EPISODE 90 - AESCHYLUS
PIP
This episode is dedicated to Jason Woods who was the first person to successfully upload themselves to a personal computer. Unfortunately, this breakthrough could not be celebrated as the computer swiftly crashed and Jason could not be retrieved. Or so it seems. We actually made him reappear as a linguist, working with NASA to facilitate communication between humans and extraterrestrial life forms. Thanks to Jason, and thank you to all our patrons who chip in to allow us to keep telling stories. Enjoy the episode.
PROLOGUE.
ATHENS (456 BC)
SINGING, STAMPING, DRUMMING, DANCING, HUGGING, LOVING, FIGHTING.
WE'RE IN ATHENS, CAUGHT IN THE MIDST OF A PARADE TO MARK THE OPENING OF THE CITY DIONYSIA.
THE INTERVIEWER AND KOZLOWSKI ARE SWEPT ALONG ON A WAVE OF RIOTOUS NOISE. KOZLOWSKI IS HAVING AN AMAZING TIME. THE INTERVIEWER… NOT SO MUCH.
INTERVIEWER
Cover me in snakes and call me a Gorgon! Where have you brought me?
KOZLOWSKI
Athens!
INTERVIEWER
I know we're in Athens! I mean what is all this -
(A LARGE AMPHORA OF WINE IS EMPTIED OVER THE INTERVIEWER'S HEAD)
INTERVIEWER
(SQUEALS) What just - ?
KOZLOWSKI
Keep up or you will be trampled by the goat men!
INTERVIEWER
Someone just poured wine over my head!
KOZLOWSKI
Yes!
(BOINK)
INTERVIEWER
(SQUEALS AGAIN) Did she just...?
KOZLOWSKI
Hit you over the head with a giant phallus? Yes.
(BOINK. BOINK. BOINK. MORE PUMMELING)
INTERVIEWER
I... I'm not sure I like this...
(KOZLOWSKI DRAGS THE INTERVIEWER OUT OF THE PROCESSION AND INTO THE DOORWAY OF A TEMPLE. OUT OF BREATH)
KOZLOWSKI
I have always wanted to see this.
INTERVIEWER
What? Me being trampled by a crowd in goat masks and pummeled to death by a dozen fake penises!
KOZLOWSKI
You mean Peni. That sounds like the kind of death you thrive on inventing, by the way.
INTERVIEWER
Is that what we're here for? To meet a client?
KOZLOWSKI
Yes.
INTERVIEWER
Who?
KOZLOWSKI
We'll get to that...
INTERVIEWER
Why don't you tell me?
KOZLOWSKI
Because we are in the process of witnessing one of the greatest festivals in the world!
(THE INTENSITY OF THE DRUMMING AND DANCING INTENSIFIES)
Ah look! Here it comes!
INTERVIEWER
Woah, that statue is huge... And the people carrying it are very intoxicated... Maybe we should move back a little?
KOZLOWSKI
(IN EXCITED AWE) That is the statue of Dionysus! And this celebration is the Dionysia!
INTERVIEWER
I'm surprised the authorities allow such debauchery.
KOZLOWSKI
They have no choice.
INTERVIEWER
How so?
KOZLOWSKI
Well, when the Eleuthereans gifted this statue to the Athenians, they initially rejected it. Dionysus punished them with a plague affecting the male genitalia.
INTERVIEWER
Goodness.
KOZLOWSKI (CON’T)
On accepting the cult of Dionysus, their genitals were cured.
INTERVIEWER
So that explains the giant phalluses?
KOZLOWSKI
Indeed!
INTERVIEWER
And why goats?
KOZLOWSKI
A symbol for Dionysus. Come on!
INTERVIEWER
What?
KOZLOWSKI
We should join the end of the procession.
INTERVIEWER
I thought there's a client for me to meet.
KOZLOWSKI
First, we have some theatre to see!
INTERVIEWER
Theatre?
KOZLOWSKI
Dionysus is not only the god of wine, festivity and mayhem, but also the god of theatre.
INTERVIEWER
I love theatre!
KOZLOWSKI
The procession leads to the great Theatre of Dionysus on the south slope of the Acropolis hill.
INTERVIEWER
What play are we seeing?
KOZLOWSKI
We are seeing twelve plays.
INTERVIEWER
Twelve?!
KOZLOWSKI (CON’T)
All this is merely the prelude to a giant theatre contest. Three tragedians will each present a trilogy of tragedies, followed by a satyr play. I hope you are ready for this!
INTERVIEWER
I told you, I love theatre.
KOZLOWSKI
Ah, but these tragedians will make you weep and fill your heart with pain.
INTERVIEWER
That sounds horrible! Why would anyone watch that?
KOZLOWSKI
They say it cleanses the heart, purging us of our petty concerns, making us aware that there can be nobility in suffering.
INTERVIEWER
Hm.
KOZLOWSKI
Then, after all the pity and fear and purgation, we will be treated to a satyr play to cheer us up!
INTERVIEWER
What's a satyr play?
KOZLOWSKI
Not unlike what we are experiencing now! A raucous spectacle, performed by men with enormous -
INTERVIEWER
Don't say it -
KOZLOWSKI
(HAPPILY) Phalluses.
INTERVIEWER
Of course. And the whole thing is a competition?
KOZLOWSKI
Yes. Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles are competing. First today is The Orestia. A new tragic trilogy by Aeschylus.
INTERVIEWER
And what's the prize?
KOZLOWSKI
Well...
INTERVIEWER
It better be something good...
KOZLOWSKI
Do you know what tragedy means?
INTERVIEWER
No?
KOZLOWSKI
Song of The Goat.
INTERVIEWER
Alright...
KOZLOWSKI
So, the prize for the master tragedian is...
INTERVIEWER
A goat?!
KOZLOWSKI
A goat! (LAUGHS)
(THE INTERVIEWER AND KOZLOWSKI ARE SWEPT ALONG WITH THE PARADE)
(THE CHORUS COME MARCHING TOWARDS US)
CHORUS LEADER
Hark!
CHORUS
We cry the news aloud of a great new play.
CHORUS LEADER
A tale of murder, of royal revenge!
of reckoning and love, lust and betrayal, of birthright, duty, sacrifice and treachery!
CHORUS
Behold! Aeschylus! Father of Tragedy!
CHORUS LEADER
Your words are daggers,
you aim for the heart!
CHORUS
We bear our chests so you may strike us.
CHORUS LEADER
You elevate suffering with soaring song! You cleanse our souls with burning tears! You light the flame of scorching truth!
CHORUS
But! Aeschylus! Beware!
CHORUS LEADER
Though tragedy be your daughter,
born of your blazing mind...
CHORUS
Alas! Take heed!
CHORUS LEADER
She is also the mother
of your eternal undoing!
Your own demise will mirror
the deaths of greatest drama!
The Oracle of Delphi
did speak:
CHORUS
Your days are numbered!
CHORUS LEADER
The greatest of tragedians
will meet his inescapable
and clearly...
CHORUS
tragic!
CHORUS LEADER
-fate.
(CHORUS LEAVES)
THEME TUNE.
INTRO
The Amelia Project, created by Philip Thorne and Oystein Ulsberg Brager, with music and sound direction by Fredrik Baden, and sound design by Paul Kraner.
Episode 90 – Aeschylus, 456BC.
INTERVIEW.
(THE INTERVIEWER ENTERS A SMALL ROOM)
INTERVIEWER
He is not back yet. Everyone wants a piece of him today. The celebrations have no end!
I'll just wait.
(HE PACES THE ROOM)
Oh, good lord. Why am I so nervous? I have met artists before. But nobody like him! What a mind! Those plays! It's like my soul has been torn out of my body, turned inside out, and then tied around my heart in a Gordian knot!
How do I greet him... (VERY CHEERY) "Hellooo! I am from the Brotherhood! Loved your plays!" Ahm, no, no, no...
Maybe I'll bow? No, no, that's too much. Do I shake his hand? (STERN:) "Aeschylus, sir, I'm at your disposal." No! That's just weird. Why would you say that.
(PACING, HE ALMOST KICKS OVER AN AMPHORA OF WINE WHICH IS STANDING ON THE FLOOR, BUT MANAGES TO STOP IT FROM FALLING OVER)
Oh! Aiii! No - oh - phew. Why is that amphora on the floor? I almost kicked it over! That would have been a great first impression! "Hello, Mr dramatist, sorry your floor is now wine-mud." I better put it somewhere safe, up on a shelf.
(HE LIFTS THE AMPHORA AND LOOKS AROUND)
Uhm... Uh... Good lord. (STRUGGLES) There are no shelves. I'll put it down again, then.
(HE PUTS THE AMPHORA BACK DOWN)
Good lord, haven’t lifted anything as heavy ever since Kozlowski passed out in a ditch. Come to think of it, there is a lot of courage in a wee goblet of wine... Should I? Maybe he'll be offended that I just helped myself? On the other hand, today is the Dionysia! There were amphoras of wine everywhere! People sharing and pouring and drinking out of any goblet they could see. Oh, he won't mind!
(THE INTERVIEWER PICKS UP THE AMPHORA AND IS ABOUT TO POUR HIMSELF A GOBLET OF WINE, WHEN:)
Oh good lord, this is heavy!
CHORUS
Halt!
INTERVIEWER
(JUMPS) Oh!
CHORUS LEADER
This wine is made from grapes,
picked by the great Aeschylus himself,
INTERVIWER
I will leave it then!
CHORUS LEADER (CON’T)
in the fertile vineyards of Attica,
where Dionysus did appear to him,
whispered and sang in his ear,
bestowed on him a terrible gift.
CHORUS
The blessing and burden of tragedy!
INTERVIEWER
(NERVOUS) Suddenly got crowded in here, didn't it! I'll put the wine over on that ledge so no one kicks it over...
CHORUS
Halt!
INTERVIEWER
What now?!
CHORUS
The amphora must stand where it was found!
INTERVIEWER
Oh!
CHORUS
Its heavy clay upon the ground must rest!
INTERVIEWER
Okayyyy…
(HE PUTS THE AMPHORA BACK DOWN)
Uh... Where did you come from? I didn't know I was sharing the room with twelve masked men, I -
CHORUS
We are everywhere. See everything. Hear everything.
INTERVIEWER
That's a bit terrifying. Did you see me earlier when I picked my nose?!
CHORUS
(MUTTERING, UNTIL:) We see everything!
INTERVIEWER
Oh my...! Wait! I know who you are! You're the chorus ! From The Orestia! You were fantastic!
CHORUS
(THEY MUMBLE, CHUFFED AT THE COMPLIMENT)
INTERVIEWER
When you persuaded Orestes to go through with the killing of his mother... That was very powerful!
CHORUS
Yes. We are very persuasive.
INTERVIEWER
It's an honour to make your acquaintance.
CHORUS
Hail fair stranger. We salute you!
INTERVIEWER
Oh, no stop- Actually, you might be able to help me. You see, I have an appointment with -
CHORUS
But hark! What footsteps do we hear?
INTERVIEWER
Aeschylus? Aeschylus! That must be him!
CHORUS
Steps heavy with pain and woe,
shoulders bent with fear and strife.
INTERVIEWER
I'm a bit nervous about meeting such a great dramatist-
CHORUS
'Tis a gait burdened with torment
INTERVIEWER
Torment? Really? But he just won an award.
CHORUS
Heavy is the heart that weeps,
tender is the soul that sees.
INTERVIEWER
I suppose writing devastating plays does require a tragic disposition -
CHORUS
His eyes have met the sun,
his gaze shies not away,
from the blistering furnace of truth.
INTERVIEWER
That sounds... intense...
CHORUS
Behold Aeschylus!
CHORUS LEADER
We bare our chests for you!
CHORUS
Behold Aeschylus!
CHORUS LEADER
So you may stab our hearts!
CHORUS
Behold Aeschylus!
CHORUS LEADER
So you may open our eyes!
CHORUS
Behold Aeschylus!
CHORUS LEADER
So you may cleanse our souls!
CHORUS
Behold Aeschylus!
CHORUS LEADER
With the fearsome force of tragedy!
(AESCHYLUS ENTERS. WITH A GOAT. THE GOAT BLEATS)
AESCHYLUS
Dionysus, what a day...
CHORUS
(Excited) Behold Aeschylus!
AESCHYLUS
(SIGHS) Are you still here?
INTERVIEWER
Oh, eh - you asked me to come! I'm -
AESCHYLUS
Not you, them!
CHORUS
Hail mighty Aeschylus! We salute you!
AESCHYLUS
(TO THE INTERVIEWER) Sorry, there's no getting rid of them.
CHORUS
We are everywhere. See everything. Hear everything.
AESCHYLUS
Hi. I'm Aeschylus.
INTERVIEWER
(STARSTRUCK) I know, pleasure to - I mean - I'm honoured - pleasure's all mine! Congratulations on the goat...!
(THE GOAT BLEATS)
AESCHYLUS
(SHUDDERS) Goat. (A WHISPER) I’m doomed!
INTERVIEWER
Sorry?
CHORUS LEADER
Behold its...
CHORUS
...arched horns!
CHORUS LEADER
Behold its...
CHORUS
...cloven hooves!
CHORUS LEADER
Behold its...
CHORUS
...woolly beard!
CHORUS LEADER
Behold its...
AESCHYLUS
Smell? Stinky faeces?
INTERVIEWER
(CHUCKLES AT THIS UNEXPECTED INTERJECTION)
CHORUS
A noble animal,
virile and proud,
oh sacred goat,
we salute you!
(THE GOAT BLEATS)
AESCHYLUS
Do you want it?
INTERVIEWER
Who? Me?
CHORUS
Who? Him?
AESCHYLUS
Yes.
INTERVIEWER
You want to give me your goat?
AESCHYLUS
Yes... (with dread) Goats...
INTERVIEWER
I thought this goat was a big deal?
CHORUS LEADER
Was mighty Zeus himself,
not fostered by a goat?
CHROUS
(MUTTERS IN APPROVAL)
CHROUS LEADER
Did the infant God not suckle,
on Amalthaea's tender teat?
CHROUS
(MUTTERS IN APPROVAL)
INTERVIEWER
Zeus? Really?
CHORUS
Yes.
INTERVIEWER
I didn't know that, I've always thought of goats as -
AESCHYLUS
Please! Everyone! Stop talking about goats!
CHORUS
Behold Aeschylus!
CHORUS LEADER
His rage is worthy of Ares,
his temper is fierce as fire,
befitting for a man whose life,
pulsates to the heartbeat of drama.
AESCHYLUS
I just don't want to be reminded of goats. Please.
(THE GOAT BLEATS.)
INTERVIEWER
We can open a window, get some fresh air in here and -
AESCHYLUS
Not because of the stink! Though it does smell... (he thinks of something) baaad. baa baa baaaaad...
INTERVIEWER
(CHUCKLES AT THIS UNEXPECTED JOKE)
AESCHYLUS
(SUDDENLY SERIOUS) I have done something terrible!
INTERVIEWER
(CLEARS THROAT) Tell me your story and I will do my best to help you.
AESCHYLUS
You are from The Brotherhood?
INTERVIEWER
Eh, yes. Yes.
(PAUSE)
AESCHYLUS
It's... it's...
INTERVIEWERS
Yes?
AESCHYLUS
It's the play.
INTERVIEWER
Your play! Oh, I thought it was very poignant! The way you contrast revenge with justice, personal vendetta with public trials, and by showing us the harrowing murder of Agamemnon -
CHORUS
Oh king, my king,
how shall I weep for you?
What can I say out of my heart of pity?
Caught in this spider's web you lie,
your life gasped out in indecent death -
AESCHYLUS
Oh shut up!
CHORUS
(OFFENDED MUTTERING)
We must protest! These words are from your play!
AESCHYLUS
Yes, but I don't mean that play. I don't mean The Orestia!
INTERVIEWER
Not the Orestia? Are you talking about your satyr? It was great! I mean it's fifteen minutes of fart jokes, but that's what it's meant to be, isn't it? At the end of a long day of tragedy -
AESCHYLUS
No, I don't mean the satyr!
INTERVIEWER
Oh, then what do you -
AESCHYLUS
I mean... a new play.
CHORUS (EXTACTIC)
Zeus be praised!
A new play,
by great Aeschylus,
father of tragedy,
messenger of Dionysus
(THE GOAT BLEATS)
AESCHYLUS
(WITH DREAD) Oh...
INTERVIEWER
You are worried about this new play?
AESCHYLUS
Yes.
INTERVIEWER
Why?
AESCHYLUS
I gave it to Theodoros to read!
INTERVIEWER
Oooh, who’s Theodorus?
AESCHYLUS
A childhood friend. We both grew up wanting to be dramatists.
INTERVIEWER
He is a fellow writer?
AESCHYLUS
Oh no. His plays stink more than this goat. Poor man. It is a terrible fate to have an artistic temperament but no talent.
INTERVIEWER
Yet you still confide your plays to him? Why?
AESCHYLUS
Because his reactions tell me whether they are working.
INTERVIEWER
How?
AESCHYLUS
He weeps, screams and shakes his fist without restraint. When he read Agamemnon he bit his knuckles so hard they bled. When he read The Libation Bearers he tore out fistfuls of hair. When he read The Eumenides he wept for two days straight.
INTERVIEWER
And what happened when he read your new play? What is it called, by the way?
AESCHYLUS
(WITH DIFFICULTY) The...
INTERVIEWER
Yes?
AESCHYLUS
The… Goats.
INTERVIEWER
The Goats. Huh.
(THE GOAT BLEATS)
Quite. So how did Theodoros react when he read The Goats?
AESCHYLUS
He...
INTERVIEWER
Yes?
AESCHYLUS
He...
INTERVIEWER
Yes??
AESCHYLUS
He -
CHORUS LEADER
Like Oedipus, King of Thebes,
a dagger he did raise,
and plunge with mighty force,
the blade into his eyes,
the searing words to flee, the terror and the pain,
unleashed upon the page,
by the master tragedians hand.
I am certain it was so!
CHORUS
(MUMBLES IN AWE)
INTERVIEWER
(GASPS) Really? But... that just-
AESCHYLUS
No!
INTERVIEWER
No?
CHORUS
No?
AESCHYLUS
No.
INTERVIEWER
Oh thank god, I mean- Aren’t you supposed to see everything?!
CHORUS
(EMBARRASSED GRUMBLING)
CHORUS LEADER
Sometimes we look away.
AESCHYLUS
What happened was...
INTERVIEWER
Yes?
AESCHYLUS
Worse.
INTERVIEWER
Worse?!
CHORUS
(GASPS)
INTERVIEWER
What happened Aeschylus?!
AESCHYLUS
I... I can't.
(PAUSE)
INTERVIEWER
O, but you can! He... killed himself?!
AESCHYLUS
No!
INTERVIEWER
Oh thank the gods!
AESCHYLUS
Worse!
INTERVIEWER
Worse yet?! The impact of your play made him... kill somebody else?!
AESCHYLUS
No, no, no, no! Nothing like that, he...
INTERVIEWER
Ah. Now I think I understand.
AESCHYLUS
You do?
INTERVIEWER
I do.
AESCHYLUS
But...?
INTERVIEWER
You see, we have something in common.
AESCHYLUS
What's that?
INTERVIEWER
I am not a writer, but I am, or I used to be, a performer.
AESCHYLUS
Really? An actor?
INTERVIEWER
A storyteller.
AESCHYLUS
Tell me more!
INTERVIEWER
Oh, I've travelled far and wide, told my stories on public squares, in ports, palaces and prisons. I held a rapt audience. But sometimes...
AESCHYLUS
Yes?
INTERVIEWER
Well, you know how it is. Although I was good at my craft, very good, sometimes my stories fell flat. Sometimes they did not elicit the gasps, shrieks and applause to which I had become accustomed. You must not let this discourage you! Every artist, no matter how great, experiences setbacks -
CHORUS
We must protest!
INTERVIEWER
Oh? Why?
CHORUS
Hubris! Hubris! Vanity and hubris!
INTERVIEWER
I -
CHORUS LEADER
You compare yourself to Aeschylus?
INTERVIEWER
No! No! Not at all! Aeschylus is a great tragedian -
CHORUS
The Father of Tragedy!
INTERVIEWER
- and I was just -
CHORUS LEADER
How dare you insult the great man so?
INTERVIEWER
Nono, I was just a traveling storyteller -
CHORUS
More than a man!
INTERVIEWER
I was just trying to say -
CHORUS
(INSISTING) Messenger of Dionysus!
INTERVIEWER
Yes, I -
CHORUS LEADER
Every line of his verse stirs the soul,
Every stroke of his pen pierces the heart, Every thought from his mind sings with inspiration.
(SAD SOUNDS FROM THE CHORUS )
Yes thank you, that’s enough.
INTERVIEWER
I am sorry Aeschylus.
AESCHYLUS
Don't worry. I am not offended.
INTERVIEWER
Oh.
AESCHYLUS
But they are right.
CHORUS
(GLOATS)
AESCHYLUS
My new play isn't bad.
INTERVIEWER
It's not...?
AESCHYLUS
In fact, I think it might be a masterpiece.
INTERVIEWER
Then why did your friend's reaction disturb you so?
AESCHYLUS
Because...
INTERVIEWER
Yes?
AESCHYLUS
He...
INTERVIEWER
Yes?
AESCHYLUS
He-
(PAUSE)
INTERVIEWER
Aeschylus, if I am to help you, you must tell me.
AESCHYLUS
I'm scared.
INTERVIEWER
Of me?
AESCHYLUS
This would be easier without them.
INTERVIEWER
The CHORUS ?
AESCHYLUS
Yes.
INTERVIEWER
I must say, I think that would make things easier...
(CHORUS MUTTERS IN PROTEST)
(TO THE CHORUS ) Would you mind...?
CHORUS LEADER
Fine fine…
CHORUS
His word is our command,
with Hermes speed we leave,
great Aeschylus and his
(with disdain) "guest",
so in somber solemn secret,
his story he may tell.
(PAUSE)
CHORUS LEADER
Right, come on boys, meeting tonight!
(CHORUS LEAVES)
INTERVIEWER
What?
AESCHYLUS
(SNIFFS) Smells better now that they've gone doesn't it?
INTERVIEWER
It does! I think you owe the goat an apology.
AESCHYLUS
Flailing your arms and declaiming all day must make you very sweaty...
INTERVIEWER
But speaking of goats...
(THE GOAT BLEATS)
AESCHYLUS
Ah, you'll take him!
INTERVIEWER
No, no, nonono, too much headbutting. I meant will you finally tell me how Theodoros reacted to your new play?
AESCHYLUS
Oh. He...
INTERVIEWER
Go on.
AESCHYLUS
wept.
INTERVIEWER
That is to be expected.
AESCHYLUS
With laughter!
(PAUSE)
INTERVIEWER
Laughter?!
AESCHYLUS
Laughter.
Fell off his chair, rolled around on the floor, tears streaming down his face.
INTERVIEWER
B- But you said the play is great!
AESCHYLUS
I believe it is.
INTERVIEWER
And you said you trust Theodoros' reactions!
AESCHYLUS
I do.
INTERVIEWER
But he laughed at your play! He was mocking you!
AESCHYLUS
No, not mocking.
INTERVIEWER
He thought your play was ridiculous!
AESCHYLUS
Ridiculous, yes. That was the word he used.
INTERVIEWER
I... I don't understand!
AESCHYLUS
He said it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever read. And the most true.
INTERVIEWER
Right. What is this play about?
AESCHYLUS
A world in which everyone who lies sprouts horns and begins to bleat.
INTERVIEWER
(LAUGHS)
AESCHYLUS
No! No! Now you're doing it!
INTERVIEWER
(STOPS LAUGHING) That's good! I mean, I’m sorry. But...
AESCHYLUS
It is a very serious subject!
INTERVEIWER
Hmhm.
AESCHYLUS
The main characters are based on Athenian aristocrats and philosophers! I wanted to write about how headstrong and stubborn they are. And this led me to depict them as...
INTERVIEWER
Goats! (STIFLES A LAUGH)
AESCHYLUS
Yes.
INTERVIEWER
Sorry. An excellent premise for a satyr!
AESCHYLUS
But that is the problem...
INTERVIEWER
What?
AESCHYLUS
It isn't a satyr.
INTERVIEWER
No?
AESCHYLUS
No.
CHORUS
NO!
(AESCHYLUS AND THE INTERVIEWER JUMP)
INTERVIEWER
Where did you come from? You just left!
CHORUS
We are everywhere. See everything. Hear everything.
AESCHYLUS
Oh for the love of the gods...
INTERVIEWER
Then explain to me please, what is wrong with this new satyr?
AESCHYLUS
I just told you, it is not a satyr!
INTERVIEWER
Yes I know it is not a satyr? But if it makes you laugh then surely it is a -
CHORUS LEADER
A satyr's a mere accompaniment,
to rinse the terror stricken soul, to cleanse with mirth and laughter,
the shaken nerves and tortured mind,
to restore balance, calm and serenity,
after the harrowing spectacle of tragedy.
INTERVIEWER
Right... Whereas The Goats is...
AESCHYLUS
It's a full-length play! A play about serious themes! It is no mere palate cleanser!
INTERVIEWER
But like a satyr it uses jokes and absurdity?
AESCHYLUS
I... I suppose it does, but...
INTERVIEWER
You suppose?
AESCHYLUS
Fine. It does. And it uses them very effectively!
INTERVIEWER
Yes... as Theodoros' reaction proved.
AESCHYLUS
But I wasn't intending to write a satyr... I was intending to write about truth and lies and pomposity. I followed the voice of Dionysus and I ended up writing... a... a... I don't know what it is! But it must never be performed!
INTERVIEWER
Why ever not?
CHORUS
Expectations and duty!
INTERVIEWER
Excuse me?
CHORUS
Aeschylus is the Father of Tragedy!
AESCHYLUS
I am the founder of drama. I gave tragedy its form. Sophocles, Euripides, all the others ees, they follow the structures that I created.
INTERVIEWER
That is a great achievement, but -
AESCHYLUS (CON’T)
But this new play, it is a perversion of these rules!
CHORUS
We must agree!
We cannot be silent;
We cannot be idle;
We cannot let Aeschylus
CHORUS LEADER(CON’T)
tarnish his name, embarrass his art,
CHORUS (CON’T) soil his legacy.
INTERVIEWER
I think you are wrong! Why can't you try something new?
AESCHYLUS
It would be a betrayal!
INTERVIEWER
A betrayal of whom?
AESCHYLUS
Of the form I have invented!
INTERVIEWER
And that form is now keeping you hostage? You don't think you can... transcend it?
AESCHYLUS
There is nothing to transcend. It is perfect. The Orestia is its pinnacle.
INTERVIEWER
But you said yourself, this new play you have written, it is a great play...
AESCHYLUS
(CONFUSED) But it is not a tragedy...
INTERVIEWER
No, it is not. But you were following your inspiration...
AESCHYLUS
Yes! Yes, I follow the voice of Dionysus, I follow it wherever it leads! But Dionysus has played a prank on me! Dionysus, I am onto you, you drunken prankster!
CHORUS LEADER
The play must never see the light of day!
CHORUS
Nay!
CHORUS LEADER
Lest poor Aeschylus is mocked and shamed!
CHORUS
Ay!
CHORUS LEADER
His sanity questioned, his life's work sullied!
CHORUS
Oh woe!
AESCHYLUS
It is too late for that.
CHORUS
How so?
AESCHYLUS
Theodoros refuses to give back the manuscript.
CHORUS
Oh no!
INTERVIEWER
Why?
AESCHYLUS
So he can blackmail me.
INTERVIEWER
What does he want?
AESCHYLUS
He wants me to write a new tragic trilogy based on his ideas... and those ideas...
INTERVIEWER
Stink.
(THE GOAT BLEATS. AESCHYLUS GROANS)
So what are these ideas?
AESCHYLUS
He wants to write a trilogy about nothing!
INTERVIEWER
Nothing?
AESCHYLUS
Yes! He says it would be a "mirror of real life"! That it would be "relatable"! "A slice of life" he calls it!
INTERVIEWER
About nothing? That sounds booooring!
AESCHYLUS
Yes! As tedious as Theodorus' tedious life!
INTERVIEWER
But if you refuse to write his plays...
AESCHYLUS
He will show the world that Aeschylus has turned his back on his art form, negated everything he stood for.
(INTERVIEWER WINCES)
I cannot live with the threat of this play's exposure hanging over me... And I cannot bear to write Theodoros' drab plays...
INTERVIEWER
Which is why you want to die.
AESCHYLUS
Yes! I need to solidify my legacy before it can be tarnished. The Orestia must be my final work!
INTERVIEWER
But what if Theodoros releases The Goats after your death?
AESCHYLUS
They will think he wrote it himself and is trying to pass it off as the great tragedian's last play. But nobody will believe him.
INTERVIEWER
Hmm. What about your new life? What new identity would you adopt?
AESCHYLUS
Oh, I must continue as a tragedian! Telling stories is all I have ever wanted to do!
CHORUS
A soldier of tragedy,
a warrior of words,
a martyr to art!
INTERVIEWER
(FLOUNDERS)
AESCHYLUS
What?
INTERVIEWER
You cannot simply continue your old life.
AESCHYLUS
Whyever not?
INTERVIEWER
Because you will be dead.
AESCHYLUS
Yes, but it's a fake death...
INTERVIEWER
Even fake death causes a rupture. You cannot simply continue where you left off.
AESCHYLUS
What do you mean?
INTERVIEWER
Alright, uhm. Let’s just say we bring you back as a tragedian...
AESCHYLUS
Yes!
INTERVIEWER
It will take years, maybe decades before you achieve the status you have now. Before you can make a living, are respected, invited to the Dionysia. You will no longer be the Father of Tragedy, you will simply be a newcomer imitating the great man's style.
AESCHYLUS
I am not worried. The voice of Dionysus rings clear in my head.
INTERVIEWER
You mean you already have an idea for a future play?
AESCHYLUS
Oh! Many ideas! I will quickly prove myself!
INTERVIEWER
Tell me about your ideas...
AESCHYLUS
Alright... a play about men imitating the gods. It is called The Birds!
(CONFUSED CHORUS MUTTERING)
INTERVIEWER
The Birds.
AESCHYLUS
It is a story about Pisthetaerus, a middle-aged Athenian, who persuades the birds to stop flying about like simpletons and instead build a great city in the sky! A city called Cloud Cuckoo Land that lies between Earth and Mount Olympus. This way the birds can control all communications between men and gods! Pisthetaerus transforms into a bird-like god figure, attempting to replace Zeus!
CHORUS LEADER
(IN THE BACKGROUND) Alright but I won’t be wearing a beak-
INTERVIEWER
A wonderful idea!
AESCHYLUS
You think?
INTERVIEWER
Funny and fantastical!
AESCHYLUS
Funny... fantastical... yes... I suppose...
INTERVIEWER
But most certainly not a tragedy.
AESCHYLUS
You... you... you are right...
(PAUSE)
What about this: a play about the justice system! It is called: The Wasps and it is about a man who is so addicted to jury service, that his son builds a court of law in his house, and fills it with household objects. Witnesses for the defence include a bowl, a pestle, a cheese-grater, a brazier and a pot.
INTERVIEWER
(LAUGHS) And why The Wasps?
AESCHYLUS
A metaphor for the acrimonious, stinging temper of Athenian society.
INTERVIEWER
Clever.
AESCHYLUS
Oh and also because the CHORUS will be dressed up as wasps.
(THE INTERVIEWER LAUGHS AT THIS)
CHORUS
What?! We must protest!!
(SO MANY PROTEST SOUNDS)
INTERVIEWER
As must I! Aeschylus, this play sounds great, but it is hardly a tragedy!
AESCHYLUS
You are right... you are right... Well what about this: The Frogs...
CHORUS
(SIGH) We must -
INTERVIEWER
Let him continue!
CHORUS
(GRUMBLE)
AESCHYLUS
A play about Dionysus himself! He travels to the underworld, while a CHORUS of frogs croaks -
CHORUS
WE MUST PROTEST!
INTERVIEWER
Fair enough. Yes, fair enough.
(LAUGHS)
Aeschylus, do you have any ideas for plays that are... not animal related?
AESCHYLUS
(THINKS)
INTERVIEWER
Well?
AESCHYLUS
Yes!
CHORUS
(A GREAT SIGH OF RELIEF)
AESCHYLUS
Yes! Yes, 6here is an idea that has been singing in my mind for some time...
INTERVIEWER
Wonderful. Let's hear it.
AESCHYLUS
A play about war and peace, about sexual relations in a male-dominated society...
INTERVIEWER
Oh, big themes indeed!
AESCHYLUS
It is called Lysistrata.
CHORUS
Lysistrata!
INTERVIEWER
Lysistrata… A promising title...
CHORUS LEADER
Tell us oh Aeschylus,
tell us of Lysistrata!
CHORUS
What tragic fate awaits,
this fearsome woman hero?
CHORUS LEADER
As Antigone she defies,
her uncle Creon's decree?
As cunning Clytemnestra,
her husband she does kill?
CHORUS
As murderous Medea,
her children she does stab?
AESCHYLUS
She ends a war!
CHORUS
Oh noble Lysistrata!
INTERVIEWER
How does she end this war?
AESCHYLUS
By denying all men of the land sex.
INTERVIEWER
(SNORTS)
CHORUS LEADER
What?
INTERVIWER
What?
CHORUS
What?!
AESCHYLUS
Lysistrata persuades all the women of two warring cities to withhold sex from their husbands and lovers, until the men manage to negotiate peace.
CHORUS
(Chuckle)
INTERVIEWER
Aeschylus...
AESCHYLUS
What?
CHORUS LEADER
Excuse me?
(SO MUCH STIFLED LAUGHTER)
INTERVIEWER
Aeschylus, you tell me.
AESCHYLUS
It's not a tragedy is it...
INTERVIEWER
No.
AESCHYLUS
(GROANS)
INTERVIEWER
(LAUGHS) But it's funny! I mean, even the chorus laughed!
CHORUS
We did not!
INTERVIEWER
Now, look. It's a great premise. And topical too... I do believe it contains the seeds for a true masterpiece...
CHORUS LEADER
This tale of Lysistrata,
amusing as may be,
is a perfidious perversion,
of the laws of tragedy.
CHORUS
(MUMBLE IN AGREEMENT)
INTERVIEWER
I agree. It is not a tragedy.
AESCHYLUS
But it is not a satyr either!
INTERVIEWER
It is not a satyr either.
AESCHYLUS
Then... What is it?
INTERVIEWER
Something new.
CHORUS
(BOOS)
INTERVIEWER
Now stop it! Listen Aeschylus, I have a theory.
AESCHYLUS
Tell me! Tell me, what is it?
INTERVIEWER
You said that with The Orestia you had reached the pinnacle of the tragic form, is that not so?
AESCHYLUS
Indeed. It is my greatest work.
INTERVIEWER
Yes. It was a devastating show.
AESCHYLUS
Thank you.
INTERVIEWER
You have honed the blade of tragedy to a razor-sharp point, and now there is nowhere left to go...
AESCHYLUS
Go on...
INTERVIEWER
Which is why the voice of Dionysus is leading you down new paths... Yes!
AESCHYLUS
Interesting...
INTERVIEWER
Yes, you mustn't think of this as a failure, but as an achievement! It doesn't demonstrate a weakness in the tragic form, rather, you have taken that form to its conclusion, to the peak of its powers, and now it is time to invent... a new form of drama...
AESCHYLUS
A new form of drama...
CHORUS
We must protest!
AESCHYLUS
Oh do be quiet!
CHORUS
But -
AESCHYLUS
I'm thinking!
CHORUS
(SHUFFLE IMPATIENTLY)
AESCHYLUS
I can't do it.
CHORUS
(SIGH WITH RELIEF)
INTERVIEWER
(SIGHS WITH FRUSTRATION)
CHORUS
(TRIUMPHANT) Aeschylus is the Father of Tragedy!
INTERVIEWER
(DEFIANT) Aeschylus is the founder of drama and must follow his inner voice wherever it leads!
AESCHYLUS
You are both right!
INTERVIEWER
Huh?
CHORUS
Huh?
AESCHYLUS
Aeschylus must stay true to the form he has invented. If Aeschylus breaks the form, audiences will be confused. The judges of the Dionysia will think I have lost my marbles and exclude me from future competitions.
INTERVIEWER
Maybe they are not as narrow minded as you think -
AESCHYLUS (CON’T)
And even if they do appreciate the new plays, what if this makes them reassess my old work? What if they think I was trying to be funny all along?
INTERVIEWER
I hardly think -
AESCHYLUS (CON’T)
Aeschylus must always remain The Father of Tragedy.
CHORUS
Hooray!
AESCHYLUS
But after you have faked my death...
CHORUS
(OUT OF SYNC) What? We must protest!
AESCHYLUS
I will become...
INTERVIEWER
Yes?
AESCHYLUS
The Father of... Comedy! (PRONOUNCED COUME-DY)
CHORUS LEADER
It’ll never catch on…
INTERVIEWER
(TRYING OUT THE WORD) Comedy... Comedy... Ha, I like it! Tell me more about this new form, this "comedy."
AESCHYLUS
You know what 'tragedy' means?
INTERVIEWER
The song of the goat.
(THE GOAT BLEATS)
AESCHYLUS
Comedy will be the song of the komos!
INTERVIEWER
Komos?
AESCHYLUS
It means "festival"! The comedy will be the song of revels and celebration!
In comedy I will talk about serious subjects, but in a light and entertaining way. Comedies will contain everything: Buffoonery! Puns! Invented words! Obscenities! Absurd plots!
INTERVIEWER
Yes!
AESCHYLUS
All told in a strict dramatic structure and in disciplined verse, with haunting, beautiful lyrics! In comedy, the heroes will devise fanciful escapes from their intolerable predicaments! I will let the voice of Dionysus flow through me unrestrained, I will ignore impossibilities and bring fantastical situations to their absurd conclusions!
INTERVIEWER
Well twist my tunic! I am excited! It will be a great new art form!
AESCHYLUS
I am excited too! What should my new name be?
INTERVIEWER
Hmm... We should give people the immediate feeling that you're good at what you do - even before you've written a word. That will make it easier to enter the contests and get to know the right crowd. You must hit the ground running... hmm... a name, a name, a name... tricky…
CHORUS LEADER
He Who Appears Best.
INTERVIEWER
What?
CHORUS
He Who Appears Best.
INTERVIEWER
"He Who Appears Best?" Thank you for the input. That's not a name!
CHORUS
Actually, in Greek it is.
INTERVIEWER
What?
CHORUS
Aristos-phanes.
INTERVIEWER
Huh.
AESCHYLUS
(TRYING IT OUT FOR SIZE)
Aristos-phanes. Aristophanes... Aristophanes...
The Birds by Aristophanes...
The Wasps by Aristophanes...
The Frogs by Aristophanes...
Lysistrata by Aristophanes...
Yes! Yes, by the gods it works! Aristophanes!
INTERVIEWER
Aristophanes. Nice! Thank you CHORUS , that was actually very helpful.
CHORUS
We're not saying we approve.
INTERVIEWER
So now we just have to decide on a death... Any requests?
CHORUS
Man does not decide the means of death.
INTERVIEWER
Oh, but I do!
CHORUS
The destiny of man is determined by fate!
AESCHYLUS
They are right. Again.
INTERVIEWER
What?
AESCHYLUS
My death has been preordained.
INTERVIEWER
Excuse me?
AESCHYLUS
It was predicted by The Oracle of Delphi. Everyone in Athens knows about it. We must stick to fate's template.
INTERVIEWER
I see... So what did the Oracle say? How will you die?
CHORUS
An object will come crashing,
with terrible speed and force,
on the great tragedians head,
robbing us for ever more,
of his cruel cathartic words.
INTERVIEWER
Interesting. What kind of object?
AESCHYLUS
The oracle didn't say. She likes to keep things vague.
INTERVIEWER
But everyone in Athens knows about it you said?
AESCHYLUS
Well yes, you see, after visiting the Oracle of Delphi I was really spooked...
INTERVIEWER
Understandable.
AESCHYLUS (CON’T)
...and developed some rather peculiar habits...
INTERVIEWER
What kind of habits?
AESCHYLUS
It's silly really...
INTERVIEWER
Go on.
AESCHYLUS
Well, I was terrified of being killed by a falling vase or a piece of ceiling coming loose. For months I lived outdoors, refused to cross a single threshold. Wrote outdoors, ate outdoors, slept outdoors. I avoided trees and steep cliffs, stayed only in open landscapes.
INTERVIEWER
When did this change? You agreed to meet me in this room after all.
AESCHYLUS
Well, one night, shivering in a muddy field, I decided this was ridiculous! Trying to avoid a falling object, I was on the verge of killing myself with the flu! So, I went inside, lit a fire, and haven't looked back since.
INTERVIEWER
Though I do notice you keep your amphora on the floor... and have no shelves on the walls.
AESCHYLUS
Well. Better be prudent.
INTERVIEWER
Quite. Anyway, this is wonderful!
AESCHYLUS
It is?
INTERVIEWER
We can use the oracle's prediction. A death should always mean something, don't you agree?
AESCHYLUS
Yet most deaths don't.
INTERVIEWER
But yours can! This death - it gives us the opportunity to combine the tragic and the comic! Hm? To mark your passing from one form to another!
AESCHYLUS
You have something in mind?
INTERVIEWER
Yes! We will spread the word that the prophecy haunts you once again, that you have returned to frequenting only open spaces. But fate will send an object falling from the sky!
AESCHYLUS
From the sky?
INTERVIEWER
From the sky, yes! Fulfilling the prophecy! Because as we know, man cannot escape his fate! A most fitting death for a tragedian!
AESCHYLUS
Certainly. But you said my death should combine the tragic and the... comic.
INTERVIEWER
Yes! You see, the thing that kills you, is something entirely ridiculous! Something befitting a man of jokes and absurdity!
AESCHYLUS
A double death - or rather, a single death, with a double meaning!
INTERVIEWER
An ironic death!
AESCHYLUS
I like it! So what falls on me?
INTERVIEWER
Well, I mean. That is the question...
CHORUS
Aeschylus, we implore you!
Do not go down this path!
CHORUS LEADER
Did Zeus not warn us once,
when he struck to impotence,
Asclepius, who in truth
charmed back the dead men?
CHORUS
The gods have so ordained,
that fate stands against fate,
to check any man's excess.
INTERVIEWER
Oh do be quiet! We're thinking and you’re not helping! What could fall on you, what could fall on you... Uhm... An... Uh... Oh! A pegasus!
CHORUS
A Pegasus?!
AESCHYLUS
A flying horse?
INTERVIEWER
Yes! A horse is huge! Sure to kill you!
AESCHYLUS
Do you know where to find one?
INTERVIEWER
Well. Uhm... my partner could make one... Unless they already exist? Do they exist?
AESCHYLUS
I don't think so... Why would the pegasus fall out of the sky?
INTERVIEWER
Well, I mean. Because... Uh... It would, with the feathers, I mean… Oh, a kraken came and- No, nah, nevermind, this would require a really long backstory. No, forget it. Perhaps we better choose something else. A stroke of lightning? Not that funny... And lightning doesn't really fall, does it? I mean, it… It doesn't fulfil the prophecy. An apple?
AESCHYLUS
Wouldn't kill me.
INTERVIEWER
A phallus?
CHORUS
A phallus??
AESCHYLUS
Wouldn't kill me either.
INTERVIEWER
A four-foot phallus!
CHORUS
A four-foot phallus?!
CHORUS LEADER
(SOFTLY) Where would you find one?
AESCHYLUS
Might kill me, but why is it falling out of the sky?
INTERVIEWER
Right.
AESCHYLUS
How about an albatross?
INTERVIEWER
Haha! A great big albatross flopping down on your head! What a sight!
AESCHYLUS
Exactly! But again we need to know why it's falling... Maybe it has been shot with an arrow...?
INTERVIEWER
Maybe... or... or... Got it!
AESCHYLUS
Yes?
