Old Comedy, Public Intellectuals and the Origins of Dissent Communication: The Case of Aristophanes

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the emergence of a strategic communication management of dissent (the so called dissent public relations) and to set its beginnings in the context of ancient Greek comedy represented by Aristophanes. Indeed, Old Comedy was the first great example of mass communication in which political satire was used to dissent and protest against political and social circumstances in fifth-century BC Athens. This situation was determined by the Peloponnesian War and its political, economic and social consequences. From this perspective, this article also constitutes an investigation into the intellectual history of public relations, of which Aristophanes can be considered one of its first practitioners.