Aristophanes was a Greek comedy writer born during the year 444 BC in the famous city of Athens.
Throughout his life Aristophanes wrote many great works but unfortunately today only 11 of them survive. Some of his most notable works were, for example: The Clouds, The Birds or The Frogs, the latter being an elegant satire against the famous tragic poet Euripides.
Great phrases from Aristophanes, the Greek comedic author
Would you like to know some of his most notable phrases? Below you can enjoy the 75 best phrases of Aristophanes , a Greek comedy genius that you should definitely know. We bring you closer to the figure of this comedian through his famous quotes.
The power of language greatly reinforces the potential of human beings.
2. Allow each human to practice the art they master.
Being able to live life our way is something we all wish we could do.
3. The homeland of every man is the country where he lives best.
Our native country will always find a space in our hearts.
4. Everyone knows that old men are twice children.
As we get older, certain things that seemed important during other stages simply stop being important.
5. Distrust is the mother of security.
Distrust gives us the opportunity to be more cautious.
6. There is nothing in the world worse than a woman, except another woman.
As we see in this quote, Aristophanes had great distrust of the female gender. Do you think this was justified?
7. A man, even if he has gray hair, will always get a wife; but the woman has little time.
Since ancient times, women have been victims of a society where men had great decision-making power and they were forced to take a second and undeserved place.
8. No one can make a crab walk straight.
Certain people will not change their lifestyle no matter how much we do for them.
9. Guiding the people is not something of a cultured man or of good principles, but rather of an ignorant and scoundrel.
Since the beginning of history, leaders have commonly been known more for their mistakes than for their successes.
10. Evil events come from evil causes.
Every great evil act is undoubtedly given by an evil cause that has made it possible.
11. There is no truly honest man, none of us is free from the desire for profit.
The desire for profit is something that has always greatly influenced human beings, greed is an evil that we should all banish.
12. Blind humans, similar to the light leaf, impotent creatures made of flimsy clay, miserable mortals who, deprived of wings, spend your fleeting life as vain shadows or lying dreams.
Without a doubt, human beings could be much better than they currently are, but it is our fault and our own actions that this is not the case.
13. Wise men learn a lot from their enemies.
Our enemies give us the excellent opportunity to know our weakest points, we must learn from them and subsequently solve them.
14. Do you really believe in gods? -I do. -In what you base? —Because they hate me. Isn’t that a credible indication?
We have all thought at some point that luck, without a doubt, is not with us. Do you consider yourself lucky people?
15. Love is, consequently, the name for the desire and search for wholeness.
Love is something that human beings have been searching for thousands of years and that very few of us have ever really found.
16. Educating men is not like filling a glass, it is like lighting a fire.
In order to properly educate a boy or girl, we must encourage and cultivate the search for knowledge in them.
17. Under every stone there is a politician lurking.
Politicians were, for Aristophanes, a type of person whom he did not have a great appreciation for.
18. Virtue comes to light in adversity.
Adversities are the opportunities that life gives us, to be able to shine with our maximum splendor. These should create in us a feeling of improvement, not resignation.
19. You must be an oarsman before taking the helm, having been at the bow and observed the winds before steering the ship.
Experience will allow us in the future to be able to develop a higher position with greater success.
20. Women are the best thing in life, but also the bitterest part.
A love-hate relationship with the female sex.
21. It is not possible to live with these damn women, but not without them either.
Man has always sought the company of women, it is something innate in all of us.
22. Words on horseback.
Words can sometimes be faster than thoughts.
23. Man is the only animal that hurts his partner.
In the animal kingdom, no animal except man premeditatedly attacks his own partner. Gender violence is an evil that society must put an end to.
24. A single plate is not enough to feed two thieves.
He who is capable of harming a third party in order to enrich himself will never feel satisfied with what he has.
25. One swallow does not make a summer.
A small sign does not necessarily mean that a big change has occurred.
26. Open your mouth and close your eyes, and see how much Zeus will send you.
As can be seen in this funny phrase, Aristophanes was not a religious man.
