"Birds" ( ancient Greek. Ὄρνιθες ) is the longest comedy of the ancient greek comedian Aristophanes , written in 414 BC. e . During the dramatic competitions, which took place in the spring of the same year on the feast of the Great Dionysias , "Birds", staged on behalf of Callistratus, took second place . The plot is based on the story of how the Athenians Pisfeter and Evelpides, tired of intrigue and litigation, are trying to find a quiet haven; as a result, the wanderers find themselves in the bird community and create the city of Tuchekukuevsk among the clouds... Researchers call "Birds" a social utopia, a comedy-fairy tale, political satire , reflecting the author's attitude to the Sicilian expedition . In the image of Pisfeter, in their opinion, the features of the ancient Greek commander Alcibiades .
The comedy is full of puns , witticisms, slang expressions; among the artistic means and literary techniques used by the author - parody , grotesque , allegory . At the same time, individual scenes of "Birds" are distinguished by lyricism and musicality . In the composition of the play, researchers single out a parabass , which for the first time in the works of Aristophanes loses the function of a publicistic digression and is included directly in the plot of the work . The comedy was translated into Russian by M. Skvortsov (1874), Vladimir Chuiko(1882), Adrian Piotrovsky (1927), Solomon Apt(1954) . Goethe revised the play for staging at the Weimar Theater (Birds after Aristophanes, 1780). The subject of "Birds" was used by the composer Walter Braunfels , who wrote the opera of the same name (1920) .
History of creation and production
Aristophanes worked on "The Birds" in the winter of 415/14 BC. e. The preparatory work, judging by the volume of the play (1765 verses) and the large number of characters, began long before the production. The comedy was written during a period of "great public excitement", when everyone's attention was riveted on the Sicilian expedition of Alcibiades , which began in May 415 BC. e. Despite the first successes, the outcome of the military campaign was still in question, and the social moods of the Athenians were, according to researchers, reflected in certain scenes of the play.
The comedy "Birds" was staged in the spring of 414 BC. e., on the feast of the Great Dionysia . It was a pompous event, arranged in honor of the god Dionysus and gathering an audience from all over Attica . Each of the three comic poets admitted to the dramatic contests had to present one work at a time (in contrast to the tragic poets, who had to show four plays). The comedies were judged by five judges, the choice of which is not entirely clear to researchers; the level of their competence is also unknown. Aristophanes played on the theme of competitive judging in the comedy " Clouds"(" We want to say what benefits the judges will receive if they help this choir fairly. First of all, if you want to plow the fields in the spring, we will rain for you first, and the rest later "), and in "Birds", where the following promises are given: “And now we want to tell our judges about how many benefits await them if we are awarded a prize. / And Paris would not have expected such gifts from the goddesses!"
In preparation for the competition, the playwright had to work with the actors and the choir himself, write music, and teach dancers. If he did not find in himself the inclinations of a director, choreographer and composer, then he had the right to seek assistance from another person. In this case, the play went under the director's name; he also received a fee. Aristophanes set out his attitude to the situation when his own work - along with copyrights - had to be given to other people in "Clouds" (staged, probably by the poet Philonides) - there the playwright compared himself with an inexperienced girl who "had to throw a child, see in in the hands of others. You nursed him then carefully and affectionately. ""Birds", like some other plays by Aristophanes, came out under the name of a certain Callistratus, about whom practically nothing is known - perhaps it was a poet or an actor.
The Athenians greeted the "birds" coolly. The expectations of the audience, accustomed to the fact that successful comedies usually reveal some popular person, did not come true - people were clearly disappointed that not quite familiar characters appeared on the stage, and the play itself did not contain the necessary teachings. The judges did not understand the meaning of the work and gave the "Birds" the second place (the first was Amypsy with the comedy "Feasting", the third - Phrynich with "The Hermit"). According to the philologist Sergei Sobolevsky , this time "it didn't even particularly annoy Aristophanes."
Plot
Lightning, shining with clear gold,
Zeus-father's fiery spear,
Thunder shaking the earth and bringing rains to the cornfields,
That's who the ruler over you!
This is who inherits Zeus!
