the long cheer, including Penn, which adopted the cry, "Brackey Corax Corix, Roree". One of these parodies was the first Stanford Axe yell in 1899, when yell leaders used it during the decapitation of a straw effigy: "Give 'em the axe, the axe, the axe!" The Frog Chorus also figured in
4228-456: Is arguing that it is in human nature to be involved in politics and being uninvolved is a negative trait. The Frogs can be examined through this lens, relating its emphasis on the political change to the attitudes sustained in Athens regarding education and civil duty. Aristotle further claims that theatre is used to comment on societal issues, and present solutions through their demonstration and
4379-513: Is called Pluto (or the rich). Note also, that he will have nothing to do with men while they are in the body, but only when the soul is liberated from the desires and evils of the body. Now there is a great deal of philosophy and reflection in that; for in their liberated state he can bind them with the desire of virtue, but while they are flustered and maddened by the body, not even father Cronos himself would suffice to keep them with him in his own far-famed chains. Since "the union of body and soul
4530-534: Is distinguished from the gloomier Hades. The Roman poet Ennius ( ca. 239–169 BC), the leading figure in the Hellenization of Latin literature , considered Pluto a Greek god to be explained in terms of the Roman equivalents Dis Pater and Orcus. It is unclear whether Pluto had a literary presence in Rome before Ennius. Some scholars think that rituals and beliefs pertaining to Pluto entered Roman culture with
4681-524: Is driven by the play's three main characters: Aeschylus, Euripides, and Dionysus. Aristophanes himself acts as an educator and advisor regarding political issues through his writing. This is most prevalent during the Parabasis in which the chorus pleads to the audience for the return of exiled oligarchs who had been cast out during the Athenian democracy in 410. This parabasis has been credited as one of
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4832-420: Is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. And he who by nature and not by mere accident is without a state, is either a bad man or above humanity; he is like the: Tribeless, lawless, hearthless one,’ whom Homer denounces—the natural outcast is forthwith a lover of war; he may be compared to an isolated piece at draughts.” - Aristotle, Politics 1.2 Here Aristotle
4983-422: Is found elsewhere as an epithet of Zeus, or in the tablets may invoke a daimon like Abrasax . A sanctuary dedicated to Pluto was called a ploutonion (Latin plutonium ). The complex at Eleusis for the mysteries had a ploutonion regarded as the birthplace of the divine child Ploutos, in another instance of conflation or close association of the two gods. Greek inscriptions record an altar of Pluto, which
5134-404: Is gone, not Euripides. The parodos contains a paradigmatic example of how in Greek culture obscenity could be included in celebrations related to the gods. The Frogs was written and performed during the final stages of the Peloponnesian War . Sophocles and Euripides , two Greek playwrights regarded as some of the most talented poets of their time, had recently died. During the creation of
5285-435: Is jealous of the other's place as the greatest tragic poet. Dionysus is asked by Pluto to mediate the contest or agon. Charles Paul Segal argues that The Frogs is unique in its structure, because it combines two forms of comic motifs, a journey motif and a contest or agon motif, with each motif being given equal weight in the play. Segal contends that Aristophanes transformed the Greek comedy structure when he downgraded
5436-644: Is not as heroic as he needs to be, others arguing that Aeneas has not yet fulfilled his destiny, and several arguing that he is still a hero, with this section added purely for drama. Aeneas buries Misenus and he and the Sibyl prepare a sacrifice to enter the Underworld. Aeneas first encounters several beings and monsters as he enters: Sorrows, Heartaches, Diseases, Senility, Terror, Hunger, Evil, Crime, Poverty, Death, Hard Labor, Sleep, Evil Pleasures of Mind, War, Family Vengeance, Mad Civil Strife, Scylla , Briareus ,
5587-453: Is not better than the loosing," death is not an evil. Walter Burkert thus sees Pluto as a "god of dissolution." Among the titles of Pluto was Isodaitēs , "divider into equal portions," a title that connects him to the fate goddesses the Moirai . Isodaitēs was also a cult title for Dionysus and Helios . In ordering his ideal city, Plato proposed a calendar in which Pluto was honored as
5738-507: Is of him abducting Persephone to be his wife and the queen of his realm. Plouton as the name of the ruler of the underworld first appears in Greek literature of the Classical period , in the works of the Athenian playwrights and of the philosopher Plato , who is the major Greek source on its significance. Under the name Pluto, the god appears in other myths in a secondary role, mostly as
5889-408: Is pained by grief for her death a second time. Mesopotamian mythology Ancient Egyptian mythology Greek mythology and Roman mythology Hinduism Buddhism Christianity Islam Mandaeism Norse religion and Finnish mythology Welsh mythology Other Pluto (mythology) In ancient Greek religion and mythology , Pluto ( Greek : Πλούτων , Ploutōn )
6040-414: Is portrayed as the dark and violent abductor of Persephone. Pluto and Hades differ in character, but they are not distinct figures and share two dominant myths. In Greek cosmogony , the god received the rule of the underworld in a three-way division of sovereignty over the world, with his brother Zeus ruling the sky and his other brother Poseidon sovereign over the sea. His central narrative in myth
6191-480: Is that of Odysseus , who performs something on the border of a nekyia and a katabasis in book 11 of the Odyssey ; he visits the border of the realms before calling the dead to him using a blood rite, with it being disputed whether he was at the highest realm of the underworld or the lowest edge of the living world where he performed this. The trip to the underworld is a mytheme of comparative mythology found in
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6342-626: Is the abduction of Persephone, also known as Kore ("the Maiden"). The earliest literary versions of the myth are a brief mention in Hesiod's Theogony and the extended narrative of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter ; in both these works, the ruler of the underworld is named as Hades ("the Hidden One"). Hades is an unsympathetic figure, and Persephone's unwillingness is emphasized. Increased usage of
