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slavery and social status - Coggle Diagram
slavery and social status
development of slave characters
the slaves of Wasps and Acharnians in the 420s remain void of agency or even totally anonymous
the slaves of Wasps (Sosias and Xanthias) fade into the background following the opening scene
in these plays, slaves may partake in plans and plots, but they never plan them
they simply serve their masters
in Acharnians, the girls sold as slaves are referred to as 'porkers' and forced to 'oink' - just used as sexual meat
the girls are sold for a bunch of garlic and two pints of salt
Xanthias of Frogs establishes some individuality
Frogs concerns the blurring of identities between slave and master
the opening scene shows Xanthias riding the horse whilst his master, Dionysus, walks alongside him. Reversed roles
informed by the recent battle of Arginusae (406) in which slaves fought, to gain citizenship
the contemporary events of Arginusae provoked further questioning on the tangible differences between slave and citizen
Carion of Wealth from 388BC symbolises a main character with initiative and influence
performs on stage more than twice as long as anyone else, including his master Chremylus
In the last third of the play Carion and Chremylus alternate as the individuals receiving the new arrivals at the household, as if they are of equal status and ownership
Thucydides reports the mass desertion of slaves following the Spartan fortification of Decelea (413-404), in which over twenty thousand Athenian slaves fled
Consequently, this rendered the remaining slaves in Attica more valuable and harder to replace, thereby facilitating an increase in their agency and control
he says
'you just dare!'
to Chremylus in the prologue of the play
however, he is aware of his position as a slave:
'I am going to take bread and meat; and when I have fed well, I shall resume my work'
Paphlagonian
of course, the paphlagonian has agency and influence, as he affects the lives of his fellow slaves, and manipulates his master
but he is not a usual slave, he serves to represent Cleon, and to dramatically undermine the power of Demos
the household of the Knights is representative of the Athenian state, so whilst the Paphlagonian is a slave, he does not have to follow this strict representation
part of the humour of knights must actually come from the fact that a slave, like the paphlagonian, could have such power
also it is humorous to characterise cleon as a slave, insulting
'fell at his feet, licked his boots'
'taking bribes, blackmailing people'
'he bestrides the world'
morality of the elite/criticism of the elite
Ari presents some of the slaves as immoral, Demosthenes and Nicias of Knights drink 'neat wine' on the clock
wine should be mixed with water to prevent exaggerated drunken effects, so this demonstrates a lack of self-restraint
signifier of a lower-class that is not privy to events like the symposium
Demos
an elite character, as the master of a household
presented as an idiot from the outset
'as dyspeptic a deaf old man as you have ever met'
he is old and decrepit
however, he represents the Athenian population, or demos, and so undermining his power and intelligence is an abuse not only of the elite, but the general Athenians
at the end of the play, he realises his mistakes in trusting the Paphlagonian, but his transformation is not absolute
indeed, he is still money-hungry
the sausage-seller asks him what he would do if told, if you dont convinct this person, you wont get paid
demos, without hesitation, opts to 'chuck' the man into a 'grave', just to get the money
he still gives in to his sexual desires
the sausage-seller presents him with a boy, who he is taken with
along with two 'thirty-year peace treaties' (two girls) who he plans to give 'a bit of the old thirty years'
this shows that Aristophanes is still criticising his morality at the end of the play, as nothing much has changed in the household, with the sausage-seller merely replacing the paphlagonian
Council of Knights
in the courts, the sausage-seller mentions the low price of sardines
'by nah the cahncil were all on their feet, shahting ‘Sardines! Sardines!”
sardines, and fish generally, are representative of self-indulgence, greed and thus corruption
For example, in Frogs, when Dionysus is attempting to appear poor through his clothes, he exposes himself when he goes to shop at a fish-stall
fish can thus be symbolic of bribes and embezzled funds
that the council is so obsessed with sardines demonstrates their poor morality and susceptibility to corruption
the council was chosen by lot, but it is evident that this is slightly rigged - wealthy and influential men and their relatives appeared frequently in the 'random' selection
therefore this is a criticism of the both the elite and the masses
Old Oligarch
believes that the poor have poor morality
'that they everywhere assign more to the worst persons, to the poor'
'among the people there is a maximum of ignorance, disorder, and wickedness; for poverty draws them rather to disgraceful actions'
he also claims that comedy abuses only the elites
'They do not permit the people to be ill spoken of in comedy...but if anyone wants to attack private persons, they bid him do so, knowing perfectly well that the person...is a person of either wealth, high birth, or influence'
money and materialism
Wasps
the parados depicts the impoverished livelihoods of the chorus
'i have to buy porridge and firewood and meat for the three of us, all out of my jury pay'
'how, in that case, are we to feed ourselves'
the jurors are paid a
'pittance'
the elite are criticised by Ari for taking too much money for themselves
'overpaid executive posts'
Knights
at the end of the play, Demos is tested on his new policies
the sausage-seller asks him what he would do if told,
if you dont convinct this person, you wont get paid
demos, without hesitation, opts to 'chuck' the man into a 'grave', just to get the money