27. There is more truth in poetry than in history.
Poetry reveals to us the experiences and emotions of third parties from whom we can learn to not fall into the same mistake.
28. Oh, Menander, and your human life! Which of the two has copied the other?
A person’s life may often not be what it seems and trying to seem like what we really are not will end up bringing us more than one disappointment.
29. Shrines! Shrines! Surely you don’t believe in gods. Where are your arguments? Where is your evidence?
A great quote from Aristophanes in which we can see that the lack of concrete evidence inevitably led him to atheism.
30. Youth passes, immaturity is overcome, ignorance is cured with education, and drunkenness with sobriety, but stupidity lasts forever.
A stupid person has a big problem that is really difficult to solve, since there is no education that can really correct this deficiency.
31. It is through enemies, not friends, that cities learn to build high walls.
When we are attacked by third parties, that is when we learn the value of self-defense, we must be prepared for any possible situation.
32. For children, education is the school teacher. For young people, he is the poet.
When we reach a certain age, poetry can be a good source of experiences to learn from.
33. Nothing is more cowardly than wealth.
Those people who accumulate great wealth would never want to find themselves in a situation where they could lose it.
34. Even if you convince me, you won’t convince me.
Certain ways of thinking will always remain with us throughout our lives.
35. An actor must refine the taste of the audience.
The quality of an art can allow its target audience to refine their own tastes.
36. One should not try to deceive misfortune, but rather resign oneself to it with good grace.
We all go through emotional or social ups and downs, we must learn from them and let them pass on their own.
37. Do not discuss words with your father, nor treat him like a pointer, nor reproach the old man for loving him at his age.
Knowing how to maintain a healthy relationship with our fellow human beings will allow us to live a much calmer life.
38. There is no art where there is no fee.
The artist has always been completely obedient to the desires of the powerful, because the artist also has to eat in order to live.
39. A multitude of rogues enjoy the blessings they have earned through sheer injustice, while the most honest people are miserable and starving.
The society in which we live is not as fair as it really should be, since the person who shows mischief benefits in most cases.
40. It often happens that less depends on the courage of an army than on the skill of the leader.
Leaders largely decide the fate of their followers, we must carefully consider which people we choose to follow.
41. A slave is nothing more than half a man.
Slaves in ancient times were not considered real people, they were often used as simple objects.
42. What unexpected things undoubtedly happen in a long life!
Throughout our entire lives, we always learn new things and will evolve as individuals.
43. It is the compelling power of great thoughts and ideas to generate sentences of equal size.
In order to be able to recite a great phrase, a great thought must serve as inspiration.
44. Poverty, the most fearsome monster that has ever breathed.
Poverty is an evil that has always plagued all of humanity, in the 21st century, we must undoubtedly put an end to it.
45. Wealth, the most excellent of all gods.
Wealth can allow us to live the life we ​​have always dreamed of, but even if we have it, happiness is not guaranteed.
46. ​​The love of wine is the failure of a good man.
Alcoholism is something that has always haunted man since the beginning of civilization, we must not fall into it if we want to lead a productive life.
47. Do you dare to accuse the wine of clouding the motive? Cite me effects more wonderful than those of wine. Look! When a man drinks, he is rich, everything he touches is successful, he wins lawsuits, he is happy and he helps his friends. Come, bring here a jug of wine quickly, so that I can soak my brain and get a clever idea.
As we see in this quote, Aristophanes was undoubtedly a great wine drinker, something very common among the nobility of antiquity.
48. There is no beast, nor blast of fire, like such an untamed woman. She calmly goes down the path where even panthers would be ashamed.
Women were seen, in the eyes of men, as a being they did not really understand. Aristophanes spoke about the relationship he had with them on more than one occasion.
49. It is in bad taste for a poet to be rough and hairy.
Physical appearance was something that was always taken care of in Ancient Greece.
50. Women, you overheated dipsomaniacs, never miss an opportunity to prepare a drink, a great blessing for the waiters, but a nightmare for us, Not to mention our crockery and our wool!
Women and alcoholism were without a doubt two great constants in the life of this famous Athenian comedian.
