Page:The Theatre of the Greeks, a Treatise on the History and Exhibition of the Greek Drama, with Various Supplements.djvu/208

 190 ARISTOPHANES. miicli vexed by the dearth of good tragic poets smce the death of Sophocles and Euripides, is resolved to go down to Hades and bring up one of the great departed, if possible Earipides, for whom, as a representative of the popular taste, he professes a warm admi- ration. Accordingly he equips himself for the adventure in the costume of Hercules, and, after a brief interview with his heroic brother, he and his servant Xanthias proceed on their journey to the other world; the god has to take an oar in Charon's boat, while the slave runs round the Stygian pool and meets him on the other side. The chorus, which had performed the croaking of the in- visible Frogs during the short voyage, appears as a band of happy souls duly initiated into sacred mysteries. After many ludicrous and entertaining incidents, Bacchus and his attendant are admitted into the halls of Pluto, and the God of the drama is appointed judge in the contest, which has arisen between ^schylus, the occupant of the tragic throne in the lower world, and Euripides, w^ho, as a new-comer, had laid claim to it, although the good-natured Sopho- cles had accepted the existing state of things. The God of the drama makes this contest work into his own scheme for resusci- tating one of the great tragedians, and he promises to take back with him to Athens whichever of the two competitors shall gain the victory. The unfavourable opinion, which Aristophanes every- where expresses respecting the dramatic merits of Euripides, could not have left his audience in any doubt as to the results of, a com- parison, which he undertook to make, between the great founder of Greek Tragedy, and the rhetorical poet, who had so entirely altered its character. Accordingly, ^schylus is carried back to the city, where his Tragedies were still alive ; for he is made to say, with considerable humour, that his poetry had not died with him, and that Euripides, who had brought his works down to Hades, was better prepared for the literary contests The exhibition of the Frocks was speedily followed by the battle of ^Egis-Potami, the fall of Athens, and the subversion of the de- mocracy. For some years there was no possibility for any display of the literary genius of such a poet as Aristophanes, and we do not 1 vv. 866 sqq. : At. i^ovKbfirjv fxeu ouk epl^eiv ip6d8e' ovK €^ icrov yap iariv d7cbi' j/yf. At. Ti dai; At. ort 7} TToirjCLS ovyl avvTidurjKe fioi, Toi'Tcp 5e T(OuriK€u, cSad' e|et eyeiu.