6493-631: Is then visited by Leda , the mother of Castor and Polydeuces and Iphimedeia , mother of the Aloadae by Poseidon. Odysseus then sees a list of women whom he only briefly mentions: Phaedra , Procris , Ariadne , Maera, Clymene , and Eriphyle , all also lovers of gods or heroes. Next to visit Odysseus is Agamemnon , the king of Mycenae . Agamemnon tells Odysseus of his death by his wife, Clytemnestra , and her lover Aegisthus . He warns Odysseus to return to Ithaca in secret and be wary of his own wife. Odysseus then encounters Achilles , who asks after
6644-428: Is then visited by a string of souls of past queens. He first sees Tyro , the mother of Pelias and Neleus by Poseidon. He next talks to Antiope , the mother of Amphion and Zethus (the founders of Thebes) by Zeus . Then, he is visited by Alcmene , the mother of Heracles by Zeus, and Heracle's wife Megara . He is also visited by Epicaste , the mother of Oedipus, and Chloris , the queen of Pylos . Odysseus
6795-463: Is used as a tactic to educate and advise the public. There are many passages within the play that paint poets and playwrights as educators and teachers. There is a particular section in which the character “Aeschylus” claims that after he produced his play “Persians”, he educated Athenian audiences to be resilient in vanquishing their enemies. The theme of poets functioning as advisors within The Frogs
6946-453: Is when that place is specifically the underworld. Pilar Serrano uses the term to encompass brief or chronic stays in the underworld as well, such as those of Lazarus , and Castor and Pollux . A katabasis is in general followed by an anabasis (a going up) to distinguish itself from death; very rarely does a living hero decide to stay in the Underworld forever. Famous examples of katabases in Greek mythology include Orpheus , who enters
7097-422: Is with Hades' janitor, who mistakes Dionysus for Heracles due to his attire. Still angry over Heracles' theft of Cerberus, he threatens to unleash several monsters on him in revenge. Frightened, Dionysus trades clothes with Xanthias. A maid then arrives and is happy to see Heracles. She invites him to a feast with virgin dancing girls, and Xanthias is more than happy to oblige, but Dionysus quickly wants to trade back
7248-438: The Odyssey , took place in a fallow field that had been ploughed three times, in what seems to be a reference to a ritual copulation or sympathetic magic to ensure the earth's fertility. "The resemblance of the name Ploutos to Plouton ...," it has been noted, "cannot be accidental. Plouton is lord of the dead, but as Persephone's husband he has serious claims to the powers of fertility." Demeter's son Plutus merges in
7399-582: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter , Gaia (Earth) produced the narcissus at Zeus's request as a snare for Persephone; when she grasps it, a chasm opens up and the "Host to Many" (Hades) seizes her. Narcissus wreaths were used in early times to crown Demeter and Persephone, as well as the Furies ( Eumenides ). The flower was associated with narcotic drugginess ( narkê , "torpor"), erotic fascination , and imminent death; to dream of crowning oneself with narcissus
7550-638: The Hydra , the Chimaera , the Gorgons , the Harpies , and Cerberus . Next, Aeneas encounters Charon , the ferryman who leads souls into the Underworld, and the mass of people who are unburied. His first conversation is with Palinurus , a man of his crew who fell overboard and died on their journey. Palinurus begs Aeneas to bury him so he can enter the Underworld. The Sibyl convinces Charon to carry them across
7701-533: The Roman Imperial era , the Greek geographer Strabo (1st century AD) makes a distinction between Pluto and Hades. In writing of the mineral wealth of ancient Iberia ( Roman Spain ), he says that among the Turdetani , it is "Pluto, and not Hades, who inhabits the region down below." In the discourse On Mourning by the Greek author Lucian (2nd century AD), Pluto's "wealth" is the dead he rules over in
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#17327732358767852-398: The abyss (chasma) ; the name Hades is reserved for the underworld itself. In Greek religious practice, Pluto is sometimes seen as the "chthonic Zeus" ( Zeus Chthonios or Zeus Catachthonios ), or at least as having functions or significance equivalent to those of Zeus but pertaining to the earth or underworld. In ancient Roman and Hellenistic religion , Pluto was identified with
8003-450: The oligarchic revolution in 411 BC, arguing they were misled by Phrynichus' 'tricks' (literally 'wrestlings'). Phrynichus was a leader of the oligarchic revolution who was assassinated, to general satisfaction, in 411. This proposal was simple enough to be instated by a single act of the assembly, and was actually put into effect by Patrokleides' decree after the loss of the fleet at Aegospotami . The anonymous Life states that this advice
8154-452: The self is a Platonic cave with capillaires , in French both "maidenhair fern" and " blood vessels ". The cypress (Greek cyparissus , Latin cupressus ) has traditional associations with mourning. In ancient Attica , households in mourning were garlanded with cypress, and it was used to fumigate the air during cremations . In the myth of Cyparissus , a youth was transformed into
8305-616: The "All-Receiver" who commands death and is the master of mortals. His titles are given as Zeus Chthonios and Euboulos ("Good Counsel"). In the hymn's topography , Pluto's dwelling is in Tartarus , simultaneously a "meadow" and "thick-shaded and dark," where the Acheron encircles "the roots of the earth." Hades is again the name of the place, here described as "windless," and its gates, through which Pluto carried "pure Demeter's daughter" as his bride, are located in an Attic cave within
8456-424: The 16th-century mythography of Natale Conti, who used it as the Latin translation of Greek phosphor , "light-bearer," a regular epithet of Hecate . Spenser incorporated aspects of the mysteries into The Faerie Queene . Orpheus was regarded as a founder and prophet of the mysteries called " Orphic ," " Dionysiac ," or " Bacchic ." Mythologized for his ability to entrance even animals and trees with his music, he
8607-406: The 5th century BCE, serving the goal of preserving cultural memory. According to Kenneth Dover, the structure of The Frogs is as follows: In the first section Dionysus' has the goal of gaining admission to Pluto 's palace, and he does so by line 673. The parabasis follows, (lines 674–737) and in the dialogue between the slaves a power struggle between Euripides and Aeschylus is revealed. Euripides
8758-723: The Frog Chorus, "Brekekekéx-koáx-koáx" (Greek: Βρεκεκεκέξ κοάξ κοάξ), followed by a few of Charon's lines from the play, formed part of the Yale "Long Cheer", which was first used in public in 1884, and was a feature of Yale sporting events from that time until the 1960s. Lake Forest Academy 's teams are known as the "Caxys", a name derived from a similar cheer. The Long Cheer was echoed in Yale graduate Cole Porter 's song "I, Jupiter" in his musical Out of This World , in which Jupiter sings "I, Jupiter Rex, am positively teeming with sex," and
