The Acharnians

The Acharnians is a comedic play by the ancient Greek Aristophanes. Written and performed during the Peloponnesian War, it is famous for its anti-war stance. Produced in 425 BC by Callistratus, it won Aristophanes a first prize at the Lenaea.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The play is set in the present; Athens is at war with Sparta, and has declared a trade embargo with neighboring Megara. Dicaeopolis, a war veteran himself, is sick and tired of the war; he declares a truce with the enemy, and opens up his home as a sort of free-trade zone.

A chorus of Acharnian charcoal peddlers wants to stone him to death, but he holds them off by holding a bucket of charcoal hostage, threatening to dismember it if they attack. They allow him to make a public address, and he goes to the poet Euripides for tragic props in order to make himself seem more piteous. He eloquently denounces the war and the false pretenses under which it was started. General Lamachus shows up, and the two men exchange insults. The chorus is convinced by Dicaeopolis, and is now in favor of peace. They make a moving speech about the justice system in Athens.

Dicaeopolis opens his market. Comedy ensues. A Megarean puts his two young daughters in a sack, and sells them off as suckling pigs. A Boeotian merchant trades his entire stock of poultry and eels for an Athenian police informant; he plans to make money by displaying him as a wild beast back home. In the end, Dicaeopolis enjoys a huge feast with the goods and women he has accumulated; while Lamachus returns from battle bloodied, defeated and shamed.

Throughout the play, Aristophanes takes every opportunity to make fun of the Athenian establishment; Euripides, the Prytanes, the Generals, and, of course, Cleon, whom he also lampoons in The Knights.

While not as well known as Lysistrata, The Acharnians is widely considered one of Aristophanes' finer efforts.