51. A man should be able to endure any disaster for the sake of his country.
Regardless of the time in which we find ourselves, wars between nations have always been a constant in people’s lives.
52. Invoking only the weakest arguments and yet succeeding is an art worth more than a hundred thousand drachmas.
Being skilled at debating can allow us to obtain many personal victories, it is a quality that in modern life is essential in our daily lives.
53. We should not warn a willful sinner; We will not stop him, but let him follow his course, until misfortunes awaken, his conscience will awaken and prompt him to appease the offended gods.
It is better to learn certain things through your own experience, otherwise we would never understand how they work.
54. Prayers without wine are perfectly useless.
In this funny quote, once again Aristophanes tells us about wine and its many benefits.
55. A woman is an expert in obtaining money for herself and will not be easily deceived; she understands deception too well herself.
Women, like men, can master the art of deception very well.
56. Mix and knead the entire state business like you do your sausages. To win over people, always cook them with something tasty that they like.
To be able to manipulate a society much better, we must distract it with what it likes most.
57. Ah, the generals! They are numerous, but they are not good for much!
As we can guess, this famous writer was not a great lover of war issues.
58. Don’t take a blind guide.
Knowing how to choose our advisors will allow us to achieve our objectives.
59. An ancient tradition declares that every idiotic error that we pass into law will, sooner or later, redound to the benefit of Athens.
In other words: laws only serve to raise money for the state. Do you think the same way as Aristophanes?
60. If a man owes me money, I never seem to forget it. But if I do what I must, somehow I never remember.
Memory can be somewhat selective depending on what situation we find ourselves in, this is something that many of us can experience.
61. A fox is subtlety itself.
The figure of the fox in literature effectively represents the same subtlety, an extremely graceful as well as fast animal.
62. You can have nothing more to say: you have spilled every drop of what you know.
Talking more than necessary can get us into more than one problem, this is something that we should all avoid in our personal lives.
63. Today things are better than yesterday.
Improving in our daily lives is something we should all aspire to.
64. An insult directed at the wicked should not be censured; On the contrary, the honest man, if it makes sense, can only applaud.
It is better not to give a bad comment to someone who does not act in the correct way, but on the contrary we should highly value someone who deserves it for their actions.
65. I would treat it like an egg, whose shell we remove before eating it; She would take off my mask and then I would kiss her pretty face.
In order to fall in love, we must show our loved one how we really are.
66. A truce for idle phrases!
In any great intellectual discussion, a good break is always necessary to be able to talk about other things.
67. It is right that he who does good should be happy, that the wicked and impious, on the other hand, should be miserable; That is a truth, I believe, that no one is going to make fun of.
Without a doubt, in this way that Aristophanes tells us, society would be much fairer but it is also something that, unfortunately, is not usually fulfilled in real life.
68. Times change. The vices of your age are elegant today.
Times indeed change and generations also change their ways of acting.
69. You shouldn’t decide until you’ve heard what they both have to say.
A very wise advice that we should all internalize, we must not fall into false appearances.
70. Love is simply the name of desire and the search for everything.
Love is something that has always largely determined the lives of men, its search has always been present since the beginning of time.
71. You possess all the attributes of a demagogue; A screech, a horrible voice, a perverse and distorted nature and the language of the market. In you everything is united, which is necessary to govern.
In this curious way, Aristophanes tells us about rulers, beings who, seen from their particular point of view, are curious to say the least.
72. Look at the orators in our republics; as long as they are poor, both the state and the people can only praise their righteousness; but once fattened with public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, plan intrigues against the people and attack democracy.
Power and wealth can undoubtedly influence certain people, we should not make the same mistake that others made.
73. If you come across a thought that baffles you, let go of that tangle and try another one, your brain will be fresh to start again.
We should not give too much thought to problems that may not have a solution, as this will only waste time and effort.
74. The truth is imposed on us, very quickly, by an enemy.
The truth is something that we cannot avoid forever, in the end it will find us and reveal itself in its fullness.
75. People knew, even if all the laws were abolished, they would still lead the same life.
Living a calm and orderly life is something that we should all do, because in order to live in harmony we all need to carry a certain righteousness.
