of the war, and he planned to visit the gods, and ask them to end it.
‘Pegasus flying to heaven was serious,’ said Philippus. ‘This is farcical.’
‘Exactly!’ cried Aristophanes. ‘But I’m not really getting it from your performance. Try pulling on your phallus a little more when you’re steering. Get it waving around so the audience can see it.’
He left Philippus muttering about the time he’d been the lead actor in
Oedipus
, and what a mistake it had been to ever get involved with the crude comedies of Aristophanes.
‘He’s always the same,’ said Aristophanes to his assistant. ‘Always wants to be taken seriously.’
‘He’ll be fine once the crowd starts applauding. That always works like magic. Did you manage to squeeze any more money out of our choregos?’
‘I’m afraid not. Antimachus won’t cough up.’
Hermogenes shook his head. He was a few years older than Aristophanes, and he’d been in the theatre all his life. ‘It’s unusual for a producer to starve his production of funds. Being chosen as choregos is meant to be an honour.’
‘That’s what I told him, but it was no use. He’s still annoyed because I mildly lampooned him on stage.’
‘You grossly insulted him,’ said Hermogenes.
‘I wasn’t to know he had no sense of humour. I’ve grossly insulted most important men in the city, they don’t normally hold a grudge.
‘Kleon prosecuted you.’
Aristophanes scowled. That had been quite an affair. The leader of the pro-war faction had taken his revenge by prosecuting him for impiety. The playwright had been fined, and it could have been worse.
‘I’m sorry to say this about a fellow Athenian citizen, but I was relieved when he was killed last year.’
‘You weren’t the only one,’ said Hermogenes.
Many people thought that with Kleon gone, it might be easier to bring the war to an end, particularly as Brasidas, the Spartan war-leader, had also died in battle.
‘I really thought we’d make peace when they were both killed,’ said Aristophanes. ‘It was a great opportunity. But there seems to be no limit on how foolish the citizens of Athens can be. Kleon was a warmonger but Hyperbolus is even worse. Why do people listen to these demagogues?’
They paused for a while to watch the chorus go through the dance steps that introduced the last act of the play. Aristophanes had choreographed a very funny sequence involving a lot of phallus twirling, none of which seemed to be working out very well. The chorus was often a problem. They weren’t professionals, just honest citizens recruited for the festival. It often took some time to whip them into shape.
‘I think there’s more to it than just Antimachus hating me. He told me that certain important people don’t want me writing a play that promotes peace.’
‘I can guess who these certain important people are.’ Hermogenes frowned as two members of the chorus got their dance steps wrong and collided with each other. ‘Are you sure you want to insult Hyperbolus in this play? He’ll be in the audience with his supporters. It could lead to trouble.’
‘Hyperbolus is scum. He needs to be insulted.’
‘I wouldn’t exactly say that he was scum,’ said Hermogenes.
‘I can’t believe you’re still defending him!’ cried Aristophanes.
‘I come from a family of sailors. We’ve always supported the democratic faction.’
‘Can’t you see he’s nothing more than a self-serving loudmouth?’
‘I can see that he helped distribute food to the poor when the rich men of Athens weren’t doing much to help.’
Aristophanes and Hermogenes glared at each other. The argument might have gone further had not both realised that the last thing they needed was more friction in the rehearsal room.
‘Just keep me out of the court case. I have four children to support.’
Aristophanes didn’t know Hermogenes had four children. He had a vague memory he might have been at the birth celebrations for
‘Pegasus flying to heaven was serious,’ said Philippus. ‘This is farcical.’
‘Exactly!’ cried Aristophanes. ‘But I’m not really getting it from your performance. Try pulling on your phallus a little more when you’re steering. Get it waving around so the audience can see it.’
He left Philippus muttering about the time he’d been the lead actor in
Oedipus
, and what a mistake it had been to ever get involved with the crude comedies of Aristophanes.
‘He’s always the same,’ said Aristophanes to his assistant. ‘Always wants to be taken seriously.’
‘He’ll be fine once the crowd starts applauding. That always works like magic. Did you manage to squeeze any more money out of our choregos?’
‘I’m afraid not. Antimachus won’t cough up.’
Hermogenes shook his head. He was a few years older than Aristophanes, and he’d been in the theatre all his life. ‘It’s unusual for a producer to starve his production of funds. Being chosen as choregos is meant to be an honour.’
‘That’s what I told him, but it was no use. He’s still annoyed because I mildly lampooned him on stage.’
‘You grossly insulted him,’ said Hermogenes.
‘I wasn’t to know he had no sense of humour. I’ve grossly insulted most important men in the city, they don’t normally hold a grudge.
‘Kleon prosecuted you.’
Aristophanes scowled. That had been quite an affair. The leader of the pro-war faction had taken his revenge by prosecuting him for impiety. The playwright had been fined, and it could have been worse.
‘I’m sorry to say this about a fellow Athenian citizen, but I was relieved when he was killed last year.’
‘You weren’t the only one,’ said Hermogenes.
Many people thought that with Kleon gone, it might be easier to bring the war to an end, particularly as Brasidas, the Spartan war-leader, had also died in battle.
‘I really thought we’d make peace when they were both killed,’ said Aristophanes. ‘It was a great opportunity. But there seems to be no limit on how foolish the citizens of Athens can be. Kleon was a warmonger but Hyperbolus is even worse. Why do people listen to these demagogues?’
They paused for a while to watch the chorus go through the dance steps that introduced the last act of the play. Aristophanes had choreographed a very funny sequence involving a lot of phallus twirling, none of which seemed to be working out very well. The chorus was often a problem. They weren’t professionals, just honest citizens recruited for the festival. It often took some time to whip them into shape.
‘I think there’s more to it than just Antimachus hating me. He told me that certain important people don’t want me writing a play that promotes peace.’
‘I can guess who these certain important people are.’ Hermogenes frowned as two members of the chorus got their dance steps wrong and collided with each other. ‘Are you sure you want to insult Hyperbolus in this play? He’ll be in the audience with his supporters. It could lead to trouble.’
‘Hyperbolus is scum. He needs to be insulted.’
‘I wouldn’t exactly say that he was scum,’ said Hermogenes.
‘I can’t believe you’re still defending him!’ cried Aristophanes.
‘I come from a family of sailors. We’ve always supported the democratic faction.’
‘Can’t you see he’s nothing more than a self-serving loudmouth?’
‘I can see that he helped distribute food to the poor when the rich men of Athens weren’t doing much to help.’
Aristophanes and Hermogenes glared at each other. The argument might have gone further had not both realised that the last thing they needed was more friction in the rehearsal room.
‘Just keep me out of the court case. I have four children to support.’
Aristophanes didn’t know Hermogenes had four children. He had a vague memory he might have been at the birth celebrations for
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