8909-527: The Furies (Tisiphone, Megara, and Alecto ) to destroy the house of Cadmus , namely Ino and her husband Athamas . While in the underworld, Juno passes several souls who are being punished in Hades. Hades is also a person, and he needs to get rid of those souls because he needs them to fully recover ( Tantalus , Sisyphus , Ixion , and the Belides ). When the Furies agree to Juno's request, she happily returns to
9060-764: The Latin Fables of Hyginus ( ca. 64 BC–AD 17). The most influential version of the abduction myth is that of Ovid (d. 17 or 18 AD), who tells the story in both the Metamorphoses (Book 5) and the Fasti (Book 4). Another major retelling, also in Latin, is the long unfinished poem De raptu Proserpinae ("On the Abduction of Proserpina") by Claudian (d. 404 AD). Ovid uses the name Dis , not Pluto in these two passages, and Claudian uses Pluto only once; translators and editors , however, sometimes supply
9211-473: The Trojan War for nearly 20 years, he is surprised and saddened by the sight of her soul. Tiresias , the soul whom Odysseus came to see, next appears to him. Tiresias gives him several pieces of information concerning his nostos (homecoming) and his life after. Tiresias details Poseidon 's anger at Odysseus' blinding of Polyphemos (and the coming troubles as a consequence), warns Odysseus not to eat
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#17327732358769362-500: The Underworld. She also tells Aeneas to bury his dead friend and prepare cattle for sacrifice. When Aeneas reaches the forest to find the golden branch, he is guided by birds to the tree, and the branch breaks into his hand. The branch, however, does not easily break off as the Sibyl said would happen to a person fated to go to the Underworld – the branch is described as " cunctantem " ("hesitant"). The implications of this have been debated by scholars – some arguing that it means that Aeneas
9513-609: The agricultural wealth of "the year's fruits." Pausanias explains the significance of Pluto's key in describing a wondrously carved cedar chest at the Temple of Hera in Elis. Numerous deities are depicted, with one panel grouping Dionysus, Persephone, the nymphs and Pluto. Pluto holds a key because "they say that what is called Hades has been locked up by Pluto, and that nobody will return back again therefrom." Natale Conti cites Pausanias in noting that keys are an attribute of Pluto as
9664-439: The audience's amusement. Within the wider net of social and political judgment, critiquing poetry can reveal what the audience values and what ideas they promote within the city of Athens. The Frogs can also be identified as a piece dedicated to the poetic tradition as it is reaching the end of its era with the deaths of Sophocles and Euripides. Within the story, poets debate about cultural politics ranging from poetry to education in
9815-449: The best portion? ... How much better are things below than what Zeus possesses! To Plato, the god of the underworld was "an agent in [the] beneficent cycle of death and rebirth" meriting worship under the name of Plouton , a giver of spiritual wealth. In the dialogue Cratylus , Plato has Socrates explain the etymology of Plouton , saying that Pluto gives wealth ( ploutos ), and his name means "giver of wealth, which comes out of
9966-608: The biggest reasons for The Frogs' success at the Lenaea of 405. Its 1st place victory at Lanaea may have assisted in the development of a political environment that held more favor towards those exiled. In 405 those exiled, although not ordered to, were granted the ability to return to Athens and re-collect their citizenship rights under a set of conditions preserved in Andocides’ speech “On the Mysteries”. The Frogs deviates from
10117-428: The book by Nathan Lane . Katabasis A katabasis or catabasis ( Ancient Greek : κατάβασις , romanized : katábasis , lit. 'descent'; from κατὰ ( katà ) 'down' and βαίνω ( baínō ) 'go') is a journey to the underworld . Its original sense is usually associated with Greek mythology and Classical mythology more broadly, where
10268-428: The citizen-body to reject the leadership of those whom it now follows, upstarts of foreign parentage (730–2), and turn back to men of known integrity who were brought up in the style of noble and wealthy families" (Dover 33). Kleophon is mentioned in the ode of the parabasis (674–85), and is both "vilified as a foreigner" (680–2) and maligned at the end of the play (1504, 1532). W. Geoffrey Arnott argues that The Frogs
10419-458: The classical hero's exceptional status as more than mortal. A deity who returns from the underworld demonstrates eschatological themes such as the cyclical nature of time and existence, or the defeat of death and the possibility of immortality . A katabasis is arguably a specific type of the famous Hero's journey . In the Hero's journey, the hero travels to a forbidden, unknown realm; a katabasis
10570-457: The clothes. Dionysus, back in the Heracles lion-skin, encounters more people angry at Heracles, and so he makes Xanthias trade a third time. When the janitor returns to confront the alleged Heracles, Xanthias offers him his "slave" (Dionysus) for torturing, to obtain the truth as to whether or not he is really a thief. The terrified Dionysus tells the truth that he is a god. After each is whipped,
10721-420: The color glaukos , "bluish grey," "greenish" or "sea-colored," which might describe the plant's leaves. Because the color could describe the sky, Cornutus regularly gives it divine connotations. Pluto's twin sister was named Glauca . Ambiguity of color is characteristic of Pluto. Although both he and his realm are regularly described as dark, black, or gloomy, the god himself is sometimes seen as pale or having
10872-492: The company of both Demeter and Kore, or sometimes one of the goddesses, but Hades almost always sits or reclines, usually with Persephone facing him. "Confusion and disagreement" about the interpretation of these images remain. Attributes of Pluto mentioned in the Orphic Hymn to Pluto are his scepter , keys, throne, and horses. In the hymn, the keys are connected to his capacity for giving wealth to humanity, specifically
11023-460: The contest or agon which usually preceded the parabasis and expanded the parabasis into the agon . In Aristophanes' earlier plays, i.e., The Acharnians and The Birds , the protagonist is victorious prior to the parabasis and after the parabasis is usually shown implementing his reforms. Segal suggests that this deviation gave a tone of seriousness to the play. Sophocles was a very influential and highly admired Athenian playwright who died after
