Aristophanes' Clouds Summary and Analysis

Aristophanes, unlike Plato, is not sympathetic to Socrates. He is Athens' greatest satirist, and portrays Socrates in such a way as to mock him. In the Clouds, Aristophanes has Socrates claims that Zeus does not exist, advocate new 'cloud-goddesses' to Athens and tell a young man that beating one's father and incest are legitimate. The accusation is that Socrates is an atheist, believes in others gods, and is responsible for the corruption of the youth - charges that will later be seriously repeated against Socrates in the Apology. Aristophanes is on the side of Athens.

The plot of the Clouds is as follows. Socrates meets Strepsiades. Strepsiades, an Athenian elder, has a son whose self-indulgence has nearly destroyed him financially. He wants Socrates' aid in making a weak speech and argument stronger, and so enters the Socrates 'thinkery'. Strepsiades...