“In Aristophanes' The Clouds, Socrates is lowered on a hammock.”

Socrates appears, hovering in the air inside a ταρρός (v. 226), generally identified with a basket (a kind of astronomi cal observatory), suspended from a support referred to as a κρεμάθρα… 5 But, at the entrance to the Phrontisterion, an increasingly bewildered and incredulous Strepsiades is also shown the thinkers’ working tools (vv. 200–217). These objects are unidentifiable to us, which on the stage, however, allowed for an association with astronomy and geometry (Bromberg 2012), which is in fact identified with geography (he is in fact shown a map of the entire earth: a scene recalled by Plato in the Theaetetus (172a–177a), until, in v. 218, Socrates appears, hovering in the air inside a ταρρός (v. 226), generally identified with a basket (a kind of astronomi cal observatory), suspended from a support referred to as a κρεμάθρα, a tool whose nature cannot be specified, but which provided a movable foothold that allowed the basket to swing and thus the actor not only to descend from above but also to perform midair evolutions (cf. ἀεροβατῶ, of v. 225): an expedient Aristophanes also makes use of for the ex machina appearance of Euripides in the Acharnians and Agathon in the Thesmophoriazusae. With the help of some of his disciples (cf.

The door of the thinking-shop opens and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket.Strep. Why then do we admire Thales? Open open quickly the thinking-shop, and show to me Socrates as quickly as possible. For I desire to be a disciple. Come, open the door. The door of the thinking-shop opens and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket. O Hercules, from what country are these wild beasts?

Strep. And so you look down upon the gods from your basket, and not from the earth? … Socrates lowers himself and gets out of the basket.Soc. I am walking in the air, and speculating about the sun. Strep. And so you look down upon the gods from your basket, and not from the earth? Soc. For I should not have rightly discovered things celestial if I had not suspended the intellect, and mixed the thought in a subtle form with its kindred air. But if, being on the ground, I speculated from below on things above, I should never have discovered them. For the earth forcibly attracts to itself the meditative moisture. Water-cresses also suffer the very same thing. Strep. What do you say? Does meditation attract the moisture to the water-cresses? Come then, my little Socrates, descend to me, that you may teach me those things, for the sake of which I have come. Socrates lowers himself and gets out of the basket. Soc. And for what did you come?

Socrates, however, appears suspended in air, elevated and insulated, inside a basket propped by a crane (218)-a satirical deus ex machina scene.… When Pheidippides refuses, Strepsiades decides to enroll in the school himself. Arriving there and asking to see Socrates, he expects Socrates to step out of the skênê (marking the Thinkery's facade) and meet him face-to-face on the horizontal human level. Socrates, however, appears suspended in air, elevated and insulated, inside a basket propped by a crane (218)-a satirical deus ex machina scene. 29 Socrates' performance of divinity is amplified by his first words, responding to Strepsiades, who had twice called him from the stage floor: "Why do you call me, ephemeral creature?" (223; Aristophanes 1998, 24) . 30 By having Socrates voice from above such a response, Aristophanes portrays him as one who not only distances himself from human affairs but also claims a superhuman position. …

And who is this man suspended up in a basket? … Thus 'tis not on the solid ground, but from the height of this basket, that you slight the gods, if indeed....Event Date: -423 GR § 215 DISCIPLE: Lacedemon? Why, here it is, look. STREPSIADES: How near it is to us! Think it well over, it must be removed to a greater distance. DISCIPLE: But, by Zeus, that is not possible. STREPSIADES: Then, woe to you! And who is this man suspended up in a basket? DISCIPLE: 'Tis he himself. STREPSIADES: Who himself? DISCIPLE: Socrates. STREPSIADES: Socrates! Oh! I pray you, call him right loudly for me. DISCIPLE: Call him yourself; I have no time to waste. STREPSIADES: Socrates! my little Socrates! Event Date: -423 GR § 223 SOCRATES: Mortal, what do you want with me? STREPSIADES: First, what are you doing up there? Tell me, I beseech you. SOCRATES: I traverse the air and contemplate the sun. STREPSIADES: Thus 'tis not on the solid ground, but from the height of this basket, that you slight the gods, if indeed.... SOCRATES: I have to suspend my brain and mingle the subtle essence of my mind with this air, which is of the like nature, in order to clearly penetrate the things of heaven. I should have discovered nothing, had I remained on the ground to consider from below the things that are above; for the earth by its force attracts the sap of the mind to itself. 'Tis just the same with the water-cress. STREPSIADES: What? Does the mind attract the sap of the water-cress? Ah! …