11174-402: The cult of Apollo , as confirmed by archaeological investigations during the 1960s. It too was a dream oracle. The sites often seem to have been chosen because the presence of naturally occurring mephitic vapors was thought to indicate an opening to the underworld. In Italy, Avernus was considered an entrance to the underworld that produced toxic vapors, but Strabo seems not to think that it
11325-525: The dead warrior, Pluto grants the request at once, though allowing only one day for the reunion. As Pluto gained importance as an embodiment of agricultural wealth within the Eleusinian Mysteries, from the 5th century BC onward the name Hades was increasingly reserved for the underworld as a place. Neither Hades nor Pluto was one of the traditional Twelve Olympians , and Hades seems to have received limited cult, perhaps only at Elis , where
11476-452: The dead. Odysseus sets out an offering of honey, milk, wine, water, and barley before slaughtering two sheep to add fresh blood to the meal. The souls of many then appear to him. The first to appear to Odysseus is Elpenor , his crew member who died prior to leaving Circe's island. Elpenor asks Odysseus to give him a proper burial, and Odysseus agrees. The next to appear to Odysseus is his mother, Anticlea . As Odysseus has been away fighting
11627-546: The deaths of Euripides and Sophocles, the importance of written work in Ancient Greece became highly regarded throughout the region. Although the two authors could no longer produce new plays, their previous works could remain in the minds of Geek audiences through the form of written text. Since the plays were written down, they could also be reperformed. The Frogs presents the beginnings of the Greek literary canon by displaying Euripides, Aeschylus, and Sophocles as some of
11778-556: The deep earth that contained the seeds necessary for a bountiful harvest. The name Ploutōn came into widespread usage with the Eleusinian Mysteries , in which Pluto was venerated as both a stern ruler and a loving husband to Persephone . The couple received souls in the afterlife and are invoked together in religious inscriptions, being referred to as Plouton and as Kore respectively. Hades, by contrast, had few temples and religious practices associated with him, and he
11929-473: The direct mention of Alcibiades' name, which occurs in the course of Dionysus' final test of the poets, seeking advice about Alcibiades himself and a strategy for victory. Though Euripides first blasts Alcibiades, Aeschylus responds with the advice to bring him back, bringing the subtle allusions to a clearly stated head and concluding Aristophanes' point. The Frogs proved to be a revolutionary piece of media. Through its fascination with education and authorship,
12080-411: The district of Eleusis . The route from Persephone's meadow to Hades crosses the sea. The hymn concludes: You alone were born to judge deeds obscure and conspicuous. Holiest and illustrious ruler of all, frenzied god, You delight in the worshiper's respect and reverence. Come with favor and joy to the initiates. I summon you. The hymn is one of several examples of Greco-Roman prayer that express
12231-473: The divine couple appear as welcoming figures in a metrical epitaph : I know that even below the earth, if there is indeed a reward for the worthy ones, the first and foremost honors, nurse, shall be yours, next to Persephone and Pluto. Hesychius identifies Pluto with Eubouleus , but other ancient sources distinguish between these two underworld deities. In the Mysteries Eubouleus plays
12382-540: The earth beneath". Because the name Hades is taken to mean "the invisible", people fear what they cannot see; although they are in error about the nature of this deity's power, Socrates says, "the office and name of the God really correspond": He is the perfect and accomplished Sophist , and the great benefactor of the inhabitants of the other world; and even to us who are upon earth he sends from below exceeding blessings. For he has much more than he wants down there; wherefore he
12533-446: The earth, both the crops on its surface—he was originally a god of the land—and the mines hidden within it." What is sometimes taken as "confusion" of the two gods Plouton and Ploutos ("Wealth") held or acquired a theological significance in antiquity. As a lord of abundance or riches, Pluto expresses the aspect of the underworld god that was positive, symbolized in art by the "horn of plenty" ( cornucopia ), by means of which Plouton
12684-488: The end of the plough-tail and bring down your stick on the backs of the oxen as they draw on the pole-bar by the yoke-straps." Plouton was one of several euphemistic names for Hades, described in the Iliad as the god most hateful to mortals. Plato says that people prefer the name Plouton , "giver of wealth," because the name of Hades is fear-provoking. The name was understood as referring to "the boundless riches of
12835-532: The epic. Unlike Odysseus, Aeneas seeks to enter the Underworld, rather than bring the spirits of the dead to him through sacrifice. He begins his journey with a visit to the Cumaean Sibyl (a priestess of Apollo) and asks for her assistance to journey to the Underworld and visit his father. The priestess tells him to find the Golden Bough , and if the branch breaks off in his hands, he is fated to go to
12986-547: The establishment of the Saecular Games in 249 BC, and that Dis pater was only a translation of Plouton . In the mid-1st century BC, Cicero identifies Pluto with Dis, explaining that "The earth in all its power and plenty is sacred to Father Dis, a name which is the same as Dives , 'The Wealthy One,' as is the Greek Plouton . This is because everything is born of the earth and returns to it again." During
13137-469: The fact that Sophocles' tragic style was reminiscent of Aeschylus', whereas Euripides represents a new style altogether. This is consistent with the central theme of contrasting old ways and new ways. In the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera The Pirates of Penzance , Major-General Stanley, in his introductory song , includes the fact that he "knows the croaking chorus from The Frogs of Aristophanes" in
13288-401: The first choral interlude ( parodos ), where the chorus , a group of frogs, exasperate Dionysus in song. A defining work of Old Comedy , The Frogs contains a mix of irreverent humor and highbrow satire of Athenian politics, religion and theatre, commenting on poetry's moral role in civic and political life. The play is notably characterised by its extensive literary criticism and references:
13439-421: The first choral interlude. Their croaking refrain – Brekekekèx-koàx-koáx ( Greek : Βρεκεκεκὲξ κοὰξ κοάξ ) – greatly annoys Dionysus, who engages in a mocking debate ( agon ) with the frogs. When he arrives at the shore, Dionysus meets up with Xanthias, who teases him by claiming to see the frightening monster Empusa . A second chorus composed of spirits of Dionysian Mystics soon appear. The next encounter
