Aristophanes (445-380 BC) - Greek comic playwright who wrote in the style
known as Old Comedy, a free and farcical form that allowed him to ridicule
the public figures and institutions of his time. Despite difficulties in
translation, most of his sharp-witted humor still comes through today.
The Birds (414 BC) - Widely considered Aristophanes' best work, this comedy
tells of two fugitive Athenians persuading the birds to form a new city in
the clouds, Nephelococcygia ("Cloudcuckooland").
