About the work
Aristophanes staged the comedy at the Lenaia in 422 BC, during a brief lull in the Peloponnesian War, and won second prize.
Plot
Old Philocleon is addicted to his work as a juror and, despite his son Bdelycleon's objections, refuses to miss a single day in court. When his son locks him inside the house, Philocleon promptly stages a mock trial against the family dog, accused of stealing cheese. Only after a supposed cure does Bdelycleon persuade him to attend a dinner party, where the drunken father causes fresh trouble and fresh lawsuits.
Cultural significance
The name Philocleon – 'lover of Cleon' – points to the politician Cleon, who had recently raised jurors' pay to three obols, which Aristophanes blames for fuelling poor Athenians' addiction to litigation. The play later served as school reading and inspired Jean Racine's only comedy, The Litigants (1668).