13590-422: The god cravenly and unsuccessfully attempts to evade trouble after masquerading as Heracles , still infamous for his prior kidnapping of the guard-dog Cerberus . At the palace of Pluto , Dionysus then adjudicates a fierce debate between Euripides and Aeschylus for the underworld's throne of tragic drama. Aeschylus wins due to his pragmatism, and Dionysus ends up reviving him instead. The play's title derives from
13741-463: The god ended up holding his characteristic key. In Caravaggio 's Giove, Nettuno e Plutone (ca. 1597), a ceiling mural based on alchemical allegory, it is Neptune who holds the bident. The name Plouton is first used in Greek literature by Athenian playwrights . In Aristophanes ' comedy The Frogs ( Batrachoi , 405 BC), in which "the Eleusinian colouring is in fact so pervasive,"
13892-496: The heavens, where she is purified by Iris. The next major katabasis in the Metamorphoses occurs in book 5 by Proserpina , the daughter of Ceres , who is kidnapped by Dis . As Proserpina is picking flowers, Pluto falls in love with her and decides to grab her and take her to the underworld in his chariot. Worried about her now-missing daughter, Ceres becomes distraught and searches for Proserpina. When Ceres discovers
14043-435: The helmet to Pluto. Erasmus calls it the "helmet of Orcus" and gives it as a figure of speech referring to those who conceal their true nature by a cunning device. Francis Bacon notes the proverbial usage: "the helmet of Pluto, which maketh the politic man go invisible, is secrecy in the counsel, and celerity in the execution." No ancient image of the ruler of the underworld can be said with certainty to show him with
14194-458: The janitor admits he is unable to tell which one is a god, and takes Dionysus to be verified offstage by Pluto and Persephone . In the parabasis , the chorus comments on the political state of Athens, criticizing its inconsistency with granting citizenships, and its lack of meritocracy. Working in Pluto's palace, Xanthias and another slave delight in mocking their own masters: the latter explains
14345-480: The kidnapping, she goes to Jove to attempt to get Proserpina back. He agrees that she should be returned as long as Proserpina has not touched any food in the underworld. However, she has eaten pomegranate seeds, and cannot be returned to Ceres. To ensure compromise between Ceres and Dis, Jove divides the year into halves and commands that Proserpina must spend equal parts of the year between her mother and her husband. From that point on, Proserpina makes annual trips to
14496-499: The latter verses refer to "heavier" objects, Aeschylus wins, but Dionysus is still unable to decide whom he will revive, so he reveals the intent of his visit: to save the city of Athens , currently at the losing end of the Peloponnesian War , and its dramatic scene by extension. He decides to take the poet who gives the best political advice: firstly, what the Athenians should do with the exiled Alcibiades , and secondly, how each of
14647-418: The livestock of the god Helios , and prophesies Odysseus' return home to Ithaca and his eventual death at sea at an old age. After Tiresias instructs Odysseus to allow the spirits he wants to talk to drink the sacrificial blood he used to find Tiresias, he is again given the chance to see his mother, and she tells him of the suffering of his family as they await his return home. As his mother leaves, Odysseus
14798-463: The more familiar "Pluto" when other epithets appear in the source text . The abduction myth was a popular subject for Greek and Roman art , and recurs throughout Western art and literature, where the name "Pluto" becomes common (see Pluto in Western art and literature below). Narrative details from Ovid and Claudian influence these later versions in which the abductor is named as Pluto, especially
14949-467: The most beautiful of the nymphs, and abducted her to live with him in his realm. After the long span of her life came to its end, he memorialized their love by creating a white tree in the Elysian Fields . The tree was the white poplar (Greek leukē ), the leaves of which are white on one side and dark on the other, representing the duality of upper and underworld. A wreath of white poplar leaves
15100-430: The most witty, eloquent, topical, and culturally influential playwrights of the time. The Frogs highlight Athenian cultures' transition into a more literary society. Many passages in the play reference the sophisticated intellectualism that became associated with Athenians who could and would often read and write. The play’s focus on featuring famous playwrights of the time emphasizes the scholarly advances occurring during
15251-501: The name Plouton in religious inscriptions and literary texts reflects the influence of the Eleusinian Mysteries , which treated Pluto and Persephone as a divine couple who received initiates in the afterlife; as such, Pluto was disassociated from the "violent abductor" of Kore. Two early works that give the abductor god's name as Pluto are the Greek mythography traditionally known as the Library of "Apollodorus" (1st century BC) and
15402-527: The name Plouton instead of Hades in relating the tripartite division of sovereignty, the abduction of Persephone, and the visit of Orpheus to the underworld. This version of the theogony for the most part follows Hesiod (see above ), but adds that the three brothers were each given a gift by the Cyclopes to use in their battle against the Titans : Zeus thunder and lightning; Poseidon a trident ; and Pluto
15553-615: The name of both a god of the underworld and the underworld as a place. Pluto ( Pluton in French and German, Plutone in Italian) becomes the most common name for the classical ruler of the underworld in subsequent Western literature and other art forms . The name Plouton does not appear in Greek literature of the Archaic period . In Hesiod 's Theogony , the six children of Cronus and Rhea are Zeus , Hera , Poseidon , Hades , Demeter , and Hestia . The male children divide
15704-497: The narrative tradition with her son-in-law Pluto, redefining the implacable chariot-driver Hades whose horses trample the flowering earth. That the underworld god was associated early on with success in agricultural activity is already evident in Hesiod's Works and Days , line 465–469: "Pray to Zeus of the Earth and to pure Demeter to make Demeter's holy grain sound and heavy, when first you begin ploughing, when you hold in your hand
15855-407: The narrative, Sparta and its allies had blockaded Athens and within six months after the production of The Frogs , Athens was defeated in a battle at sea , surrendering to Sparta. Kenneth Dover claims that the underlying political theme of The Frogs is essentially "old ways good, new ways bad". He points to the parabasis for proof of this: "The antepirrhema of the parabasis (718–37) urges
