At the annual Athenian drama festival in 426 BC, a comic play called "The Babylonians" written by a young poet named Aristophanes was awarded first prize.

西元前 426 年，在雅典年度的戲劇節上，一齣由名為阿里斯托芬這位年輕詩人所撰寫的喜劇《巴比倫人》榮獲了冠軍殊榮。

But the play's depiction of Athens' conduct during the Peloponnesian War was so controversial that afterwards,

但這齣劇中對於雅典在伯羅奔尼撒戰爭期間的作為有著極具爭議性的描寫，

a politician named Kleon took Aristophanes to court for "slandering the people of Athens in the presence of foreigners".

以致於後來有一位名叫克萊昂的政客，利用「在外國人面前誹謗雅典人」的理由把阿里斯托芬送上了法庭。

Aristophanes struck back two years later with a play called "The Knights".

阿里斯托芬兩年後再次反擊，推出名為《騎士》的一齣劇。

In it, he openly mocked Kleon, ending with Kleon's character working as a lowly sausage seller outside the city gates.

在該劇中，他公開嘲弄克萊昂，結局是克萊昂的角色在城門外做著低下的香腸銷售員工作。

This style of satire was a consequence of the unrestricted democracy of 5th-century Athens and is now called "Old Comedy".

會出現這種諷刺風格是因為第五世紀的雅典有著不受限制的民主政體，而這種風格現在被稱為「舊喜劇」。

Aristophanes' plays, the world's earliest surviving comic dramas, are stuffed full of parodies, songs, sexual jokes, and surreal fantasy.

阿里斯托芬的戲劇是世界上存留下來最早的喜劇戲劇，充滿了滑稽模仿、歌曲、黃色笑話，以及超現實的幻想。

They often use wild situations, like a hero flying to heaven on a dung beetle or a net cast over a house to keep the owner's father trapped inside, in order to subvert audience expectations.

這類戲劇通常會用荒唐的情境，比如英雄騎著蜣螂飛向天堂，或是在一間房子上蓋著一張網來把屋主的父親困在屋內，藉此來顛覆觀眾的期望。

And they've shaped how comedy's been written and performed ever since.

它們形塑出了喜劇從此之後的編劇和表演方式。

The word "comedy" comes from the Ancient Greek "komos" ⏤ revel ⏤ and "oide" ⏤ singing ⏤ and it differed from its companion art form, "tragedy", in many ways.

「喜劇（comedy）」這個詞來自古希臘文「komos」（狂歡）以及「oide」（唱歌）兩詞，並且和它相對應的「悲劇」藝術形式在很多方面都有所不同。

Where ancient Athenian tragedies dealt with the downfall of the high and mighty, their comedies usually ended happily.

古雅典悲劇處理的是高位、強大的人墮落的故事，而喜劇則總是快樂地收場。

And where tragedy almost always borrowed stories from legend, comedy addressed current events.

悲劇總喜歡引用傳說的故事，喜劇則是反映了時事。

Aristophanes' comedies celebrated ordinary people and attacked the powerful.

阿里斯托芬的喜劇會讚頌凡人、攻擊當權者。

His targets were arrogant politicians, war-mongering generals, and self-important intellectuals ⏤ exactly the people who sat in the front row of the theatre, where everyone could see their reactions.

他針對的目標是自大的政客、製造戰爭的將軍，以及妄自尊大的知識分子，而這些正是在劇院中會坐在前排，讓大家都能看到他們反應的人。

As a result, they were referred to as komoidoumenoi, "those made fun of in comedy".

因此，這些人被稱為 komoidoumenoi，亦即「在喜劇中被玩弄的人」。

Aristophanes' vicious and often obscene mockery held these leaders to account, testing their commitment to the city.

阿里斯托芬的嘲弄很惡毒，常常也很粗俗，而他就是要這些領導者負責，考驗他們對城市的投入。

One issue, in particular, inspired much of Aristophanes' work: the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta.

