The Birds is a comic play by the Greek playwright Aristophanes.

This volume is the first edition with commentary since 1907 of Aristophanes' last surviving play, in which, as so often before, an audacious and imaginative hero finds a miraculous remedy for the all-too-real ills of the contemporary world ...

This classic comedy — from the 5th century BC — concerns the vow of Greek women to withhold sex from their husbands until the men agree to end the disastrous wars between Athens and Sparta.

As such, the work holds a revered place within both the literary and philosophical canons, pioneering the 'comedy of ideas' genre with dexterity and acumen.

Lysistrata by Aristophanes is a comedic masterpiece set against the backdrop of the Peloponnesian War.

Collected here are all 11 of his surviving plays-newly translated by the distinguished poet and translator Paul Roche.

Presents translations of three satirical plays along with information on staging, history, religious practice, myths, and issues raised by each play.