socratesrushes outside. socrates You there, you on the roof, what do you think you’re doing?… * 1504Chaerephonti dantb * 1505Chaerephonti dant KNΘ 208 Clouds pupilsrush out. first pupil What are you doing, man? strepsiades What am I doing? What do you think? I’m mincing words with the rafters of your house! second pupil (at a window) Me oh my, who’s torching our house? strepsiades It’s me, whose cloak you stole! second pupil You’ll kill us, kill us! strepsiades That’s precisely my intention, if this hatchet doesn’t betray my hopes or I fall first and break my neck! socratesrushes outside. socrates You there, you on the roof, what do you think you’re doing? strepsiades I tread the air and scrutinize the sun! socrates Ah, poor me, I’m going to choke to death! second pupil And my wretched fate is to be burned up! second pupiljumps to the stage asstrepsiadesand Xanthias descend from the roof. 209 Find related works * [Aristophanes](https://www.loebclassics.com/browse?t1=author.aristophanes) * [Greek Library](https://www.loebclassics.com/browse?t1=library.greek) * [500 BC –400 BC](https://www.loebclassics.com/browse?t1=period.500to400BC) …

The door of the Thinking-shop opens, and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket.Dis. He sprinkled fine ashes on the table, and bent a little spit, and then took it as a pair of compasses and filched a cloak from the Palæstra.[38] Strep. Why then do we admire that Thales?[39] Open, open quickly the thinking-shop, and show to me Socrates as quickly as possible. For I desire to be a disciple. Come, open the door.—[The door of the Thinking-shop opens, and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket.] O Hercules, from what country are these wild beasts? Dis. What do you wonder at? To what do they seem to you to be like?

And who is this man suspended up in a basket? … The machine swings in SOCRATES in a basket.STREPSIADES > Then, woe to you! and who is this man suspended up in a basket? DISCIPLE … > Call him yourself; I have no time to waste. He departs. The machine swings in SOCRATES in a basket. STREPSIADES

[Strepsiades notices Socrates descending from above in a basket suspended from a rope] Hey, who’s the man in the basket—up there?STREPSIADES [threatening] Do it, by god, or I’ll make you cry! [Strepsiades notices Socrates descending from above in a basket suspended from a rope] Hey, who’s the man in the basket—up there? STUDENT The man himself.

Socrates descends in a basket while Pheidippides and Strepsiades discuss … Socrates appears overhead, wafted in a basket at the end of a rope, the better to observe the Sun and other meteorological phenomena.The Clouds Socrates descends in a basket while Pheidippides and Strepsiades discuss (from a 16th-century engraving depicted a scene from the Clouds) Written by · Aristophanes Chorus · Clouds (goddesses) · … Impressed, Strepsiades begs to be introduced to the man behind these discoveries. The wish is soon granted; Socrates appears overhead, wafted in a basket at the end of a rope, the better to observe the Sun and other meteorological phenomena. The philosopher descends and quickly begins the induction ceremony for the new elderly student, the highlight of which is a parade of the Clouds, the patron goddesses of thinkers and other layabouts. The Clouds arrive singing majestically of the regions whence they arose and of the land they have now come to visit, loveliest in all being Greece. Introduced to them as a new devotee, Strepsiades begs them to make him the best orator in Greece by a hundred miles. …

Questions of the gods arise once Strepsiades coaxes Socrates down from his thinkingbasket and swears by the gods to pay for lessons in cash.… The Socratics have decided that the world is like a cooker, and people are like the coals (95-97). They measure flea-leaps in terms of flea-feet, making their jumping power commensurate with our own (144-152). They study the gnat’s singing power (ᾄδειν, σάλπιγξ), and thus its connection to human culture (157-168). They study the moon’s revolutions and other astronomical phenomena (171, 194, 201, 225-232); geology (187-192); and surveying and map-making, for the sake of democracy (202-217). Questions of the gods arise once Strepsiades coaxes Socrates down from his thinkingbasket and swears by the gods to pay for lessons in cash. At this terribly human use of the gods, Socrates says that the gods count for nothing around here (θεοὶ | ἡµῖν νόµισµ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι, 247-8), playing on ‘currency’ language to emphasize Strepsiades’ anthropocentric piety. Socrates then asks Strepsiades whether he ‘would like to know clearly, regarding divine matters, what is correct’ (ὀρθῶς, 251). Strepsiades does. He accepts Socrates’ offer to interact with divinities (συγγενέσθαι... εἰς λόγους, 252), which emphasizes human-divine traffic. …

