The Peloponnesian War was already into its sixth year when The Acharnians was produced. The Spartans and their allies had been invading Attica every year, burning, looting and vandalizing farm property with unusual ferocity in order to provoke the Athenians into a land battle that they couldn't win. The Athenians always remained behind their city walls until the enemy returned home, whereupon they would march out to wreak revenge on their pro-Spartan neighbours – Megara in particular. It was a war of attrition, it had already resulted in daily privations, in starvation and plague, and yet democratic Athens continued to be guided by the pro-war faction led by Cleon and exemplified by tough-minded militarists such as Lamachus. Meanwhile, Aristophanes had been engaged in a personal yet very public battle with Cleon. His earlier play, The Babylonians, had depicted the cities of the Athenian League as slaves grinding at a mill[7] and it had been performed at the City Dionysia in the presence of foreigners. Cleon had subsequently prosecuted him for slandering the polis — or possibly the producer, Callistratus, was prosecuted instead.[8] Aristophanes was already planning his revenge when The Acharnians was produced and it includes hints[9] that he would carve Cleon up in his next play, The Knights.
Some significant events leading up to the play:
- 432 BC: The Megarian decree began a trade embargo by Athens against the neighbouring polis of Megara. The Peloponnesian War commenced soon after.
- 430 BC: The Plague of Athens resulted in the deaths of many thousands of Athenians, including leading citizens such as Pericles.
- 427 BC: The Banqueters, the first play by Aristophanes, was produced. There was a recurrence of the plague at about the same time.
- 426 BC: The Babylonians won first prize at the City Dionysia. Cleon subsequently prosecuted the young playwright for slandering the polis in the presence of foreigners.
- 425 BC: The Acharnians was produced at the Lenaia.
Old Comedy was a highly topical form of drama and the audience was expected to be familiar with the various people named or alluded to in the play. Here is a short, selective list of identities named in the play:
- Pericles: The former populist leader of Athens, he is blamed here for starting the Peloponnesian War through his implementation of the Megarian Decree.[10] Pericles had died four years before, in the great plague that afflicted Athens as the city was being besieged by the Spartans.
- Aspasia: The mistress of Pericles and (reputedly) a brothel owner, she is implicated in the blame for starting the war.[11]
- Thucydides (politician): The leader of the opposition to Pericles, he is mentioned here as the victim of an unfair trial motivated by Cleon.[12] The same trial is also mentioned later in The Wasps.[13] This is Thucydides the son of Milesias, head of the aristocratic party; not the historian Thucydides son of Olorus.
- Lamachus: A general, a fervent advocate of the war against Sparta, he is mocked throughout this play as a rabid militarist. He is mentioned also in later plays.[14]
- Cleon: The populist leader of the pro-war faction and a frequent target in later plays, he is mentioned here in connection with four issues – 1. some political or financial loss he had suffered as a result of opposition from the class of knights (hippeis);[15] 2. his prosecution of Thucydides (in which context he is named only by his deme) [16] 3. his imputed foreign lineage;[17] 4. his prosecution of the author over the previous play.[18]
- Euthymenes: The archon eponymous for the year 437/6 BC, he is mentioned here as a means of dating the departure of the ambassador to Persia.[19]
- Cleonymus: A supporter of Cleon, he is immortalised in later plays as the coward who threw away his shield at the Battle of Delium in 424 BC (soon after The Acharnians was produced). He is mentioned here only in relation to his gluttony.[20]
- Hyperbolus: Another populist, he is mentioned here by The Chorus as a litigious individual best avoided but often encountered in the agora.[21] He is frequently mentioned in later plays:[22]
- Theorus: A supporter of Cleon, he appears here as the unreliable ambassador to Thrace. He is mentioned again in later plays.[23]
- Euathlos: A supporter of Cleon, he was involved in the prosecution of Thucydides.[24] He is mentioned later in The Wasps.[25]
- Pittalus: A prominent doctor in Athens, he is twice mentioned in this play in relation to medical treatment for injuries.[26] He receives another mention in the later play The Wasps.[27]
- Aeschylus: The famous tragic poet, he is briefly represented here as someone whose work is generally understood to be admirable.[28] He is mentioned also in later plays.[29]
- Euripides: The famous tragic poet, whose mythical heroes often appear on stage in shabby dress, he is a frequent target in later plays and he appears here as a magniloquent hoarder of disreputable costumes.
- Herodotus: The historian, who had been a recent visitor to Athens (where he gave readings of his history), he is not named but his work is satirized in the play (see the next section).
- Cephisophon: A leading actor of his time, rumoured to have cuckolded Euripides and to have helped in the writing of some of his plays, he appears here as the tragedian's servant. He is mentioned again in The Frogs .[30]
- Theognis: A minor tragic poet, he receives two brief, unfavourable mentions here.[31] He is mentioned again later in another play.[32]
- Antimachus: A choregus, he is the subject of an elaborate curse by the Chorus as punishment for vile behaviour.[33]
- Cleisthenes: A notoriously effete homosexual, often mentioned in later plays, he appears here disguised as a eunuch[34] and represented as the son of Sibyrtius, a famous athletic trainer – an unlikely association.[35]
- Straton: Another effete individual, he appears here alongside Cleisthenes another eunuch.
- Morychus: A notorious gourmand and possibly a tragic poet,[36] he is mentioned here as a lover of eels.[37] He is mentioned again in two later plays.[38]
- Ctesiphon: A notoriously fat Athenian, he provides a convenient gauge for measuring large volumes.[39]
- Lysistratus: A masochist, a member of high society and a practical joker,[40] he is one of the people best avoided in the agora.[41] He is mentioned again in later plays.[42]
- Pauson: A starving painter, he is yet another person to avoid in the agora.[43] He receives other mentions in later plays.[44]
- Hieronymus: A poet, he is best known for his long hair.[45]
- Cratinus (not the comic dramatist):[46] An obscure lyric poet, he is twice mentioned here – as another body best avoided in the agora[47] and as the subject of a humorous curse.[48]
- Coesyra: A rich woman, she is mentioned with Lamachus as the sort of person who manages to get out of Athens when times are awkward.[49] She is mentioned later in The Clouds.[50]
- Phaÿllus: The famous athlete of an earlier generation, he is casually mentioned here as the yardstick for youthful athleticism[51] (the base of a monument to him can still be found on the Acropolis).[52] He is mentioned later in The Wasps.[53]
- Chairis: A Theban piper, twice mentioned here as a source of shrill noise.[54] He is mentioned also in two other plays.[55]
- Moschus and Dechitheus: Musicians.
- Sitalces: A Thracian king and an ally of Athens, he is here said to record his love for Athens in graffiti.[56]
- Diocles: A Megarian hero, he is mentioned here casually in an oath.[57]
- Simaetha: A Megarian prostitute, her abduction by some Athenian revelers is said in this play to be one of the causes of the Peloponnesian War.[58]
