Skip to content
Aristophanes' Clouds episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 8, 2025 · 45 MIN

Aristophanes' Clouds

from Read This Today · host Manchoon Samchoon

Step into the zany world of ancient Athens with a deep dive into Aristophanes' uproarious comedy, Clouds. Join us as we dissect this foundational work of satire, exploring its hilarious jabs at Socrates, the "new education," and the generational divides of 5th-century BCE Athens. Discover the genius of Old Comedy, unpack the play's enduring themes of intellectual hubris and societal change, and understand why its sharp wit and timeless commentary on "making the worse appear the better reason" still resonate with surprising relevance today. Perfect for students of Greek drama, lovers of satire, or anyone curious about the comedic origins of Western thought. Works Cited: "Ancient Greek Comedy." Writing Across Contexts - College of Charleston Blogs, Accessed 8 July 2024, https://blogs.cofc.edu/writingacrosscontexts/ancient-greek-comedy/. "Apology (Plato)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Apology_(Plato)&oldid=1297145156. Aristophanes. Clouds. Edited with introduction and commentary by K.J. Dover, Clarendon Press, 1968. Aristophanes. Clouds. Translated by Jeffrey Henderson, Focus Classical Library, 1992. Aristophanes. Clouds: A Dual Language Edition. Translated by Ian Johnston, Faenum Publishing, 2017. Aristophanes. Clouds. Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein, Aris & Phillips Ltd, 1982. Bowie, Ewen. "Aristophanes’ Clouds: An Agonistic Note." Essays on Ancient Greek Literature and Culture, Cambridge University Press, 2023, pp. 95-104. Cambridge Core, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107415430.008. Bowles, David. "Wrongfully Accused: The Political Motivations behind Socrates’ Execution." Hirundo, vol. 2, 2007, pp. 27-30. McGill University, https://www.mcgill.ca/lacs/files/lacs/hirundo_2007_bowles.pdf. "Crito." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 May 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crito&oldid=1289991017. Duke, George. "The Sophists (Ancient Greek)." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Accessed 8 July 2024, https://iep.utm.edu/sophists/. Gillooly, Eileen. "Aaron Matz. Satire in an Age of Realism . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-521-19738-0. Price: US$85.00/£50.00." Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net, no. 59-60, Apr.-Oct. 2011, https://doi.org/10.7202/1013288ar. Konstan, David. Greek Comedy and Ideology. Oxford University Press, 1995. Munn, Mark. "The Sophists between Aristocracy and Democracy." Edited by Joshua Billings and Christopher Moore, The Cambridge Companion to the Sophists, Cambridge University Press, 2023, pp. 69-97. Cambridge Core, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108859639.003. Nails, Debra. "Socrates." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fall 2009 ed., Stanford University, 16 Sep. 2005. Regier, James. "The March of the Muses: The Development of Higher Education in Athens from Pericles to the Paripatos." Ruffell, I. A. "Conservative and Radical: Aristophanic Comedy and Populist Debate in Democratic Athens." Aristophanes and Politics, Brill, 2023, pp. 60-89. Brill. Saxonhouse, Arlene W. "The Socratic Narrative: A Democratic Reading of Plato's Dialogues." Ancient Philosophy, vol. 37, no. 3, 2017, pp. 729-748. University of Michigan. Simon, Alissa. "Socrates: A Sophist?" HMU - Harrison Middleton University Blog, 26 Oct. 2018, https://www.hmu.edu/socrates-a-sophist/. "The Clouds." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2024. "Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War." Reddit, r/ClassicalEducation. "Trial of Socrates." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2024. Vaughn, Vanessa E. "Analysis: Pericles' Funeral Oration." EBSCO Research Starters, 2021. Zuckerberg, Donna. "The Clothes Make the Man: Aristophanes and the Ragged Hero in Euripides’ Helen." Classical Philology, vol. 111, no. 3, July 2016, pp. 21-34. The University of Chicago Press: Journals, https://doi.org/10.1086/687244.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 8, 2025

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Aristophanes' Clouds

0:00 45:21

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Read This Today?

This episode is 45 minutes long.

When was this Read This Today episode published?

This episode was published on July 8, 2025.

Can I download this Read This Today episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!