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A Glimpse of Theater History

  

Kratinos, (c. 520-423 B.C.)

Author of 21 comedies, none of which have survived except in fragments, Kratinos was highly regarded by his contemporaries. He won first prize nine times at the City Dionysia. In The Knights, Aritophanes refers to him as "a rushing torrent," it is supposed because of his fondness for high-blown diction and fancy figures. He has been compared in that regard to Aeschylos.

The plot of his last comedy, the Bottle, has been preserved. . In response to the taunts of Aristophanes and others, who declared that he was no better than a doting drunkard, Kratinos, in 423 B.C. produced this masterpiece, which was awarded first prize over the Clouds of Aristophanes. In the Bottle, good-humouredly making fun of his own weakness, Kratinos represents the comic muse as the faithful wife of his youth. His guilty fondness for a rival--the bottle--has aroused her jealousy. She demands a divorce from the archon; but her husband's love is not dead and he returns penitent to her side.