The Birds
Aristophanes
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Two Athenians, lead by a crow and a jay sold to them as guides, have walked a long way away from their homeland because they’re fed up with its constant lawsuits. Finding the noble Epops, a talking hoopoe bird, they hatch a plan to join the birds in building a new city in the clouds where society will be better. The city, though, floating as it does in the sky, stops the smoke of the burnt sacrifices on the ground from reaching the gods in the heavens, and incurs their wrath.
The Birds, written in 414 BC, has most of Aristophanes’ common tropes: satire of the famous figures of Athens, puns and wordplay, and an unbelievable scenario. It’s regularly performed to this day, but its biggest impact in modern times is probably its contribution to the English language of the phrase “cloud cuckoo land,” a direct translation of the name the birds give their floating city.
This edition of The Birds is based on the unattributed translation and numerous annotations first published by The Athenian Society in 1912.
This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.
Two Athenians, lead by a crow and a jay sold to them as guides, have walked a long way away from their homeland because they’re fed up with its constant lawsuits. Finding the noble Epops, a talking hoopoe bird, they hatch a plan to join the birds in building a new city in the clouds where society...
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