The Knights Summary

The Knights is a satire and indictment of Athenian Democracy at the time of the play. Like Acharnians, The Knights is symbolic and self-referential.

The Play begins with two slaves, Demosthenes and Nicias, complaining of a recent beating they received from their master Demos. In reality, Demosthenes and Nicias were Athenian generals and 'Demos' means, in Greek, the people, that is, the ultimate authority in the Athenian democracy. Demosthenes and Nicias were beaten because of the lies of their fellow slave Cleon, also called Paphlagon. At the time Cleon was a democratic leader of Athens, very influential and popular. The two men decide to get drunk and steal some wine while discussing how bad Cleon/Paphlagon is. The two men, now drunk, decide to take a look at what the oracles say about Cleon. They find that, according to the oracles...