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Primary sourceBook414 BC

The Birds

Aristophanes · 414 BC

A comedy by Aristophanes staged in Athens in 414 BC, which mocked young men who imitated or 'Socratised', showing Socrates' public reputation in his own lifetime.

Aristophanes' comedy mocks Athenians who 'Socratise', proving Socrates was a recognisable public figure during his lifetime.

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Title page of the 1498 Aldine edition of Aristophanes in Greek and Latin, listing nine comedies including Plutus, Nebulae, Ranae, Equites, Acharnes, Vespae, Aves and Pax, with Greek verses and handwritten annotations below.
Aristophanes, The Birds, 414 BC. Title page shown from a 1498 Aldine printed edition.

About this source

What it is

This is a comedy written by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes, first performed in 414 BC at a major Athenian festival. It tells a fantastical story of men who build a city among the birds. The image shown here is the title page of a 1498 printed edition of Aristophanes' comedies, made long after the original performance.

Why it matters

Aristophanes' comedies mocked real people and ideas of his day. In this play, he pokes fun at young Athenians who copy fashionable philosophical talk, called 'Socratising' after Socrates. This shows that Socrates was already a well-known, sometimes mocked figure in Athens during his own lifetime, years before his trial.

Look closer

  • Why might a comedy writer use a real person's name as a joke?
  • What does it tell us that ordinary Athenians recognised 'Socratising' as a behaviour?
  • How reliable is comedy as evidence about a real person's ideas?

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Secondary source

Apology

Plato · c. 395 BC

Line engraving in a multi-line border showing a bust of a bearded man with curly hair and a furrowed brow, on a plinth. The label below reads SOCRATE. Lower right reads Landon direx.Painting

Secondary source

Line Engraving of Socrates by Landon

Charles Paul Landon

Cover of a 1925 Italian paperback, Platone, Dialoghi III, Critone, tan cardboard with red double border. Handwritten inscription at top, red handwritten marking near bottom. Publisher Vallecchi Editore Firenze.Book

Secondary source

Crito

Plato · c. 400 BC

Engraving of a bearded, balding bust of Socrates in an arched niche, set on a stone pedestal. Inscription below reads 'SOCRATES SOPHRONISCI FILIUS ATHENIESIS', with credits 'P.P. Rubens delin.' and 'P. Pontius sculpsit, 1638'.Painting

Secondary source

Socrates Engraving after Rubens by Pontius

Peter Paul Rubens · 1638

Black-and-white photograph of a white marble bust of a bearded man, shown from the front and slightly turned, with deep-set eyes, a curly beard and hair, against a dark background. The image is a glass lantern slide with labels reading Socrate and Université de Louvain.Photograph

Secondary source

Roman Marble Bust of Socrates

between 1839 and 1939

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