16006-442: The newly democratic city. These arguments present questions about what drama should be about, what poets actually teach to their audiences, and the type of language poets and playwrights should use. The Frogs exhibit the ways in which civic life and drama are intertwined, enabling the analysis of theater’s impact on politics and cultural development that has continued today. The Frogs acts as an early form of Greek canonization. After
16157-587: The normal obduracy of Pluto; the Augustan poet Horace describes him as incapable of tears. Claudian, however, portrays the steely god as succumbing to Orpheus's song so that "with iron cloak he wipes his tears" (ferrugineo lacrimas deterget amictu) , an image renewed by Milton in Il Penseroso (106–107): "Such notes ... / Drew iron tears down Pluto's cheek." The Greek writer Lucian ( ca. 125–after 180 AD) suggests that Pluto's love for his wife gave
16308-477: The ongoing contest between Euripides and Aeschylus . Euripides, who had only just recently died, is challenging the great Aeschylus for the seat of "Best Tragic Poet" at the dinner table of Pluto , the ruler of the underworld. (It is explained that Sophocles has foregone participation in the contest, due to his deferentiality towards Aeschylus.) A contest is held with Dionysus as judge. The two playwrights take turns quoting verses from their plays and making fun of
16459-497: The other. Euripides argues the characters in his plays are better because they are more true to life and logical, whereas Aeschylus believes his idealized characters are better as they are heroic and models for virtue. Aeschylus mocks Euripides' verse as predictable and formulaic by having Euripides quote lines from many of his prologues , each time interrupting the declamation with the same phrase " ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν " ("... lost his little flask of oil "). (The passage has given rise to
16610-484: The pattern of political standpoint offered in Aristophanes' earlier works, such as The Acharnians (425 BC), Peace (421 BC), and Lysistrata (411 BC), which have all been termed 'peace' plays. The Frogs is not often thus labeled, however – Dover points out that though Kleophon was adamantly opposed to any peace which did not come of victory, and the last lines of the play suggest Athens ought to look for
16761-524: The place for the blessed. On the way, they pass the place for tortured souls and the Sibyl describes some of the tortured's fates. Tityos has his liver eaten by a vulture daily. Pirithous and Ixion have a rock constantly hanging over them at all times. Many others face the punishment of moving rocks, being stretched, and being tied to wheels. The two then enter the Estates of the Blessed, where they see
16912-404: The plant. For extracting stings and thorns , xiphion was mixed with wine and frankincense to make a cataplasm . The plant was also used as an aphrodisiac and contraceptive . It grew in humid places. In an obscure passage, Cornutus seems to connect Pluto's wearing of phasganion to an etymology for Avernus , which he derives from the word for "air," perhaps through some association with
17063-401: The play greatly advances ideas on criticism in theatre that are still seen in contemporary debates and cultural politics. The text is dissected and analyzed, quite literally weighted, within the play itself, prompting the audience to also do so in their viewership. Lines throughout the play point to the intelligence of the newly literate Athens: "But if you're both afraid that our spectators lack
17214-443: The play had already been written, during the first phase of its production. Aristophanes did not have enough time to rewrite the play with Sophocles in it, so he simply added in scattered references to Sophocles's recent death, referring to him as a worthy playwright. When Aeschylus leaves the underworld at the end of the play, Sophocles takes his throne. The decision to put Sophocles in the same camp as Aeschylus makes sense, in light of
17365-402: The play. Sheppard also cites Aeschylus during the prologue debate, when the poet quotes from The Oresteia : Subterranean Hermes, guardian of my father's realms, Become my savior and my ally, in answer to my prayer. For I am come and do return to this my land. This choice of excerpt again relates to Alcibiades, still stirring his memory in the audience. Sheppard concludes by referencing
17516-448: The poets thinks the city can be saved. Euripides gives cleverly worded but essentially meaningless answers while Aeschylus provides more practical advice, and Dionysus decides to take Aeschylus back instead of Euripides. Pluto allows Aeschylus to return to life so that Athens may be succoured in her hour of need and invites everyone to a round of farewell drinks. Before leaving, Aeschylus proclaims that Sophocles should have his chair while he
17667-492: The possessor of a quest -object, and especially in the descent of Orpheus or other heroes to the underworld. Plūtō ( [ˈpluːtoː] ; genitive Plūtōnis ) is the Latinized form of the Greek Plouton . Pluto's Roman equivalent is Dis Pater , whose name is most often taken to mean "Rich Father" and is perhaps a direct translation of Plouton. Pluto was also identified with the obscure Roman Orcus , like Hades
17818-459: The privilege of returning to the upper world . The play also draws on beliefs and imagery from Orphic and Dionysiac cult, and rituals pertaining to Ploutos (Plutus, "wealth"). In a fragment from another play by Aristophanes, a character "is comically singing of the excellent aspects of being dead", asking in reference to the tripartition of sovereignty over the world: And where do you think Pluto gets his name [i.e. "rich"], if not because he took
17969-414: The protagonist visits the Greek underworld , also known as Hades. The term is also used in a broad sense of any journey to the realm of the dead in other mythological and religious traditions. A katabasis is similar to a nekyia or necromancy, where one experiences a vision of the underworld or its inhabitants; a nekyia does not generally involve a physical visit, however. One of the most famous examples
18120-496: The ritual texts of the mystery religions preserved by the so-called Orphic or Bacchic gold tablets , from the late 5th century BC onward the name Hades appears more frequently than Plouton , but in reference to the underground place: Plouton is the ruler who presides over it in a harmonious partnership with Persephone. By the end of the 4th century BC, the name Plouton appears in Greek metrical inscriptions. Two fragmentary tablets greet Pluto and Persephone jointly, and