With him is Zeus's advisor - Vasily.
Hymen, oh Hymen , oh!
Two Athenians - Pisfeter and Evelpides (or Evelpides), tired of being in a world of intrigue, denunciations and litigation, set off in search of a corner where life would be comfortable and serene. Their companions jackdaw and crow, acting as guidebooks, after long wanderings lead the heroes to the king of birds, Hoopoe. Learning from him that birds live easily and freely, Pisfeter comes up with the idea of creating between heaven and earth the city of "Nephelococcus" - "Tuchekukuevska". Having managed to convince the birds that in the city built among the clouds, they will be able to control both the world of the gods and the world of people, Pisfeter begins construction.
Rumors about an ideal city spread quickly, and soon a real "bird boom" begins on earth: people strive to imitate birds, call themselves bird names, long to gain wings. A beggar poet, a swindler , an oracle , a scammer and other "seekers of happiness" rush to Tuchekukuevsk - Pisfeter, having beaten the uninvited guests, sends them back. Messengers also appear from the gods, who, having lost access to the smoke from sacrifices, are left without food. A delegation that includes Poseidon , Hercules and the ThracianGod Triballus, negotiates very harshly at first, but the head of the "ideal city", with the help of intrigue and manipulation, divides the ranks of visitors, and then forces them to accept the conditions put forward by him. As a result, Pisfeter, who married the daughter of Zeus , the goddess Basileia (Basil) , emerges from a difficult situation as a winner. The comedy ends with a wedding hymn performed by a choir of birds praising the new ruler, Pisfeter and his wife.
Characters
The main action of the comedy is connected with the twists and turns of two middle-aged Athenians - Pisfeter ("Faithful comrade", "Who knows how to persuade") and Evelpida ("Cheerful"). Pisfeter, judging by the characteristics that researchers give him, is a multifaceted and contradictory hero. On the one hand, he is dexterous, enterprising, resourceful, knows how to captivate interlocutors and infect them with his ideas (for example, it is his eloquence that makes the birds, who at first violently met strangers, believe in the project to return them to their former power); on the other hand, having received wings, Pisfeter retains "a man's appetites" - "it gives him considerable pleasure to feast on game, as in the old days." It reveals diplomatic qualities and at the same time - "imperative egoism"; the ability to lead the masses and contemptuous indulgence towards supplicants; traits of an unconditional leader and "superman's habits". All this in one way or another brings the protagonist of "Birds" closer toAlcibiades . Peasfeter's companion, the trusting good-natured Evelpid, does not have such active energy, but he is reliable and peaceful; researchers suggest that certain features of the Athenian military leader Nikias were embodied in his image .
A significant role in the plot of the comedy is played by the Hoopoe - when meeting with Pisferter and Evelpid, this character with bizarre plumage and a long beak first asks: "Are you mocking my feathers?", And then admits: "I was a man, wanderers, after all." Once the Hoopoe, according to myths, was the king Tereus , married to the Athenian princess Prokna , but later his fate changed, which he informs the visitors: "Why, this is Sophocles in his tragedy / I, Tereus, turned into a laughing stock" (we are talking about the tragedy of Sophocles "Tereus", which shows the transformation of the hero into a bird).
The appearance of Hoopoe, who understands human language and is well versed in the psychology of people, gives the play a fabulous character, and a conversation with travelers, filled with hints of Athenian everyday and political realities, brings the situation to the level of "comic contrast". The project proposed by Pisfeter to build an ideal city seems tempting and witty to Hoopoe, but he cannot make a decision alone, and therefore decides to arrange a meeting with the participation of other birds. Having woken up his friend Nightingale, he, together with her, summons the birds to a general gathering, and the aria sounding accompanied by a flute The hoopoe creates a “lyric-fantastic atmosphere” on the stage: “Here, my fellow birds! / From fields settled, from fat oats / Thousands and thousands hurry to me. " The solo part of Hoopoe, according to the philologist Viktor Yarkho, can be compared with the aria of Spring from the prologue of the opera The Snow Maiden by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov .
The images of celestials who arrived in Tuchekukuevsk for negotiations with the head of the city are very colorful in "Birds". In fact, only Poseidon defends the interests of the gods in the delegation; Hercules, who bought Pisfeter's generous treat, is represented by a "gross glutton", and the speech of the god Triballus ("Mordopalka you", "Abracadabrytri") is not clear to anyone and does not cause any response. Along with the characters directly influencing the development of the plot, there are also minor characters in the comedy - these include, for example, a mediocre poet, a slacker and other "seekers of happiness" - according to Viktor Yarkho , these images devoid of individual features are more masks than characters.
"Ideal city"
The idea of creating a perfect city, which was very relevant in the era of antiquity , occupied a noticeable place in the work of Aristophanes: elements of utopianism were found even in his first plays. In "Birds" the theme of interest to the playwright has already reached a different level - the genre: as the researchers note, the story of the founding of Tuchekukuevsk is a fabulous comedy-utopia. The heroes of the work leave the city not for political reasons - their departure is associated with dissatisfaction with the Athenian everyday bustle, endless troubles and worries. If Pisfeter, speaking in front of the birds, reproduces an almost poetic picture of the Athenian morning, which begins with a cock's wake: “How weavers, potters, blacksmiths, leather procurers get up for work, / Thinners, tailors, lyre tuners, all who sharpen, drill and plan, / They put on their shoes quickly, even though it’s night outside, and run away ”, then Evelpid recalls the endless litigation accompanying the life of the townspeople:“ Take the cicadas - they are no more than a month / Or two ringing in the gardens, but the Athenians / All their life they rattled in court, on meetings ".
The Athenian citizens, from the standpoint of a comedian, are too keen on war and litigation; they are too susceptible to new teachings, demagogic tricks and "philosophical delusions." The gullibility of the Athenians is also evident in the story of the “bird's paradise”. At first, the main characters do not even think that their new abode will be ideal - they are just looking for a corner where they can live without worries and worries. Therefore, Evelpid, when meeting with Hoopoe, asks: "You show us the city, soft, felt, / Fine-haired, so that we can warm ourselves up." The details of the new project begin to grow a little later, when Pisfeter makes a speech in front of the birds: “The bird city, firstly, you need to create and heal with a single state, / And then a tall brick wall, like the walls of Babylon, / To surround the whole air, to enclose, to cordon off the whole space between the earth and the sky. " Rumors of a heavenly state, where there are any benefits, including bird's milk, reach the Athenians, and "ornithomania" begins on earth - a desire to imitate birds. In the desire of the townspeople to gain wings and get to Tuchekukuevsk, researchers see "the pursuit of an unrealizable blissful life" - such chimeras, according to the philologist Sergei Sobolevsky, "the era of the Sicilian expedition was rich ."
Among the visitors trying to enter Tuchekukuevsk is the Athenian geometer Meton. He appears with measuring instruments - a ruler and a compass - and in a dialogue with Pisfeter tells about his project of an ideal city: “Then a straight line, also along a ruler, / I will draw the circle to become a square. / Here, in the center, there will be a market. " Meton's plan does not find understanding in Pisfeter, and he, after beating the guest, expels him. Making fun of Meton's schemes in the comedy "Birds", Aristophanes, perhaps, had in mind the urban planning system of one of his ideological opponents - the architect Hippodamus , who created city projects "in accordance with cosmic harmony." At the same time, a number of researchers believe that the ancient Greek astronomer and engineer Meton of Athens was brought up in the image of a geometer under his own name.
Role of the costume
The comedies of Aristophanes are very effective in terms of the costumes in which his characters are dressed, but to get a complete picture of the clothes, shoes and masks in which the actors appeared on the stage in the 5th century BC. e., difficult due to the lack of material evidence. According to Professor Gwendoline Compton-Angle, researchers involved in the reconstruction of the costumes of the ancient theater extract the necessary information mainly from archaeological records and the texts of plays. For example, the description of the appearance of the Hoopoe and his servant, the winged outfits of Pisfeter and Evelpid, the costumes of the bird choir are found in the text of the comedy itself - in particular, in the replicas of other characters.
