Thesis advisor: Robert C. Bartlett / This dissertation seeks to understand Aristophanes’ critique of philosophic wisdom in three of his comedies: Clouds (423 BC), Women at the Thesmophoria (411 BC) and Frogs (405 BC). Written over the politically turbulent period of the Peloponnesian war (434-404 BC), these comedies navigate a generational conflict between conservative defenders of Athens’s customs, laws and gods and the younger generation influenced by the atheistic teachings of the sophists. This dissertation seeks to contribute to our understanding of Aristophanes’ critique by comparing his presentation of Socrates with that of Euripides, a tragedian who ingenuously fuses poetry with the new sophistic teaching. The first chapter considers Aristophanes’ representation of Socrates in Clouds as the sophist par excellence who replaces the gods of the city with natural causes, and respect for the city’s laws with rhetoric. Although the comedy looks like a conservative defense of traditional morality against the corrupting effects of philosophic novelty, the grounds of Aristophanes’ attack on Socrates are anything but clear. As Aristophanes’ depiction of the Clouds (strange airy deities worshipped by poets and sophists alike) shows, Socrates’ destruction at the end of the play occurs not because what Socrates teaches is false, but because his political isolation blinds him to the city’s demands and makes him vulnerable to persecution. Socrates’ failure in Clouds establishes the basis for considering Euripides’ (partially) successful confrontation with the city in Women at the Thesmophoria. The second chapter assesses the extent to which this hybrid of tragedian and sophist can be harmonized with the needs of the city without compromising his own integrity as a poet whose power lies in his psychologically accurate depictions of human nature. Aristophanes thus points to the superiority of Euripides the poet over Socrates the philosopher, at the same time as he exposes Euripides’ limitations. In Frogs, Aristophanes raises the stakes by pitting Euripides against another giant of tragedy, Aeschylus, in the Thunderdome of Hades with the god of the theatre, Dionysus, as judge. The comedy thus compares the two greatest poetic representatives of the generational conflict between conservative and sophist, old and new, common good and individual good, deciding at the last second in favor of Aeschylus. The chapter argues that Euripides fails because he cannot provide a sufficient political defense of his tragedy at the moment in which Athens faces imminent destruction at the hands of the Spartans. The conclusion reflects on Aristophanes’ implicit claim to teach justice and the good through comedy’s capacity to mediate between the demands of the city, on the one hand, and the insights on human nature afforded by philosophy, on the other. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

My thesis uses Thebes as case study to focus on Theban religious practices during the Classical age (traditionally defined as between 510 BCE and 323 BCE). By narrowing my study to this geographical and chronological scope, my research aims to add to the traditional narrative of Theban history by focusing on religious history rather than the political or military. More particularly, by using both literature (Classical Greek tragedies) as well as material culture found in exceptional religious settings of the Thesmophoria and Kabeirion, I strive to delineate some of the religious practices taking place in the polis of Thebes during the Classical age. While the Theban tragedies provide a view of religion from a broader perspective, the material evidence of the festival of the Thesmophoria and the rites to the Kabeiroi provide a glimpse into the practices of Theban religion that lie outside the traditional, Olympian pantheon. I argue that studying Theban literature and votive offerings in tandem can provide a perspective at the micro-level of Greek religion that can be expanded in order to understand the religious landscape of ancient Greece on a much deeper and richer level. / Master of Arts / My thesis focuses on Thebes, a city-state in Ancient Greece famous for being the setting of the tragic stories of Oedipus and his family. Many historians focus on this literary tradition or the ways in which Theban military exploits affected their position of power in the Greek world; however, I center my study on the religious landscape of this particular city-state between the years of 510 BCE and 323 BCE. My first chapter takes a step back, outlining the way in which religion is presented to an audience at this time through the plays Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Seven Against Thebes. In the next two chapters, I turn to look at items housed in the Archaeological Museum of Thebes regarding two specific religious events that took place in and around ancient Thebes: The Thesmophoria and the initiation into the rites of the Kabeiroi. The material evidence that I survey in these two chapters provide a glimpse into the practices of Theban religion that lie outside the traditional practices and participants. I argue that studying these particular pieces of written and material evidence in combination with one another provides a perspective at the local level of Theban religion that can also be expanded in order to under the religious landscape of ancient Greece on a much deeper and richer level.

An appreciation for the satire inherent in Aristophanes' Greek comedies Lysistrata, Women in Parliament and Women Celebrating the Thesmophoria is integral to understanding its ironic impact on modem day feminist movements. Using political events in the 21 st century, we can see how Aristophanes' mockery of the agency of women outside of the oikos, or the domestic space, has been challenged and defeated. I will support my ideas using the plethora of scholarly research I have consulted during my exploration of the works of Aristophanes. This research includes articles and books from authors such as David Cohen, Martine De Marre, Helene Foley, David Halperin, Froma I. Zeitlin and Gonda Van Steen. Furthermore, I will identify instances in Aristophanes' plays where his ridicule is most evident.

Le travail porte sur les aspects du mythe de Korè-Perséphone se référant à l’Attique, son culte et sa présence en dehors de la religion civique. La première partie examine le mythe de Korè et les étymologies du nom proposées par les Anciens. La deuxième partie porte sur les fêtes et les cultes d’Attique où Korè apparaît, seule ou aux côtés de Déméter : les Thesmophories, les Mystères d’Éleusis, les Petits Mystères d’Agra, les Skira et les Halôa, les cultes thesmophoriques et éleusiniens locaux, les sanctuaires et les emplacements sacrés relatifs à la déesse. La troisième partie est consacrée à la place de la déesse dans la magie, dans les associations religieuses dionysiaques ou orphiques (collège des Iobacchoi), et au manuel d’onirocritique d’Artémidore. La quatrième partie contient le corpus des textes cités au cours du travail : les sources littéraires, les documents épigraphiques et papyrologiques. Un appendice est consacré à l’image de Korè-Perséphone dans l’oeuvre de Porphyre. / The study focuses on aspects of the myth of Kore-Persephone referring to Attica, its worship and its presence outside the civic religion. The first part focuses on the myth of Kore and different suggestions for the etymologies of names proposed by the Elders. The second part focuses on festivals and cults of Attica where Kore appears alone or alongside of Demeter: the Thesmophoria, the Eleusinian Mysteries, the lesser mysteries of Agra, Skira and Haloa, local Thesmophoria and Eleusinian worships, shrines and sacred sites related to the goddess. The third part is dedicated to the place of the goddess in magic, in Dionysian or Orphic religious connections (Society of Iobacchoi) and Artemidorus’ treatise on oneirocriticism. The fourth part contains the corpus of texts referenced in the work (literary sources, inscriptions and papyrus). An appendix is devoted to the image of Kore-Persephone in the works of Porphyry.