A CLASSICAL ANTI-WAR PLAY in the Greek tradition, "The Acharnians" of Aristophanes is a hilarious satire which follows the attempts of the hero Dicaeopolis to make a personal peace with the Spartans, against whom his native city of Athens is fighting in the Peloponnesian War. After side-stepping informers, the Athenian Assembly, a belligerent general, and the playwright Euripides, Dicaeopolis convinces the Chorus of Acharnians, coal-miners who have lost all to the Spartan invasions, that maybe Athens' war isn't serving their interests after all. Stunningly contemporary in its themes and translation, the Acharnians is as powerful an indictment of unnecessary war today as 2400 years ago, when it was first produced.
 
The complete Jeffrey Henderson translation, through Focus Publishing, is available at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu