It is Professor A. G. Woodhead who recalls that, since the time of the nineteenth-century historian George Grote, Thucydidean scholars have divided themselves into pro-Kleon and anti-Kleon camps, with the latter group more than holding its own. It is the purpose of this study to join forces with the pro-Kleon camp,and to rehabilitate Kleon. Kleon has always held interest for students of the Peloponnesian War; the evidence about him both in Thucydides and in the other ancient sources is almost consistently derogatory, and yet on detailed examination of the sources the student can barely resist a murmur of dissent from the persistent condemnation the man receives. This study seeks to find justification for this dissent, and to restore Kleon to a place of respect and integrity. It is not my aim to redeem Kleon from charges of coarseness and unorthodox manners. The comic poets did not fasten upon him so readily without reason. What this study seeks is to restore Kleon’s status as a politician, statesman, and energetic war leader. To do this, it has been necessary to examine with care all the evidence of the ancient sources, and, with equal care, to evaluate it. I have studied, first, Thucydides’ portrait of the demagogue, noted the inconsistencies of that portrait, and searched for their causes and their meaning. The result has been a conviction that Thucydides has treated Kleon unfairly, and has condemned him without just cause. I have turned, in the second place, to the other ancient evidence, that is, aside from Aristophanes. Here we see that all the evidence looks back to Thucydides and the anti-democratic tradition, except for shafts of light here and there that, if not flattering of Kleon, at least do not condemn him à vue d'oeil. Finally, I have consulted the comic poet Aristophanes, to find that his representation of the demagogue, while laudable as comedy, is untenable as history. An examination and analysis of the evidence forces the conclusion that only Thucydides is reliable as a source for appraising the character of Kleon; even so, we may call into question the historian's judgements. The conclusion of the study, therefore, is clearly stated: Kleon was a wiser and more intelligent statesman, with a better reputation and more just entitlement to fame and honour, than our principal authorities lead us to suppose. / Arts, Faculty of / Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of / Graduate

nÃo hà / Esta DissertaÃÃo de Mestrado em Literatura Comparada tem por tema âO retrato das instituiÃÃes judiciÃrias atenienses na comÃdia As Vespas, de AristÃfanes.â A abordagem de corrupÃÃo nas instituiÃÃes judiciÃrias do quinto sÃculo. a. C., em As Vespas, destaca as preocupaÃÃes artÃsticas e polÃticas de AristÃfanes, preservando os valores e integridade das instituiÃÃes democrÃticas de Atenas. A partir da observaÃÃo de que procedeu AristÃfanes em defesa da pÃlis, o objetivo desta pesquisa à analisar a comÃdia As Vespas, centrada em seus aspectos principais: o prÃlogo, o pÃrodo, o agÃn, a parÃbase, as cenas episÃdicas, o Ãxodo; e os secundÃrios: o educacional, o polÃtico, o jurÃdico e o cultural. A crÃtica de AristÃfanes veio em um momento em que a sociedade ateniense vivia o esplendor da democracia, resultante das reformas sÃcio-polÃtico-econÃmicas de DrÃcon, SÃlon, ClÃstenes e PÃricles. No pÃlo contrÃrio da democracia ateniense, o polÃtico e demagogo CleÃo vive, na caricatura cÃmica, como um tirano ou um agente divino rei da GrÃcia prÃ-clÃssica, que era o senhor absoluto na sociedade. AristÃfanes abrange todos esses aspectos da vida ateniense em duas partes bÃsicas da comÃdia As Vespas: a primeira, que vai do verso 1 ao verso 1010, diz respeito à conduta manÃaca de FilocleÃo (âO que ama CleÃoâ) pelos tribunais, e a tentativa de seu filho, BdelicleÃo (âO que detesta CleÃoâ), de reeducÃ-lo; e o segundo, passando do verso 1010 ao verso 1535, diz respeito à reinserÃÃo social de FilocleÃo na vida ateniense. Ambas as partes da comÃdia sÃo voltadas, portanto, nÃo sà para criticar a conduta pessoal e funcional de FilocleÃo, mas para convidar a sociedade ateniense que salvaguarde as instituiÃÃes ou as funÃÃes do poder democrÃtico: a Assembleia do Povo, o Conselho dos Quinhentos e os Tribunais. Palavras-chave: As Vespas, AristÃfanes, Democracia, Tribunais, CleÃo. / This research of Master in Comparative Literature has for theme The portrait of judiciary institutions Athenian in comedy The Wasps, of Aristophanes. The approach of corruption in the judiciary institutions of the fifth century a. C., in The Wasps, highlight the artistic and political concerns of Aristophanes by preserving the values and integrity of democratic institutions of Athens. From the observation that proceeded Aristophanes in defense of the polis, the goal of this research is to analyze of the comedy The Wasps, centered on its principal: the prologue, the parodo, the agon, the parabasis, episodic scenes, the exodus and secondaries aspects: the educational, the political, the legal and the cultural. Aristophanes criticism came at a time when the Athenian society lived the splendor of democracy, reforms resulting from socio-political-economic Dracon, Solon, Cleisthenes and Pericles. In contrary pole of Athenian democracy, the politician and demagogue Cleon live, in the caricature comic, like a tyrant or an agent of divine king pre-classical Greece, which was the absolute master in society. Aristophanes covers all these aspects of Athenian life in two basic parts comedy: the first, going from verse 1 to verse 1010, relates to the conduct of manic of Filocleon (âWhich loves Cleonâ) by courts, and the attempt of his son, Bdelicleon (âWhich hates Cleonâ), to reeducating him; and the second, going from verse 1010 to verse 1535, concerned the social reintegration of FilocleÃo in Athenian life. Both parties of comedy are devoted, therefore, not only to criticize the conduct personal and functional of Filocleon, but invite the Athenian society to preserve its institutions or the functions of democratic power: the People's Assembly, the Council of Five Hundred and the Courts. Keywords: The Wasps, Aristophanes, democracy, Courts, Cleon.