One of the features of the comedy "Birds" is the large number of costume elements such as wings, feathers and beaks. Thus, in the guise of birds of various species, each member of the choir, consisting of twenty-four members, appears; heroes-pilgrims magically acquire wings; The hoopoe has a large ridge-like headdress, a curved beak and light plumage. The lack of wings baffles Evelpid, who asks: "If so, where are the feathers?" Probably, the appearance of this character, who never fully became a bird, has a reference to the Sophocles interpretation of Therey 's transformation into a Hoopoe.
Beaks cause some concern among travelers. Even in the prologue, speaking about the jackdaws and ravens bought in the market, which were supposed to play the role of guidebooks, Evelpid complains: "And the birds know they peck our hands until they bleed." Regardless of whether a jackdaw with a crow on the stage is represented by living feathered individuals or "mannequins", they clearly disturb the heroes with their beaks. Equally indicative is the frightening meeting of the wanderers with the servant of Hoopoe, at the sight of which Pisferter exclaims: “O Phoebus, the savior! What a terrible beak! " Wings and beaks in comedy are not only bird attributes, but also some signals that tell about the status of their owners.
Judging by the paintings on antique vases, the crests and beaks were attached to the masks of the actors participating in the production, the spurs were attached to the heels or grabbed on the knees, the wings were tied to the shoulders or arms of the artists. The plumage was indicated by marks on the suits. The plots for the painting themselves testify to the fact that the bird costumes aroused interest among the Athenian spectators.
Part of the costume in the plays of Aristophanes is the phallus , which was made of leather, dyed red and sewn to the elements of clothing. Its grotesque size made it possible to see the stage detail from all parts of the theater. Often, he performed from under a theatrical tunic , which did not reach the knees in length. The scenes associated with him could be evidence of the success or failure of this or that character. So, in the comedy " Wasps " Philokleon turns to the flutist, from which he never gets the expected pleasure, with the words: “Come in here for me, my golden bug! / Hold on to this tourniquet with your hand, / But be careful: he is fragile, he has become old ... / However, friction is not burdensome for him. " The hero of "Birds" Pisfeter, on the other hand, invites his bride Basilee to touch his "wide wings" on the way to the wedding bed - according to Gwendoline Compton-Engle, in this scene there is a transfer of the phallus function to the wings, and the woman herself is a symbol of the reward that she receives winner. According to the philosopher Sergei Garin, "for the ancient Greek of classical Athens, there was nothing obscene, 'shameful', sinful in phallic symbolization."
Stage setting (reconstruction option)
When staging a comedy at the Theater of Dionysus, the role of scenery in the prologue was probably played by painted screens depicting rocks and forests - such an assumption was put forward by the author of the book "Birds of Aristophanes" (1995) published at Oxford University, Nan Dunbar, which has been studying and deciphering the surviving ancient sources for more than forty years. According to Dunbar, in the center of the wall made of skins was a door leading to the Hoopoe's nest. The attention of the audience was riveted on two characters in masks of old men - one in the hands (or on the shoulder) sat a crow, the other - a jackdaw. The guide birds, most likely, were not props , but live birds; later, frightened by the noise of the flying choir members, they could soar into the air, adding to the spectacle of the performance.
Following the main characters were slaves with luggage - baskets, pots, skewers , bowls, myrtle branch and bed linen. The audience was not surprised by this procession, because for the Athenian citizens heading for a short journey, the escort of slave-carriers was a common occurrence. The slaves, like the jackdaw and the crow, disappeared at the moment when their masters needed help - during the fight between Pisfeter and Evelpid with the birds.
The plot was preceded by an exposition that helped the audience to grasp the essence of what was happening. The commissioning was carried out, firstly, thanks to the dialogue, from which it became clear that the heroes, having overcome a long distance, were tired and lost; secondly, with the help of Evelpides' direct appeal to the audience: the wanderer explained to the public that, tired of litigation, they left the city and were now looking for a place for a quiet life. "Birds" is the last comedy of Aristophanes, in which information about the events was conveyed through the direct appeal of the actors to the audience, Nan Dunbar emphasized.
