Introduction
The Wealth (often referred to by the Latinate form of its Greek title, Plutus) is Aristophanes’ last extant work. It was originally produced in 388 BCE. According to the ancient biographical tradition, two further plays, Cocalus and Aeolosicon, were produced by Aristophanes’ son Araros. Similar in style to the Ecclesiazusae (probably 391 BCE), the Wealth shares many of the earlier play’s concerns: poverty, injustice, and the quest for a better life for Athenian citizens in a fairer polis-society. Despite these affinities with Ecclesiazusae, Wealth is in fact the second incarnation of a play originally produced in 408; but it is impossible to determine the degree of difference between the two plays, because the surviving fragments of the earlier Wealth are simply too
3317 words
Citation: Tordoff, Robert. "Plutus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24950, accessed 22 November 2024.]