18271-431: The river Styx in exchange for the golden bough. Aeneas encounters Minos pronouncing judgment on souls and the souls that died for love: Phaedra , Procris , Eriphyle , Evadne , Pasiphae , Laodamia , Caeneus , and Dido . Next, Aeneas sees heroes of battle: Tydeus , Parthenopaeus, Adrastus , Glaucus , Medon , Thersilochus, Polyboetes , Idaeus, Agamemnon , and Deiphobus . The Sibyl then leads Aeneas to Elysium ,
18422-511: The role of Venus and Cupid in manipulating Pluto with love and desire. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance , and certainly by the time of Natale Conti 's influential Mythologiae (1567), the traditions pertaining to the various rulers of the classical underworld coalesced into a single mythology that made few if any distinctions among Hades, Pluto, Dis, and Orcus. Unlike his freely procreating brothers Zeus and Poseidon, Pluto
18573-412: The role of a torchbearer, possibly a guide for the initiate's return. In the view of Lewis Richard Farnell , Eubouleus was originally a title referring to the "good counsel" the ruler of the underworld was able to give and which was sought at Pluto's dream oracles ; by the 2nd century BC, however, he had acquired a separate identity. The Orphic Hymn to Pluto addresses the god as "strong-spirited" and
18724-584: The ruler of the underworld a special sympathy or insight into lovers parted by death. In one of Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead , Pluto questions Protesilaus , the first Greek hero killed in the Trojan War , who wishes to return to the world of the living. "You are then in love with life?", Pluto asks. "Such lovers we have here in plenty; but they love an object, which none of them can obtain." Protesilaus explains, like an Orpheus in reverse, that he has left behind
18875-534: The ruler of the underworld as Plouton , as for instance in the Bibliotheca . The myth demonstrates the importance of Pluto "the Rich" as the possessor of a quest-object. Orpheus performing before Pluto and Persephone was a common subject of ancient and later Western literature and art, and one of the most significant mythological themes of the classical tradition . The demonstration of Orpheus's power depends on
19026-409: The ruler of the underworld is one of the characters, under the name of Plouton . The play depicts a mock descent to the underworld by the god Dionysus to bring back one of the dead tragic playwrights in the hope of restoring Athenian theater to its former glory. Pluto is a silent presence onstage for about 600 lines presiding over a contest among the tragedians, then announces that the winner has
19177-448: The scepter is of Jove (Greek Zeus) and the trident of Neptune (Poseidon). A golden key (chrusea klês) was laid on the tongue of initiates by priests at Eleusis and was a symbol of the revelation they were obligated to keep secret. A key is among the attributes of other infernal deities such as Hecate , Anubis , and Persephone, and those who act as guardians or timekeepers, such as Janus and Aion . Aeacus (Aiakos) , one of
19328-487: The second half's agon between Euripides and Aeschylus examines both figures' differing approaches to tragedy. In 1974, the play was loosely adapted into a musical of the same name by Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove . This adaptation features the English playwrights George Bernard Shaw and William Shakespeare , in place of Euripides and Aeschylus respectively. Dionysus is travelling with his slave Xanthias to
19479-455: The storms and fight for Athens at your side!" — Murray translation, from l. 697 He states that though this text ostensibly refers to citizens dispossessed of their rights, it will actually evoke memories of Alcibiades, the Athenians' exiled hero. Further support includes the presentation of the chorus, who recites these lines, as initiates of the mysteries . This, Sheppard says, will also prompt recollection of Alcibiades, whose initial exile
19630-697: The suspended notes, in the shakes and warblings over a single long-drawn syllable, I seemed to recognize that distinguishing feature of the Euripidean chorus which Aristophanes derides and parodies in the Frogs ". A musical adaptation with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Burt Shevelove premiered in 1974 at Yale University's Olympic-size swimming pool . The ensemble cast included then Yale students Meryl Streep , Sigourney Weaver and Christopher Durang . It later premiered on Broadway in 2004 with additional songs by Sondheim and revisions to
19781-433: The temple was opened once a year. During the time of Plato , the Athenians periodically honored the god called Plouton with the "strewing of a couch" ( tên klinên strôsai ) . At Eleusis , Plouton had his own priestess. Pluto was worshipped with Persephone as a divine couple at Knidos , Ephesos , Mytilene , and Sparta as well as at Eleusis, where they were known simply as God ( Theos ) and Goddess (Thea) . In
19932-461: The term lekythion for this type of rhythmic group in poetry.) Euripides counters by demonstrating the alleged monotony of Aeschylus' choral songs, parodying excerpts from his works and having each citation end in the same refrain ἰὴ κόπον οὐ πελάθεις ἐπ᾽ ἀρωγάν; ("oh, what a stroke, won't you come to the rescue?", from Aeschylus' lost play Myrmidons ). Aeschylus retorts by mocking Euripides' choral meters and lyric monodies with castanets . In
20083-495: The theme by Ovid in the Metamorphoses . Orpheus is distraught by the death of his wife, Eurydice . He enters the Underworld through the Spartan Gates and visits Dis and Proserpina to beg for the return of his bride. Overcome by the heartfelt song of Orpheus, Proserpina calls Eurydice to leave with her husband–on the condition that he does not look back until he reaches the exit. When he looks back, his wife disappears, and he
20234-463: The three mortal kings who became judges in the afterlife , is also a kleidouchos (κλειδοῦχος), "holder of the keys," and a priestly doorkeeper in the court of Pluto and Persephone. According to the Stoic philosopher Cornutus (1st century AD), Pluto wore a wreath of phasganion , more often called xiphion , traditionally identified as a type of gladiolus . Dioscorides recorded medical uses for
20385-445: The underworld . Xanthias, carrying Dionysus' baggage, attempts to make fun of his heavy load with toilet humour - the jokes he believes the audiences are expecting from this situation - but the god frustratedly pre-empts his remarks. To find a reliable path to Hades, Dionysus seeks advice from his half-brother Heracles , who had been there before in order to retrieve the hell hound Cerberus . Dionysus shows up at his doorstep dressed in
20536-569: The underworld in order to bring Eurydice back to the world of the living, and Odysseus , who seeks to consult with the prophet Tiresias for knowledge. In Roman mythology , Aeneas seeks out his father Anchises to learn of prophecies of his fate and that of the Roman Empire . In the 11th book of the Odyssey , Odysseus follows the advice of Circe to consult Tiresias in Hades , the land of