In the finale of the comedy, when the celebration of Pisfeter, the successor of Zeus, took place, the hero's bride appeared. The role of Basileia is wordless, and was most likely played by a handsome actor. To reproduce the sounds of thunder that sounded in honor of Pisfeter, skins stuffed with small stones that moved along copper sheets were probably used (according to Nan Dunbar, researchers do not have concrete evidence of the existence in the 5th century BC. ). The departure of the bride and groom to the marriage bed could be carried out using a mule-drawn cart or chariot . If the vehicle was actually used, then the choir should make way to make room for the wedding carriage. It is also possible that in the final scene Pisfeter went out to dance with the choir.
Reviews. Interpretations of the plot
If the contemporaries of Aristophanes took the staging of his "Birds" coolly, then the ancient Greek scholars of a later time gave the work quite high marks. Fragments of some of the surviving reviews have been published in a collection of ancient Greek lyrics published by the German philologist Theodor Bergk . One of the ancient critics noted that "this drama is among the most skillfully composed." Another scholar suggested that the comedy writer was trying to "ridicule the Athenians again as lovers of lawsuits"; the third reported that the playwright who wrote The Birds "had something great in mind."
Subsequently, researchers have repeatedly raised the question of whether there is an allegorical subtext in "Birds" or whether it is a pure fantasy of the author - as a result, many interpretations of the inner content of Aristophanes' comedy have been obtained. Thus, the German representative of neo-humanism Johann Wilhelm Züfernin a monograph published in 1827, he proposed an interpretation according to which this play is a political allegory, because in it Aristophanes allegorically opposes the Sicilian expedition. The birds, according to Zyufern, are the Athenians; the gods are the Spartans; Alcibiades and the "father of rhetoric " Gorgias are depicted in the image of Pisfeter .
Another interpretation was given by another German researcher of antiquities - Karl Otfried Müller , who suggested in the History of Greek Literature that the Aristophanes comedy is "a satire on Athenian frivolity and gullibility." According to Müller, the story of the ideal city ridiculed "the building of castles in the air and the dreams of a blissful life, which the Athenian people then indulged in en masse." Another treatment that has received very widespread, has been put forward by the Swiss philologist A. Voegelin : in the article "The Birds of Aristophanes" (1858), he argued that the product does not contain any politically motivated - it is pure spectacle, poetic fantasy of the author, and the value of the play is mainly due to the lyrical lines of the plot.
The range of opinions about the main idea of comedy among Soviet experts in the field of ancient literature also turned out to be wide enough. For example, in an article by N. B. Klyachko, posted in the collection of the publishing house of Moscow State University , it is indicated that "Birds" is "a topical purposeful satire." Philologist Viktor Yarkho called "Birds" a social utopia with a "fabulous flavor." According to theater historian Valentin Golovnya, this is a fairy tale comedy, in which a parody image of a utopian state is created. The author of the play, not yet knowing about the tragic result of the Sicilian campaign, nevertheless strove to save the Athenians from high expectations, and therefore his work is political, Golovnya argued.
The poet does not constrain himself with the framework of naturalness and plausibility. The more incredible its image, the more comical impression it makes. Using the forms of a folk tale, the poet depicts all kinds of transformations and through laughter expresses the bitter truth with all sharpness. It turns out a comic combination of the real with the fantastic and even downright fabulous. The fantastic nature of the whole action is complemented by the ease with which the action is transferred from one place to another.
- Sergei Radzig
Artistic originality
Composition
The comedy began with a prologue , in which the plot of the action was given. The prologue was followed by a parod , that is, the opening song of the choir when it entered the orchestra . The parod was followed by various episodes , that is, the dialogical parts of the comedy, separated from each other by the songs of the chorus. Between episodes there was almost always an agon , that is, a verbal duel, during which two opponents defended opposite positions. Among the choral parts, the so-called parabass should be noted . At the end of that episode, which immediately followed the parod, the choir threw off its masks and approached the audience a few steps.
