Character List

Strepsiades - An Athenian citizen and harried father, burdened by the debts his son,
Pheidippides, has incurred. Strepsiades is the "hero" of the play, but he is not very
heroic. He is concerned instead with pursuing his dishonest aim: shirking his debts
instead of taking responsibility for them. Therefore, Strepsiades is more of an "anti-
hero." He does not have the subtle, esoteric mind that it takes to succeed at the
school, but rather frustrates Socrates and the other Students at the school with his
stubbornness, his violence, and his limited, literal mind. He is a pragmatist, not a
philosopher, and as such he is rooted in the physical world, happiest delivering a
sound beating or masturbating. Because of his bumbling, brutish physicality, he is a
fitting foil to Socrates's pure intellectualism.

Strepsiades (In-Depth Analysis)

Pheidippides - The spend-thrift and arrogant son of Strepsiades. He has adopted the
aristocratic posturing of his mother and Uncle Megacles and demonstrates a passion
for horses as well as a passion for esoteric knowledge. He is cocky and smug and
proves a receptive pupil for the subtle rhetoric taught by Socrates. He is fascinated
by himself—at first, his own material needs and finally his own whirling dervish of
an intellect—and his egotism makes him cruel and ruthless.

Socrates - The master-sophist at the infamous school. Socrates is a spokesman for

the "new education" of rhetoric, atheism, science, and sophistry. He represents the
heights of esoteric knowledge—so removed from the reality of everyday life in
Athens as to appear floating! In contrast to the brutish physicality of Strepsiades,
Socrates represents pure, rarified intellect at its most ethereal and impractical.
However, Socrates is not "above" human emotions such as anger and impatience,
especially when plagued with such a buffoonish student as Strepsiades.

Socrates (In-Depth Analysis)

The Chorus of Clouds - The personified quasi-divinities who bring rain and thunder.
The Chorus of Clouds acts as a core voice in the play, explaining certain motives
and egging on the action. At times, they act as prophets, foreshadowing actions and
obstacles to come. The Chorus of Clouds can interact directly with the audience and
thus may seem to be removed from the action of the scene, much like the gods the
chorus is supposed to be replacing. The chorus' prescience and sense of resolve
makes its members obvious candidates for divinity; with their singing and dancing
en masse they lend the necessary air of ritual and spirituality. Also, because the
Chorus members speak directly to the audience about the play and about
playwriting itself, they become mouthpieces for Aristophanes himself.

The Chorus of Clouds (In-Depth Analysis)

Wrong Argument - A personified school of thought. Wrong Argument is Right
Argument's necessary foil. Like Socrates, Wrong Argument represents all that is
wrong with sophistry and the "new education"—the specious moral content masked
by slippery, well-wrought persuasion and rhetoric. Like Pheidippides, Wrong
Argument is smug and disdainful of tradition. He has a facile mind, if not necessarily
an upright set of values.

Right Argument - A personified school of thought. Right Argument is Wrong

Argument's necessary foil. He, like Strepsiades, represents the "old" or "traditional"
system of education, one that stressed obedience, reverence for one's elders,
values indoctrinated in martial poetry such as Homer, and physical fitness.
However, like Strepsiades, Right Argument's overdeveloped sense of the physical
will be his undoing: his own over-zealous sexual appetite undermines the moral
content in his argument, making him into a foolish pederast and not a wise
pedagogue.

Student - A disciple at Socrates's school who shows Strepsiades the ropes with
characteristic verbal flair and an air of secrecy worthy of the Free-Masons. The
Student takes great, albeit serious, delight in the minutiae of Socrates's scientific
investigations. He is, however, defensive of his school when Strepsiades drops by
and he acts defensively, even a bit neurotically, in order to maintain the order and
sanctity of their proceedings.

First Creditor - An angry Athenian to whom Strepsiades owes money. He comes to

demand Strepsiades's appearance in court and acts with great brashness and
surety. He pays great attention to detail and procedure—attention that he
demonstrates in bringing a witness with him when he pays his call. He is not
overjoyed to be prosecuting Strepsiades, but acts with good energy and
organization in preparing his case.

Second Creditor - A mopey Athenian to whom Strepsiades owes money. He is a

morose, weepy figure, prone to swearing great, pathetic oaths to the gods. A
comical figure of pathos. A great Greek Eeyore (of Winnie the Pooh fame).

Xanthias - A household slave to Strepsiades. He is obedient, but will stand up for

himself when challenged.

Chaerephon - A philosopher-sophist from Socrates's school. Renowned for his

paleness and his esoteric intellect, he is also whiny and helpless.

Students - Pupils of Socrates and Chaerephon. Blind adherents to esoteric

knowledge. Moony, silent, pale types without physical vigor.