Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesNorsePlacesPlanetsAll Myths
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources
Olympians
Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesNorsePlacesPlanetsAll Myths
Plays
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources

Aristophanes · c. 446-386 BC

Birds

Ὄρνιθες
Ancient Sources / Aristophanes / Birds

Read our guide to Birds. Birds was produced at the City Dionysia of 414 BC, the year after the Athenian fleet sailed for Sicily, and won second prize. Two Athenians, Peisthetaerus and Euelpides, weary of the law-courts and the taxes of their city, go to find the Hoopoe, who was once a man, and persuade the birds to build a city in the air that will starve the gods of their sacrifices. The sections follow the play's dramatic units and keep the standard line numbers of the Greek text.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 27 passages, about 16300 words in English.
Translator
Benjamin Bickley Rogers (1906)
Edition
Greek text: F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds.), Aristophanis Comoediae, Oxford Classical Texts, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906-1907, as digitised by Perseus. English: Benjamin Bickley Rogers, The Birds of Aristophanes, London: George Bell and Sons, 1906
Cite as
Aristophanes, Birds 1 (by line number)

Contents · 27 passages

  1. 1–74Prologue: Euelpides and Peisthetaerus look for the Hoopoe718 words
  2. 75–159Episode: the Hoopoe appears; the two men ask for a restful city815 words
  3. 160–213Episode: Peisthetaerus proposes a city of the birds458 words
  4. 214–262Song: the Hoopoe and the Nightingale call the birds442 words
  5. 263–327Parodos: the birds arrive one by one691 words
  6. 328–445Episode: the birds attack, then agree to listen1007 words
  7. 446–540Agon: Peisthetaerus tells the birds that they once ruled the world1207 words
  8. 541–588Agon: the plan for a wall in the air and a blockade of the gods721 words
  9. 589–627Agon: what the birds can give to men449 words
  10. 628–681Episode: the birds accept; the Nightingale appears571 words
  11. 682–722Parabasis: Chaos, Love and the birth of the birds614 words
  12. 723–797Parabasis: the birds invite the audience to a bird's life648 words
  13. 798–861Episode: the new wings; the city is named Cloudcuckoobury547 words
  14. 862–958Episode: the sacrifice and the Poet710 words
  15. 959–1019bEpisode: the Oracle-monger and Meton607 words
  16. 1020–1067Episode: the Commissioner and the Statute-seller are driven off390 words
  17. 1068–1119Choral song: the birds' proclamation and their promises to the judges477 words
  18. 1120–1189Episode: the Messenger reports the wall; a Guard reports an intruder545 words
  19. 1190–1279Episode: Iris is stopped at the wall766 words
  20. 1280–1334Episode: the Herald from men; the wings are brought out443 words
  21. 1335–1376Episode: the young man who wants to beat his father366 words
  22. 1377–1443Episode: Cinesias and the Informer ask for wings591 words
  23. 1444–1492Episode: the Informer is sent off with a whip; the Chorus sing of their travels341 words
  24. 1493–1560Episode: Prometheus warns Peisthetaerus536 words
  25. 1561–1635bEpisode: the embassy of Poseidon, Heracles and the Triballian674 words
  26. 1636–1701Episode: Heracles is won over; the vote on the sceptre540 words
  27. 1702–1765Exodos: the wedding of Peisthetaerus and Sovereignty446 words

More by Aristophanes

English translation by Benjamin Bickley Rogers (1906). Original text: Greek text: F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds.), Aristophanis Comoediae, Oxford Classical Texts, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906-1907, as digitised by Perseus. English: Benjamin Bickley Rogers, The Birds of Aristophanes, London: George Bell and Sons, 1906.

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, Greek: CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain (Rogers). Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.