- V. V. Golovnya "The structure of the ancient comedy" (abridged)
The comedy "Birds", like other plays by Aristophanes, is conventionally divided into two parts in structure. In the first, a certain idea is born and implemented (in this case, we are talking about the creation of a walled bird city), in the second, the results are demonstrated. The plot of the action begins in the prologue , followed by a parod introducing the bird's chorus . If in other works of Aristophanes (for example, in " Acharnians " and " Horsemen") The whole choir appears at once, then in" Birds "there is a gradual collection of birds on the orchestra. The birds, called by Hoopoe to a meeting, at first perceive the appearance of people in their midst so aggressively that Pisfeter and Evelpid have to reflect their attacks with the help of pots and skewers . The gathering of the choir is accompanied by an excited whistle, commotion, fight and threats ("That's nice to bite!").
After hoopoe possible to establish order, it's time agon . The role of this verbal competition in "Birds" is rather arbitrary, because Pispheter, who finally got the opportunity to present his plan to the birds, no one objects - only fellow Evelpid adds from time to time remarks in support of the nascent project. Pisfeter's speech is a kind of parodyto the scholarly historiography - the hero, "restoring" the past, says that it was the birds that once ruled the world and people ("It hurts for you, I regret your fate. / You were kings after all"). Now, thanks to the city, surrounded by a wall, the birds have a chance to regain their former power. The plan makes a great impression on the listeners, the leader of the choir declares Pisfeter "the best friend", the travelers become members of the avian community.
While Pisfeter and Evelpid are in the house of Hoopoe, who has promised to give them a miraculous root to gain wings, the choir performs with a parabass . A parody cosmogony unfolds in front of the audience , in which the power of the birds is praised: "O wingless, mortal creatures, you, like a dream, weightless and fragile, / To us, immortal gods, turn your gaze." Researchers single out the parabass in the composition of "Birds", since - for the first time in the plays of Aristophanes - it loses its characteristic function of publicistic digression and is included directly in the plot of the work.
The second part of the comedy, which takes place in Tuchekukuevsk, is filled with scenes of a booth. In the bird kingdom, one after another a priest appears, promising to send down "health, salvation, prosperity" to the local inhabitants; a beggar poet, who composed songs in honor of the city "feast, girlish, round dance"; predictor; land surveyor Meton and other uninvited guests. The satirical episodes with their participation do not have a direct impact on the development of the plot (unlike, for example, the scene with the delegation from the gods), but show the public mood of the Athenians during the Sicilian campaign. Pisfetera conversation with Prometheus , who came to warn about the dissatisfaction of the gods and give advice about the upcoming talks with their messengers ( "Peace lies only on the condition / With the scepter to the birdsZeus will return immediately / And what he will give you as a wife to Vasily "), despite the formal connection with the main action, the researchers also refer to the number of side scenes.
Artistic means
The comic effect in Birds is achieved through a variety of artistic and stylistic means. The language of comedy itself, saturated with witticisms, puns and slang expressions, is close to the colloquial speech of the inhabitants of Attica . At the same time, in a number of scenes Aristophanes appears as a subtle lyricist - his musicality and knowledge of nature are manifested, for example, in the aria of the Hoopoe and the description of the trills of birds. According to the Swiss philologist-Hellenist André Bonnard , who called "Birds" a poem , this work of the comedian "seems to fly into the field of poetry in order to find his inspiration there."
"Birds", like other plays by Aristophanes, are full of parodies . Researchers call the scene of the arrival of a delegation from the gods to Tuchekukuevsk an example of a mythological parody. If the image of Poseidon in this episode was created with the help of the grotesque , then in the “rude glutton” Hercules, ready to accept any demands of Pispfer in exchange for a treat, elements of mythological travesty are found , when the heroic character is presented in a funny way. When portraying the Thracian god Triballus, the author of the comedy parodies the “barbaric speech” of a stranger, whose incoherent remarks each of his interlocutors can interpret as they please.
In the works of Aristophanes, there are types under the generalized name "learned fool" - these include, for example, the philosopher Socrates in the " Clouds ", the playwright Euripides in the " Aharnians ", the land surveyor Meton in the "Birds". They all have certain features that bring these heroes closer to real historical figures; at the same time, the comedian endows them with qualities that allow them in a farcical, in a parody form to play up the views, interests and hobbies of the ridiculed characters. The introduction of a real-life Meton, who was among the guests of Tuchekukuevsk, is a technique that adds credibility to other - fictional - visitors. The image of Pisfeter communicating with Meton, a poet, priest and other "supplicants" in an exaggerated comic manner, was created in the tradition of buffoonery .