20687-423: The underworld, spending half the year there. Ovid also briefly mentions the katabasis of Hercules in book 7. Ovid is telling the etiological story of Medea 's poison for Theseus . When Hercules traveled to the Underworld to capture Cerberus as one of his 12 Labours , Cerberus spread white foam from his mouths, which grew poisonous plants. The katabasis of Orpheus in book 10 is the last major inclusion of
20838-430: The use of realism in theatre : “...supposing the charge is "That is not true," one can meet it by saying "But perhaps it ought to be," just as Sophocles said that he portrayed people as they ought to be and Euripides portrayed them as they are...” - Aristotle, Poetics 1460b J.T. Sheppard contends that the exiled general Alcibiades is a main focus of The Frogs . At the time the play was written and produced, Athens
20989-557: The well-being of his father Peleus and his son Neoptolemus . Odysseus reassures Achilles of his son's bravery in fighting the Trojans. Odysseus then begins seeing figures of dead souls who do not talk directly to him: Ajax , Minos , Orion , Tityos , Tantalus , and Sisyphus . Odysseus ends his visit with Heracles, who asks about Odysseus' intention in Hades. Odysseus begins to get fearful as he waits for more heroes and leaves. The katabasis of Virgil 's Aeneid occurs in book 6 of
21140-466: The white garments worn by initiates or the clothing of a corpse, or the pallor of the dead. In Orphic funeral rites, it was forbidden to make coffins of cypress. The tradition of the mystery religions favors Pluton/Hades as a loving and faithful partner to Persephone, but one ancient myth that preserves a lover for him parallels the abduction and also has a vegetative aspect. A Roman source says that Pluto fell in love with Leuca (Greek Leukē , "White"),
21291-489: The world into three realms. Hades takes Persephone by force from her mother Demeter , with the consent of Zeus. Ploutos , "Wealth," appears in the Theogony as the child of Demeter and Iasion : "fine Plutus, who goes upon the whole earth and the broad back of the sea, and whoever meets him and comes into his hands, that man he makes rich, and he bestows much wealth upon him." The union of Demeter and Iasion, described also in
21442-488: Was a bad sign. In the myth of Narcissus , the flower is created when a beautiful, self-absorbed youth rejects sexuality and is condemned to perpetual self-love along the Styx . Conti's inclusion of adianthus ( Adiantum in modern nomenclature) is less straightforward. The name, meaning "unmoistened" (Greek adianton ), was taken in antiquity to refer to the fern's ability to repel water. The plant, which grew in wet places,
21593-577: Was a ploutonion. Kevin Clinton attempted to distinguish the iconography of Hades, Plouton, Ploutos, and the Eleusinian Theos in 5th-century vase painting that depicts scenes from or relating to the mysteries. In Clinton's schema, Plouton is a mature man, sometimes even white-haired; Hades is also usually bearded and mature, but his darkness is emphasized in literary descriptions, represented in art by dark hair. Plouton's most common attribute
21744-399: Was also called capillus veneris , "hair of Venus," divinely dry when she emerged from the sea. Historian of medicine John M. Riddle has suggested that the adianthus was one of the ferns Dioscorides called asplenon and prescribed as a contraceptive (atokios) . The associations of Proserpine (Persephone) and the maidenhair are alluded to by Samuel Beckett in a 1946 poem, in which
21895-554: Was also credited in antiquity with the authorship of the lyrics that have survived as the Orphic Hymns , among them a hymn to Pluto . Orpheus's voice and lyre-playing represented a medium of revelation or higher knowledge for the mystery cults. In his central myth, Orpheus visits the underworld in the hope of retrieving his bride, Eurydice , relying on the power of his music to charm the king and queen of Hades. Greek narratives of Orpheus's descent and performance typically name
22046-402: Was fashioned by Heracles to mark his ascent from the underworld , an aition for why it was worn by initiates and by champion athletes participating in funeral games . Like other plants associated with Pluto, white poplar was regarded as a contraceptive in antiquity. The relation of this tree to the white cypress of the mysteries is debated. The Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus uses
22197-656: Was in dire straits in the war with the Peloponnesian League , and the people, Sheppard claims, would logically have Alcibiades on their minds. Sheppard quotes a segment of text from near the beginning of the parabasis: "But remember these men also, your own kinsmen, sire and son, Who have oftimes fought beside you, spilt their blood on many seas; Grant for that one fault the pardon which they crave you on their knees. You whom nature made for wisdom, let your vengeance fall to sleep; Greet as kinsmen and Athenians, burghers true to win and keep, Whosoe'er will brave
22348-402: Was largely based on impiety regarding these religious institutions. Continuing this thought, the audience is provoked into remembering Alcibiades' return in 408 BC, when he made his peace with the goddesses. The reason Aristophanes hints so subtly at these points, according to Sheppard, is because Alcibiades still had many rivals in Athens, such as Kleophon and Adeimantus , who are both blasted in
22499-400: Was the basis of Aristophanes' receipt of the olive wreath, and the author of the ancient Hypothesis says admiration of the parabasis was the major factor that led to the play's second production. The Frogs ' influence on political issues at the time of its performance are clear. This can be used as an example to support Aristotle ’s claims about society and political participation: “Hence it
22650-400: Was the ruler of the Greek underworld . The earlier name for the god was Hades , which became more common as the name of the underworld itself. Pluto represents a more positive concept of the god who presides over the afterlife . Ploutōn was frequently conflated with Ploûtos , the Greek god of wealth, because mineral wealth was found underground, and because as a chthonic god Pluto ruled
22801-402: Was to be "plastered", that is, resurfaced for a new round of sacrifices at Eleusis. One of the known ploutonia was in the sacred grove between Tralleis and Nysa , where a temple of Pluto and Persephone was located. Visitors sought healing and dream oracles . The ploutonion at Hierapolis , Phrygia , was connected to the rites of Cybele , but during the Roman Imperial era was subsumed by
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