The Discoursive "êthos" of the Aristophanic Antagonists in Aristophanes’ "Knights" and "Wasps"

Abstract

The technique of the êthos, Aristotle says, is to forge a positive image of the speaker, which makes it credible and favors the persuasive effect. In this work we propose to analyze a particular use of the technique of êthos in Aristophanes’ Knights and Wasps; this is the parodic use often made by those negative characters in the aristophanic comedy, i.e. the antagonists of the comic heroes. The speeches of Paphlagon-Cleon in Knights and Philocleon in Wasps, adversaries of the comic heroes, are characterized by having a harmful effect on the image of his enunciator: these speeches don’t exalt the image of the one who speaks, but on the contrary demolish it under the effects of the self-denounce. This particular parodic use of the technique of êthos undermine in the eyes of the public the position defended by the negative characters of the comedy, such as the ideas of the contemporary leader Cleon. The «negative» êthos has the advantage of producing a comic effect and, in turn, a persuasive effect degrading his target. This dual role makes the resource so effective for aristophanic comedy, which has as its central goal to make people laugh and, at the same time, persuade it about certain political ideas.