Aristophanes is thought to be the greatest comedic playwright of Ancient Greek drama. In fact, his comedies constituted a whole movement in theater history, known as Old Comedy. In order to understand "Old Comedy," one must look to the plays of Aristophanes. As defined by the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Old Comedy plays are characterized by an exuberant and high-spirited satire of public persons and affairs. Composed of song, dance, personal invective, and buffoonery, the plays also include outspoken political criticism and comment on literary and philosophical topics. The plays, consisting of loosely related episodes, were first performed in Athens for the religious festival of Dionysus."
Aristophanes' plays are important touchstones of Old Comedy, in that they often include many of these elements, and are satires of the political realities of Athens during which he was writing. The Clouds is a political satire looking at the trial of Socrates. Lysistrata took a raunchy and comedic approach to critiquing the Peloponnesian War. The Frogs was a satire of Greek drama itself.
The end of Old Comedy came with the end of the Peloponnesian War, in which Athens was defeated by the Peloponnesian League (Sparta). After the defeat, many of the trappings of Old Comedy became less popular, and the genre was replaced by New Comedy. New Comedy was more realistic, with characters who were everyday people, rather than heroic or supernaturally gifted figures. These dramas were often more social and quotidian in nature, more often than not following love affairs and mistaken identities.
