Aristophanes

"The Clouds" is a comedy written by the celebrated playwright Aristophanes lampooning intellectual fashions in classical Athens. "The Clouds" was originally produced at the City Dionysia in 423 BC and it was not well received, coming last of the three plays competing at the festival that year. It was revised between 420-417 BC and thereafter it was circulated in manuscript form. "The Clouds" can be considered not only the world's first extant 'comedy of ideas' but also a brilliant and successful example of that genre. The play gained notoriety for its caricature of the philosopher Socrates ever since its mention in Plato's Apology as a factor contributing to the old man's trial and execution. The most controversial of Aristophanes' plays, "The Clouds" it is a brilliant caricature of the philosopher Socrates, seen as a wily sophist who teaches men to cheat through cunning argument.