Xanthias: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 02:33, 22 November 2007

Xanthias refers to several characters, notably all slaves, who appear in plays by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes.

In The Frogs, Xanthias is the slave of Dionysus. He delivers the opening line of the play, riding on Dionysus' donkey and debating with Dionysus about what jokes Xanthias can make. He and Dionysus trade barbs throughout the play, with Xanthias generally coming out on top. When they cross the Acheron, Xanthias is forced to carry the luggage around the lake because he was unable to participate in the Battle of Arginusae, allegedly due to pinkeye. In the underworld, Xanthias is forced by Dionysus to trade attire three times, to comedic effect - when Dionysus is dressed as Heracles, he is threatened by Aeacus, the hostess, and a maid, while Xanthias as Heracles is welcomed joyfully by another maid. Xanthias also manages to trick Aeacus into whipping both him and Dionysus to avoid having monsters set upon him. Once the confusion about master and slave is sorted out, Xanthias converses with Aeacus about ways they secretly rebel against their masters.

Other appearances

The Clouds, as Strepsiades' slave
a slave in The Birds
slave ordered to hold phallus upright in The Acharnians^[1]

^ Names and Naming in Aristophanic Comedy S. Douglas Olson. The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 42, No. 2. (1992), pp. 304-319. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-8388%281992%292%3A42%3A2%3C304%3ANANIAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T

[1] Names and Naming in Aristophanic Comedy S. Douglas Olson. The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 42, No. 2. (1992), pp. 304-319. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-8388%281992%292%3A42%3A2%3C304%3ANANIAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T

[1]

Revision as of 02:31, 22 November 2007 edit Cyucheng (talk \| contribs) 72 edits ←Created page with ''''Xanthias''' is a character who appears in several plays by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. In ''The Frogs'', Xanthias is the slave of [[D...'		Revision as of 02:33, 22 November 2007 edit undo Cyucheng (talk \| contribs) 72 edits No edit summary Next edit →
Line 1:		Line 1:
	'''Xanthias''' is a ~~character~~ who ~~appears~~ in ~~several~~ plays by the [[Ancient Greek]] playwright [[Aristophanes]].		'''Xanthias''' refers to several characters, notably all slaves, who appear in plays by the [[Ancient Greek]] playwright [[Aristophanes]].

	In ''[[The Frogs]]'', Xanthias is the slave of [[Dionysus]]. He delivers the opening line of the play, riding on Dionysus' donkey and debating with Dionysus about what jokes Xanthias can make. He and Dionysus trade barbs throughout the play, with Xanthias generally coming out on top. When they cross the [[Acheron]], Xanthias is forced to carry the luggage around the lake because he was unable to participate in the [[Battle of Arginusae]], allegedly due to [[conjunctivitis\|pinkeye]]. In the underworld, Xanthias is forced by Dionysus to trade attire three times, to comedic effect - when Dionysus is dressed as [[Heracles]], he is threatened by [[Aeacus]], the hostess, and a maid, while Xanthias as Heracles is welcomed joyfully by another maid. Xanthias also manages to trick Aeacus into whipping both him and Dionysus to avoid having monsters set upon him. Once the confusion about master and slave is sorted out, Xanthias converses with Aeacus about ways they secretly rebel against their masters.		In ''[[The Frogs]]'', Xanthias is the slave of [[Dionysus]]. He delivers the opening line of the play, riding on Dionysus' donkey and debating with Dionysus about what jokes Xanthias can make. He and Dionysus trade barbs throughout the play, with Xanthias generally coming out on top. When they cross the [[Acheron]], Xanthias is forced to carry the luggage around the lake because he was unable to participate in the [[Battle of Arginusae]], allegedly due to [[conjunctivitis\|pinkeye]]. In the underworld, Xanthias is forced by Dionysus to trade attire three times, to comedic effect - when Dionysus is dressed as [[Heracles]], he is threatened by [[Aeacus]], the hostess, and a maid, while Xanthias as Heracles is welcomed joyfully by another maid. Xanthias also manages to trick Aeacus into whipping both him and Dionysus to avoid having monsters set upon him. Once the confusion about master and slave is sorted out, Xanthias converses with Aeacus about ways they secretly rebel against their masters.