The back scene opens, and discovers the students engaged in their various investigations, with Socrates himself suspended in a kind of basket, deeply engaged in thought.… Still, as the old gentleman ​seems an earnest disciple, he condescends to expatiate to him on the subject of some of the great master's subtle speculations; subtle in the extreme, not to say childish, but yet not very unfair caricatures of some which we find attributed to Socrates in the 'Dialogues' of Plato. Charmed with what he hears, the new scholar begs to be at once introduced. The back scene opens, and discovers the students engaged in their various investigations, with Socrates himself suspended in a kind of basket, deeply engaged in thought. The extraordinary attitude of one class of learners arrests the attention of the visitor especially:— Str. What are those doing—stooping so very oddly? Student. They probe the secrets that lie deep as Tartarus. Str. But why—excuse me, but—their hinder quarters— Why are they stuck so oddly up in the air? Stud. The other end is studying astronomy Quite independently. (To the students, whose attention is, of course, diverted to the visitor.) Go in, if you please! …

[The door of the thinking-shop opens and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket.] … Come, who is this man who is in the basket? … [Socrates lowers himself and gets out of the basket.]Strepsiades. Why then do we admire Thales? Open open quickly the thinking-shop, and show to me Socrates as quickly as possible. For I desire to be a disciple. Come, open the door. [The door of the thinking-shop opens and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket.] O Hercules, from what country are these wild beasts? … [Looking up and discovering Socrates.] Come, who is this man who is in the basket? Disciple. Himself. … Strepsiades. What do you say? Does meditation attract the moisture to the water-cresses? Come then, my little Socrates, descend to me, that you may teach me those things, for the sake of which I have come. [Socrates lowers himself and gets out of the basket.] Socrates. And for what did you come?

Who is this man suspended up in a basket? … Thus it's not on the solid ground, but from the height of this basket, that you slight the gods, if indeed....> Aristophanes was born c. 445 B.C. and died sometime around 388. He is considered to be the greatest comic playwright of antiquity. In this play, he is poking fun at one of his contemporaries, the philosopher Socrates. > > Chronologies > > Mediterranean: Classical Greece > > > STREPSIADES > > Who is this man suspended up in a basket? > > DISCIPLE > > That's himself. > > STREPSIADES > > Who's himself? > > DISCIPLE > > Socrates. > > STREPSIADES > > Socrates! Oh! I pray you, call him right loudly for me. > > DISCIPLE > > Call him yourself; I have no time to waste. (He departs. The machine swings in SOCRATES in a basket.) > > STREPSIADES > > Socrates! my little Socrates! > > SOCRATES (loftily) > > Mortal, what do you want with me? > > STREPSIADES > > First, what are you doing up there? Tell me, I beseech you. > > SOCRATES (POMPOUSLY) > > I am traversing the air and contemplating the sun. > > STREPSIADES > > Thus it's not on the solid ground, but from the height of this basket, that you slight the gods, if indeed.... > > SOCRATES > > I have to suspend my brain and mingle the subtle essence of my mind with this air, which is of the like nature, in order clearly to penetrate the things of heaven. I should have discovered nothing, had I remained on the ground to consider from below the things that are above; for the earth by its force attracts the sap of the mind to itself. It's just the same with the watercress. > > STREPSIADES > > What? Does the mind attract the sap of the watercress? Ah! …

in Apology 19c, for example, we learn that the comedy acquainted its viewing audience with ‘a certain Socrates who was being carried about, who proclaimed that he was treading on air and a great deal of other such nonsense.’Aristophanes’ Socrates in Context, by Dr Rosa Andújar If we believe Plato’s claims in the Apology, Aristophanes’ Clouds was the first nail in Socrates’ coffin. Throughout his version of Socrates’ defence speech, the philosopher emphasises the play’s damning role on Socrates’ reputation: in Apology 19c, for example, we learn that the comedy acquainted its viewing audience with ‘a certain Socrates who was being carried about, who proclaimed that he was treading on air and a great deal of other such nonsense.’ Despite these dramatic claims, Clouds was itself a failure at the time of its production in the City Dionysia of 423 BC: it placed third and last in the comic competition that year. …