而阿里斯托芬有一個特別中意的創作靈感來源：那就是雅典和斯巴達之間的伯羅奔尼撒戰爭。

In "Peace", written in 421 BC, a middle-aged Athenian frees the embodiment of peace from a cave where she'd been exiled by profiteering politicians.

在西元前 421 年所寫的《和平》一作當中，一位中年雅典人把具像化成為人的「和平」從一個洞穴中解放出來，而她是被牟取暴利的政客給放逐到那裡去的。

Then, in the aftermath of a crushing naval defeat for Athens in 411 BC, Aristophanes wrote "Lysistrata".

接著，在西元前 411 年雅典海軍慘敗之後的時期，阿里斯托芬寫了《利西翠妲》。

In this play, the women of Athens grow sick of war and go on a sex strike until their husbands make peace.

在這部劇作中，厭倦了戰爭的雅典女性們決定進行性罷工，直到她們的丈夫願意談和為止。

Other plays use similarly fantastic scenarios to skewer topical situations, such as in "Clouds", where Aristophanes mocked fashionable philosophical thinking.

其他的劇作也用類似的奇幻情境來串起很有話題性的情境，比如在《雲》中，阿里斯托芬便嘲弄了流行的哲學思想。

The hero, Strepsiades, enrolls in Socrates' new philosophical school, where he learns how to prove that wrong is right and that a debt is not a debt.

主角史粹普西底斯進入蘇格拉底的新哲學學校就讀，而它在那裡學到了如何證明錯的是對的，以及如何證明債不是債。

No matter how outlandish these plays get, the heroes always prevail in the end.

不論這些劇作有多麼古怪，到最後，主角總是會獲勝。

Aristophanes also became the master of the "parabasis", a comic technique where actors address the audience directly, often praising the playwright or making topical comments and jokes.

阿里斯托芬也成為合唱隊主唱段的大師。合唱隊主唱段是一種技巧，在其中演員會直接對觀眾演說，通常是讚美劇作家或是做主題性的評論及說笑話。

For example, in "Birds", the chorus takes the role of different birds and threatens the Athenian judges that if their play doesn't win first prize, they'll defecate on them as they walk around the city.

比如在《鳥》中，合唱團扮演不同的鳥類角色並威脅雅典裁判，如果他們的劇作沒得到第一名，他們就會在裁判們在街上中行走時，把鳥糞拉在他們身上。

Perhaps the judges didn't appreciate the joke, as the play came in second.

可能是裁判不怎麼欣賞這個玩笑，最後這部劇作得到了第二名。

By exploring new ideas and encouraging self-criticism in Athenian society, Aristophanes not only mocked his fellow citizens, but he shaped the nature of comedy itself.

透過開發新點子以及在雅典社會中鼓勵自我批判，阿里斯托芬不僅止於嘲笑他的市民同伴們，更形塑出了喜劇的本質。

Hailed by some scholars as the father of comedy, his fingerprints are visible upon comic techniques everywhere, from slapstick to double acts, to impersonations, to political satire.

有些學者稱他為喜劇之父，在各種喜劇技巧中都看得見他的影子，從低俗鬧劇喜劇，到雙人搭擋演出，到模仿，到政治諷刺劇。

Through the praise of free speech and the celebration of ordinary heroes, his plays made his audience think while they laughed.

透過讚美自由言論及讚頌平凡英雄，他的劇作讓觀眾在歡笑的同時，也能有所思考。

And his retort to Kleon in 425 BC still resonates today: "I'm a comedian, so I'll speak about justice no matter how hard it sounds to your ears."

而他在西元前 425 年對克萊昂的反擊，至今仍然在迴響著：「我是位喜劇演員，所以我會訴說正義，不論你聽起來覺得多麼不順耳。」

Did you know that TED-Ed has a student voice program? Students between 8 and 18 years old are invited to develop and share their big ideas on the TED platform. Visit ed.ted.com/clubs to learn more.

你知道 TEDEd 現在有個學生發聲計畫嗎？歡迎年齡在 8 到 18 歲的學生們在 TED 平台上建構並分享你們的卓越點子。前往 ed.ted.com/clubs 以了解更多。