Birds in Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages

Jun 24, 2022 Yules rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ancient-classical-myth-retelling

Have you considered replacing your gods with birds? They're never far away - in some tree or bush - and while Zeus demands the sacrifice of a whole animal, you can appease birds with only a few grains of wheat. Also, they will give you wings (unless your reasons for wanting the wings are ridiculous. Then no. Obviously.) But what's really amazing is that many of Aristophanes' jokes are still funny over 2,400 years later. ...more

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Feb 25, 2025 grllopez ~ with freedom and books rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: twem, plays, twem-plays, own, greece

The Greek poem The Birds was a strange, carefree comedy. It was very odd. I found myself asking: What am I reading? Where is this going? What is the point? There was no point.

Aristophanes wrote The Birds during a time of worldly peace and ease, with no concern for war or turmoil. The setting was not Athens, though there were historical references to Greece and its surroundings.

The two main human characters, Peisetarius and Euelpides, traveled an unknown road, bellyaching about their dull lives The Greek poem The Birds was a strange, carefree comedy. It was very odd. I found myself asking: What am I reading? Where is this going? What is the point? There was no point.

Aristophanes wrote The Birds during a time of worldly peace and ease, with no concern for war or turmoil. The setting was not Athens, though there were historical references to Greece and its surroundings.

The two main human characters, Peisetarius and Euelpides, traveled an unknown road, bellyaching about their dull lives in Athens, while taking pointless directions from their pets, a crow and jackdaw. (Already the poem felt wayward.)

Peisetarius had an idea to seek out the mythological character Tereus (who had transformed into a bird) and convince him to create a city just for birds, where humans (such as themselves), tired of human life (also them), may find sanctuary in the sky.

Once connected with Tereus, the main characters easily persuaded him to build this bird city where birds would live together rather than fly freely everywhere (which seemed like a worse idea to me). However, the conciliation was that birds could concentrate control of all humans below and also besiege power from the Greek gods above. After all, birds were the original gods, he told him. Tereus enthusiastically agreed and called all the birds together and employed the two humans to convince the world's birds of the plan.

As birds appeared, they were fearful at first sight of Peisetarius and Euelpides, until Peisetarius presented his flattering birds-were-the-original-gods speech and assured them to regain their lost powers from the Olympian gods. They ecstatically agreed and prepared to do battle with the gods.

After the city was built, the gods, who were pathetically feeble, puny, and half-witted, visited the city. They did not stand a chance against the birds, obviously, and unsurprisingly capitulated power to Peisetarius, who was naturally crowned the new king of the birds. (He wasn't shrewd for nothing.)

There was a symphony of music, bird song, and colorful plumed costumes throughout the play. And there was a Shakespearean semblance to the play, which tells me the Bard read Aristophanes, no doubt! But there were also extreme sexual overtones towards females and F-bombs, too, that were unfortunate. That is why I could only give it two stars. My final words are that I'm grateful to be done with it, and I'll never read it again. ...more

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