Allegoricality and the "decree of Syrakosia"
In "Birds" more often than in his other comedies, Aristophanes used such a literary device as allegory . Probably, the need to include the "hidden meaning" was associated with the psephism adopted shortly before the release of the comedy - the so-called "law of Syrakosia". The politician Syrakosy is, according to researchers, a person who "tried to limit the freedom of comedy." In "Birds" he is mentioned only in the scene where it is about the desire of people, carried away by thoughts of an ideal city, to get bird names: "And Syrakosia is a thrush: on his head / He limps, well, it’s like a thrush."
In the antique commentaries ( scholias ) on literary works, it is reported that Syrakosius was the initiator of a decree prohibiting the inclusion in comedies of characters bearing the names of Athenian citizens. At the same time, experts disagree about whether the law of Syraxia applied to all names, or whether it was about specific individuals. The phrase about the thrush, as well as the antique commentaries associated with it, are, in fact, the basic information about the Syrakos decree. There is also very little information about the politician himself - judging by the slips in the scholias, he was distinguished by obvious oratorical abilities.
At the same time, a number of researchers believe that the Syrakosian decree might not have existed; if it was nevertheless adopted, then it was canceled rather quickly. Evidence that the law was not total is the statistics: in "Birds" at least thirty people are named by their real names, three - by nicknames. In this regard, the hypothesis of Johann Droysen, put forward in 1835, gained popularity that the Syrakos decree concerned only the names of those who were convicted “for impiety in 415 - <...> the hermokopids and profanators of the mysteries ”. In this case, we are talking about the blasphemy of Alcibiades and his hetero... The "presence" of Alcibiades in the "Birds" is indicated indirectly, with the help of hints. It is possible that it was the allegory that prevented the comedy of Aristophanes from taking first place in the competition: the public and the judges expected from the playwright more certainty in the presentation of the current case of the hermokopids and profanators of the mysteries.
Language. Translations
The first translations of "Birds" from ancient Greek appeared in 1498. At first, these were translations into Latin , a little later the work was translated into Italian (1545), French (1729), German (1780), etc. In total, from 1440 to 1920, more than 350 translations of Aristophanes comedies were performed into different languages.
Authentic Aristophanes, without the veil of Victorian or Soviet morality, without the retouching and violence of the censors - this is Aristophanes obscene , as almost all early iambic is obscene .
The Russian literary community was familiar with the work of Aristophanes even at the time of Sumarokov and Trediakovsky . However, the issue of verse translations of the "father of comedy" into Russian for a long time remained unresolved. The first translations of "Birds" (1876, 1897) were prosaic , and they were made not from the original language, but from English and French. In 1874, the Warsaw printing house published the comedy "Birds", translated into Russian by M. Skvortsov, who introduced anapestas and seven- foot trochea into the texts . Eight years later, in 1882, the literary critic Vladimir Chuiko presented a prosaic version of the interpretation of the play about the bird city .
In the 1920s, literary critic Adrian Piotrovsky began to translate Aristophanes' plays . The translation of "Birds" was made by him in 1927. A new version of the translation of the same comedy was carried out in 1954 by Solomon Apt . Textologists reproach Piotrovsky for verbosity and "exceeding the rights of a translator" - for example, Pisfeter's remark "How they squeak and shout on the run!" in his interpretation it sounds like this: "They whistle, squeak, chirp, jump, jump, whistle." At the same time, researchers pay tribute to the achievements of Piotrovsky - we are talking about the correspondence of his variants to the original in terms of metrics, the structuring of the plays with the emphasis on the parod, agon, parabass and other elements of the composition, the transfer of the general stylistic structure. According to Professor Viktor Yarkho, Piotrovsky was able to find an adequate replacement for the "Aristophanian obscenities", while the comedian "without any hesitation called by their names objects and actions related to the sphere of sexual and other natural functions of man."
