Katia Albini

SUMMARY: In Birds 1553-64 Aristophanes ridicules the philosopher Socrates and the demagogue Pisander of Acarne, a democratic politician, later one of the leaders of the oligarchic coup of 411 BC. As generally believed, Aristophanes hits Pisander for his cowardice, since he was traditionally portrayed as a coward. On account of the manifold meanings of the word psyche´ a different interpretation is possible. When Aristophanes mentions that Pisander paid a visit to Socrates, he probably hints at Pisander’s shifting political alliances, since the writer of comedies accused Socrates and his followers to sympathize with the oligarchic party. If the analysis of the passage is correct, we may infer that Pisander’s political ambiguity was already evident in 414 BC.