The Kitchen of Aristophanes’ Comedy “Birds”: Erotica and Politica
Authors:
Vanya
Lozanova-Stancheva
Institute of Balkan Studies and Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Pages:
7-
21
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/ALAS2946
Abstract:
The article analyzes Aristophanes’ comedy The Birds performed in 414 BC at the City Dionysia and not long after the commencement of the Sicilian Expedition. The play is built largely on the specific culinary code defining the political and cultural „otherness” through „the birds’ life”. Information of this type can be organized into three main groups:
– Motifs that characterize „the lifestyle/the diet of birds” scattered throughout the text of the comedy;
– To this group gravitates the motive for the creation of the world as culinary confusion in so-called „Ornitogoniya” (vv. 693–702) in the first parabaza;
– The alelofagiya motive, the motive of killing/eating conspecific, culminating in the episode with the penalty of rebelling against democracy birds (1579–1590; 1637; 1689), baked for the wedding of Pisthetaerus with Basileya.
Keywords:
Aristophanes; comedy The Birds; culinary code; “the lifestyle/ the diet of birds”; the alelofagiya motive
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