INTERVIEWER
I have found a death for you!
AESCHYLUS
What?
INTERVIEWER
Have you ever seen an eagle eat a tortoise?
AESCHYLUS
What? Eagles eat tortoises? Isn't the shell too hard?
INTERVIEWER
Indeed! Which is why they carry the tortoise as high as they can, then drop it on a stone for the shell to shatter!
AESCHYLUS
Alright...
INTERVIEWER
Only this eagle...
AESCHYLUS
Yes...
INTERVIEWER (CON’T)
Mistakes your head for a rock!
(AESCHYLUS LAUGHS A BIG BELLY LAUGH)
AESCHYLUS
That's great! I couldn't have written it better myself!
INTERVIEWER
Oh, you’re too kind!
CHORUS
We must protest!
INTERVIEWER
What is it now?
CHORUS LEADER
You would sacrifice an innocent tortoise, your godless ends to meet?
CHORUS
mutter with disdain
INTERVIEWER
The tortoise won't die! Hitting Aeschylus's head will soften the landing.
CHORUS
Oh. Well. That's alright then.
INTERVIEWER
So, we have a plan? Death by falling tortoise! Then we bring you back as a new dramatist -
AESCHYLUS
Ah ah ah! Comedian!
INTERVIEWER
Indeed. Aristophanes. A great comedian whose plays will tickle and delight! Well, this has been a pleasure.
AESCHYLUS
Um... We haven't discussed payment. I assume your services are not free?
INTERVIEWER
Oh! Death by nose-diving reptile had me so excited that I completely forgot. What do you have in way of means?
AESCHYLUS
Very little. Writing plays for a living is a blessing but does not make you rich.
INTERVIEWER
Right.
AESCHYLUS (CON’T)
I spend all year writing a single trilogy. Then comes the competition to make it all worthwhile, but the prize...
(THE GOAT BLEATS)
INTERVIEWER
Right.
AESCHYLUS
I make goat's cheese, I drink goat's milk, my clothes are woven from goat's hair...
INTERVIEWER
Itchy… So all you can offer me is...
AESCHYLUS
Thirteen goats.
INTERVIEWER
Thirteen?!
AESCHYLUS
That's how many times I've won the contest.
INTERVIEWER
Well, I suppose I could start a goat farm? Or could ask somebody too start it for me… Can’t stand the smell, really.
AESCHYLUS
They're good goats.
INTERVIEWER
Ah, I’m sure. (SIGHS) I will take the goats.
AESCHYLUS
Excellent. Look out for Sophocles.
INTERVIEWER
Sophocles?
AESCHYLUS
Sophocles will have his way with anything that moves. I once saw him running after a leaf, trying to fornicate.
INTERVIEWER
Sophocles?! Really?! Huh…
AESCHYLUS
Oh, no, the goat. I've named them after my competitors.
INTERVIEWER
Oh oh, right. Clever. Are you sure you won't need your goats for inspiration?
AESCHYLUS
If I run out of ideas, I come visit your goat farm, eh? (LAUGHS)
INTERVIEWER
Yes, right, you’d be welcome! You know, we should seal the deal! Time to empty that amphora?
AESCHYLUS
But of course!
(AESCHYLUS LIFTS THE AMPHORA FROM THE FLOOR AND POURS TWO GOBLETS OF WINE)
To fulfilling fates!
INTERVIEWER
To trage-
AESCHYLUS
To comedy!
INTERVIEWER
To great drama!
(THEY DRINK)
INTERVIEWER
That hits the spot,
CHORUS
Can we have some?
AESCHYLUS
Yeah, I suppose, why not – come here.
(AESCHYLUS AND THE INTERVIEWER START POURING AND PASSING AROUND GOBLETS FOR THE CHORUS . MUTTERING)
(THE CREDITS MUSIC FADES IN)
PIP
Stay tuned for the epilogue, but first the credits.
The Amelia Project is a production of Imploding Fictions.
This episode featured Alan Burgon as the Interviewer, Dino Kelly as Aeschylus, Hemi Yeroham as Kozlowski, Tim Meredith, Rhys Lawton, Adam Courting and Nathan Peter Grassi as the chorus, and Felix Trench as the chorus leader.
The episode was written by Oystein Brager and Philip Thorne, with dialogue editing by Philip Thorne, sound design by Paul Kraner, music by Fredrik Baden, graphic design by Anders Pedersen and production assistance by Maty Parzival.
The chorus was recorded at Soho Sonic in London, with engineering by Beth Grainger.
We are indebted to our patrons, whose generosity keeps this show alive. If you’d like to join their magnanimous ranks by chipping in with a few pounds or euros or dollars or gold doubloons a month, we’d be really grateful. It also means you’ll be able to get all episodes ad-free, new episodes a month early, and there’s a bunch of bonus content, for example we’ve just published our first bonus graphic novel short story Ruby Mariner. For all that go to ameliapodcast.com and click on support the show.
Thanks to all our current patrons, and a shoutout to our superpatrons, that’s …
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Without you this podcast would disappear and reappear as a How-to you tube series where we teach you how to fake your death by buying useless cosmetics.
And now, the epilogue.
EPILOGUE
CHORUS
Hark!
CHORUS LEADER
What footsteps do we hear?
CHORUS
Behold!
CHORUS LEADER
The footsteps of a man
with lightness in his gait.
CHORUS
Behold Aeschylus!
CHORUS LEADER
No, it's not Aeschylus anymore!
CHORUS
Oh, sorry, we got that wrong.
Behold Aristophanes!
CHORUS LEADER
His forehead joyfully refashioned,
cheeks rosy with happiness,
eyes filled with relief!
CHORUS
Aesch...ristophanes! Father of Comedy! We salute you!
CHORUS LEADER
Like ointment are your words,
delighting our senses,
soothing our soul,
invigorating our hearts,
making our diaphragms
shake with laughter!
CHORUS
Behold Aesch - Aristophanes!
CHORUS LEADER
Your name strikes the discant
to the plainsong of the gods!
Though comedy is your daughter,
she is also the mother
of your joyous rebirth!
CHORUS
Behold Aristophanes!
CHORUS LEADER
You got it right that time!
CHORUS
Rejoice!
CHORUS LEADER
It came to be as it was prophesied:
The great tragedian met unyielding fate.
Yet with the help of a brotherhood,
wielding the power of the firebird,
The fate of Aeschylus was refashioned and re-purposed!
CHORUS
There is no end
that cannot be
a new beginning!