GreekΆνωθεν της αυλής αιωρείται μέγας κότινος, εντός του οποίου ευρίσκεται ο ΣΩΚΡΑΤΗΣ, παρατηρών προς τον ουρανόν.… Άνοιξε, άνοιξε την θύρα· γρήγορα να μην αργώ. (Ο ΜΑΘΗΤΗΣ ανοίγει την θύραν, ταυτοχρόνως δε αποσύρεται προς το παρασκήνιον ή προς τα κοινόν πλευρά του περιβόλου του οικίσκου του Σωκράτους. Ούτως εμφανίζονται εν τη αυλή Μαθηταί τινες, κύπτοντες προς τα κάτω και παρατηρούντες ακίνητοι το έδαφος· άλλοι δε κύπτουσι πλειότερον, ώστε το πρόσωπόν των να εγγίζη επί του εδάφους, τα δε οπίσθιά των να ευρίσκωνται εστραμμένα προς τον ουρανόν. — Άνωθεν της αυλής αιωρείται μέγας κότινος, εντός του οποίου ευρίσκεται ο ΣΩΚΡΑΤΗΣ, παρατηρών προς τον ουρανόν. — Εις τον τοίχον του οικίσκου φαίνεται μέγας χάρτης της Ελλάδος, επί δε του εδάφους υπάρχουν διαβήται, κανόνες και μία έδρα, εφ' ης στέφανος δάφνης. — Εισέρχονται ΜΑΘΗΤΗΣ και ο ΣΤΡΕΨΙΑΔΗΣ). ΣΚΗΝΗ Γ'.

[The door of the thinking-shop opens and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket.] … Come, who is this man who is in the basket? … [Socrates lowers himself and gets out of the basket.]Strep. Why then do we admire Thales? Open open quickly the thinking-shop, and show to me Socrates as quickly as possible. For I desire to be a disciple. Come, open the door. [The door of the thinking-shop opens and the pupils of Socrates are seen all with their heads fixed on the ground, while Socrates himself is seen suspended in the air in a basket.] O Hercules, from what country are these wild beasts? … [Looking up and discovering Socrates.] Come, who is this man who is in the basket? Dis. Himself. … Strep. What do you say? Does meditation attract the moisture to the water-cresses? Come then, my little Socrates, descend to me, that you may teach me those things, for the sake of which I have come. [Socrates lowers himself and gets out of the basket.] Soc. And for what did you come?

For, Socrates tells the jurors, “you yourselves have seen, in Aristophanes’ comedy, a kind of Socrates carried aloft and claiming to walk on air and uttering all sorts of other nonsense, about which I know nothing whatever, neither much nor little”(19C).… These antagonists are numerous and have been misrepresenting Socrates for a long while, infecting the minds of the jurors when they were still young and impressionable, with no one on hand to raise objections. But the worst of it is that they are anonymous, “save if one of them happens to be a comic poet”(18C). The influence of these ancient accusers, Socrates asserts, is evident in the indictment that has been brought against him, which mentions just such pursuits on his part. For, Socrates tells the jurors, “you yourselves have seen, in Aristophanes’ comedy, a kind of Socrates carried aloft and claiming to walk on air and uttering all sorts of other nonsense, about which I know nothing whatever, neither much nor little”(19C).  **Discover the world's research** * 25+ million members * 160+ million publication pages * 2.3+ billion citations[Join for free](signup.SignUp.html) [](publication/292538033_Socrates_in_aristophanes'_clouds#read-preview) Content uploaded by[David Konstan](profile/David-Konstan) Author content All content in this area was uploaded by David Konstan on May 31, 2022 Content may be subject to copyright. …

The Clouds and Frogs are especially useful to my project because they are both concerned with education. Here we see Aristophanes mock the penchant certain intellectuals have for treating language, learning, and even poetry as if they were physical processes.… Given the political and philosophical views making the rounds in Athens of his day (or any city in any age), it is not always apparent what questionable assumptions prop them up, what agendas motivate their promulgation and propagation, and what the consequences are for holding such a perspective. The recognition essential to ‘getting’ a parody helps Aristophanes show his audience truths about familiar characters and ideas. The Clouds and Frogs are especially useful to my project because they are both concerned with education. Here we see Aristophanes mock the penchant certain intellectuals have for treating language, learning, and even poetry as if they were physical processes. A crass kind of literalness and an absurd emphasis on the materiality of things is not only funny, but makes the audience wonder whether this is really a perspective they should want to adopt. It is ironic that this clarity is provided through the absurd, fun house mirror of parody. IV Parody