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The Wasps is a play by Aristophanes.
The play revolves around Philocleon ("Friend of Cleon") and his son Bdelycleon ("Hater
of Cleon"). Philocleon is addicted to the proceedings of the Athenian court; he spends all his time as a juror, judging others.
Bdelycleon wants to help his father; he locks him in the house, but Philocleon is determined to get out and go to the court.
After a few comical and unsuccessful escape attempts, a chorus of wasps - his fellow jurors - come to his rescue. Bdelycleon
engages the wasps in a debate, and soon proves to them that by serving as jurors, they achieve nothing more than to serve the
demagogues. The chorus defeated, Philocleon resigns to staying home.
To help his father with his addiction, Bdelycleon sets up a court in his own home for his father to preside over. For lack of
anyone else to judge, Philocleon puts the family dog on trial; it ate a tasty piece of Sicilian cheese (apparently a reference to a recent trial in which Cleon accused another Athenian of accepting
bribes from Sicilian enemies of Athens).
In a farcical trial, Bdelycleon defends the dog and, when all else fails, a group of children dressed as the dog's puppies
come on stage. Philocleon is unmoved, but Bdelycleon switches the ballot boxes on him, and he is tricked into voting "not
guilty". When "all the votes" are counted, and the dog is acquitted, Philocleon faints; apparently he has never acquitted anyone
before.
The two then go to a party, and Philocleon gets really drunk, incoherent, and happy. The chorus comments that this is quite an
improvement for him. The play ends in a wild song and dance number performed by dancers dressed as crabs, representing the
tragedian playwrights of Athens.
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