“Aristophanes, of course, is unpleasant to the crowd and unbearable for educated people. His poetry is similar to the poetry of a street girl who imitates a married woman in adulthood. The crowd cannot stand her presumptuousness, and her licentiousness and depravity disgust the respectable people "
- From the writings of Plutarch
What Yarkho credits Piotrovsky raises a number of questions for the philosopher Sergei Garin, who believes that European translators, while retouching Aristophanes' original vocabulary, "collectively emasculate this direct folk archaic spirit, replacing it with 'free improvisations' of a censorship nature." At the same time, Garin emphasizes that Piotrovsky's translations, which have become classical, are fully consistent with the spirit and context of the time when they were created.
Influences. Performances
The first adaptation of Aristophanes' "Birds" appeared in the 16th century. The French play La Nephelococugie, ou la nuee des cocus (1579), composed by Pierre Le Lauer, was based on the plot of the original comedy, but reproduced the story of two cuckold brothers from Toulouse . The researchers note that numerous changes to the original, carried out using the means of satire of the French Renaissance , brought the text of the ancient comedy closer to the French literary tradition. Talking about the legacy of Aristophanes, antiquities mention the influence of "Birds" on the work of Goethe , who reworked the comedy for staging at the Weimar Theater... The premiere of the play "Birds after Aristophanes" took place in August 1780. Goethe took the fairy tale plot of Aristophanes's work as a basis and created a satirical play in which he exposed his literary opponents. The German poet called the author of the fundamental principle "the ill-mannered favorite of Graces ." The production of "Birds" was carried out by the Oxford (1830) and Cambridge (1883) universities. In 1846, on the stage of the London theater Haymarket» James Planchet staged a classic burlesque based on a play by Aristophanes .
Heinrich Heine was also fascinated by the work of Aristophanes . He considered "Birds" the best work of the ancient Greek playwright and called this comedy "a funny parody" in which there is "a daring rebellion of people against the eternal gods." Professor Isai Nakhov suggested that the influence of Aristophanes' Birds is found in Shakespeare's comedy " A Midsummer Night's Dream ", which combines fairy-tale motives with reality. According to researcher Sergei Shultz, the comedy "Birds" also influenced Nikolai Gogol's poem - it is, in particular, about the image of the bird-three, which with its desire to move upward reminds the founder of the city of Tuchekukuevsk:
In " Dead Souls " the Aristophanes "bird code" is fully readable, it makes it possible to model the comic-mythological situation of the emanation of Gogol's magical "bird name" on the text of the poem. The “splicing” of the “name” and the work is evident. In the form of one of the prototypes of the "bird-three", Aristophan's Pisfeter, striving upward, towards a new high "idyll", is being advanced. Pisfeter, in turn, recognizes the owner of the bird surname Chichikov. Aristophanes and Gogol strive for an ontological- mythological high game in a new "cosmogony".
In 1920, the plot of the comedy "Birds" was used by the German composer Walter Braunfels , who wrote the opera of the same name - " Die Vögel". Interest in comedy, written in 414 BC. e., is preserved in the XX-XXI centuries. So, in 1959 the director Karolos Kuhn presented "Birds" to the audience of the summer festival in Athens . This production is considered a long-lived performance - it has been repeatedly resumed by directors and choreographers of new generations (the 2008 show was timed to coincide with Kuhn's 100th anniversary). In 2014-2015, the play "Birds" was shown to the audience of the theater festival in Epidaurus .
In March 2013, the premiere of the play "Birds", staged by the First Studio of the Vakhtangov Theater ; in this production, the texts of Aristophanes were combined with those of Joseph Brodsky . In 2014 "Birds" (a farce in two acts) appeared on the stage of the Moscow theater " Et Cetera ". A kind of variation on the theme of Aristophan's comedy was prepared in 2017 by the Lenkom theater , which connected separate storylines of "Birds" with the plot of Anton Chekhov 's story "The Jumping Girl ".
Created at the University of Oxford International Center for Research of Greek and Roman drama ( APGRD) in his archive records that from 1578 to 2019 more than two hundred productions and adaptations of "Birds" were performed in the world.
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