Evaluate the accuracy of “The Clouds” in portraying the political, social, economic and religious life of people in the fifth century BC Athens

Greek domain has always been a significant character in the past and usher in Athenian caller. Fifth Century BC Athenian society proposed numerous playwrights in their festivities honouring the god, Dionysus. Amongst the umpteen crowd favourites was a legend to disclose him in the least, Aristophanes. His works of sarcastic japery ar tranquillise celebrated and enjoyed today. one such(prenominal) example of his famous satirical works is The Clouds, written in 423BC. The Clouds is about(predicate) a father, Strepsiades, who is in debt because of his male childs expensive horse cavalry hobby.Strepsiades tries to convince his son, Pheidippides, to attend the Thinkery (a school for sophistry), to suss out the art of double talk in the hope of outwitting his creditors in beg. moreover, Pheidippides denies his fathers request, so or else Strepsiades decides to enrol himself. Strepsiades attempts to learn sophistry scarcely fails miserably when his old age gets the out perform of him. a nonher(prenominal) attempt to encourage his son to enrol becomes successful and Pheidippides learns to double-talk from the teacher Socrates. This is later on regretted when, at the climax of the story, Pheidippides uses double-talk to well(p)ify him flagellation his father.Strepsiades, out of anger and rage, then sets send packing to the Thinkery. The main theme dealt with in the The Clouds is that of spic-and-span versus old. Aristophanes challenges the cornerstone thinkers ilk sophists and the inventive thinkers desire Socrates for oppressing the tralatitious set held and demoralising the youth. Another theme pertaining to the clouds is the confliction of organized religion and science. In fifth atomic number 6 BC, around the cartridge holder when Aristophanes wrote the clouds, the hurly burly of scientific theory had just begun.With religion prevailing at the time, such disbelieving thinking brought about by peck like Socrates was firstly unlaw ful and second prone to ridicule by orthodox figures such as Aristophanes. The Clouds is rather dead-on(prenominal) in depicting Athenian life. However the perception of Socrates obvious in the textual matter editionual matter is not parallel to that of Socrates in real(a) life. Aristophanes, like many, linked Socrates with the rest of the Sophists for the movework forcet that he was a philosophical thinker, that is, he came up with reasoning without relying on faith. However, Socrates, like Aristophanes rejected the ideas of the Sophists.The sophists argued that point principles of a society, such as nicety and truth, varied match to the needs of men in a lead officular time and place. In pedagogy their students, the sophists emphasised the art of argumentative word and came to be associated with deceptive and hollow reasoning. This is envisioned in the clouds where better argument represents traditional thinking and the worse argument depicts that of the sophists. contempt Aristophanes rather critical portrayal of Socrates, the commentary of him as expressed through Pheidippides as pale-faced charlatans, who deportnt any shoes is actually relatively true.Since Socrates wore unsophisticated apparel, and walked barefoot through the streets, his ideas and quality made him an easy subject of jeering and he was often thought of as a fraudulent figure. Socrates was also ridiculed for the concomitant he believed in one reasoning(a) being as the creator of the universe. This went once morest the ghostly life of the Athenians. In The Clouds, Poseidon, god of horses is give tongue to on by Pheidippides and later again by Pasias (one of Strepsiades creditors) who also swears by Hermes and Zeus. These accounts are an accurate reflection the religious beliefs upheld by Athenian society.However, since the clouds is a satirical play, Aristophanes pokes gaming at Socrates who is depicted to believe in the vortex as the ruler, not Zeus. This part of the play is not accurate, as it does not hold a factual offer but rather that of entertainment and humour. earlier than just analysing The Clouds on its plot, a more comprehensive read of the text reveals only details on 5th century Athenian life, all of which are on the button in information. For instance, it is apparent in the text that concepts such as creditors, debtors and interest, were already in use at the time.This shows that Athenian society had in place forms of financing that still exist today. Also, there is a get to depiction of the judicial system present at the time. It is evident in the text that when taking a person to court a desexualize must be made and if the case was lost the deposit was forfeited. Other instances in which The Clouds has efficaciously depicted Athenian life is through their currency, such as drachmas and obols and also in their sound system, when the Better Argument makes reference to the penalisation of adultery, this being having a radish shoved up his anus and his pubic hair singed with hot ash.The batch of the 5th century BC Athenian society were rather wealthy and could open slaves. The polarisation of the two classes of people inwardly society is portrayed rather well. This is evident with Strepsiades servant Xanthias who lives an unpleasant life when compared to Pheidippides who indulges in the costly hobby of buying racehorses. This is progress exemplified when Pheidippides mother insists to add -hippos (meaning horse) to Pheidippides name at birth so he could have the marks of the aristocratic classes. In conclusion, The Clouds is a satirical play and should not be taken for face value.However, his portrayal of issues and figures in spite of appearance the society give an accurate sharpness into some of the beliefs held by the general worldly concern and if treated carefully could be considered as reliable historical source. A thoughtful theme underlies this comedy, namely Ideas espoused by ra dical thinkers like the sophists and by highly imaginative thinkers like Socrates are undermining traditional values and corrupting the morals of youths. The sophists maintained that the guiding principles of a society, such as justice and truth, were relative concepts-that is, these principles changed according to the needs of men in a particular time and place.What was right and just in capital of Greece was not necessarily right and just in another society. One mans chastity could be another mans vice. In statement their students, the sophists emphasized the art of argumentative deal and came to be associated with deceptive and specious reasoning, lampooned effectively in The Clouds. Another target of Aristophanes was Socrates, on with his associate, Chaerephon. Ironically, Socrates, like Aristophanes, renounced the methods and ideas of the sophists.Nevertheless, Socrates angered the establishment (1) by declaring that the validity of many long-standing precepts could not be p roved by logical reasoning, (2) by rejecting the Olympian gods and sometimes speaking of a single intelligent being as the creator of the universe, and (3) by spreading desperate ideas among young people. In addition, he confused many Athenians because he was ugly and blowzy (sometimes neglecting to bathe for a long while), wore simple apparel, and walked barefoot through the streets. Thus, his ideas and eccentricities made him a ripe subject for ridicule.