Aristophanes' The Birds can be seen as a "comedy of fantasy", but some scholars see The Birds as a political satire on the imperialistic dreams that led Athenians to undertake their ill-fated expedition in 415 BCE to concur Syrcause in Sicily. Peisthetaerus
"In 431 BC, the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League went to war against the Athenian-led Delian League in what is called the Peloponnesian War. The two sides agreed to a Fifty-Year Truce in 421 BC that only lasted until 415 BC when the Athenian attack on the Sicilian city of Syracuse provoked the Spartans to recommence the war against Athens."
This war influences Aristophanes' The Birds when Peisthetaerus leads the birds to build a kingdom between heaven and earth. Peisthetaerus disgust reflects that of the Athenians when they went after Syracuse.
Further reading on the war in 415 BCE:
"Syracuse Expedition: 415-413 BC." Then Again. . . Web. 31 Oct. 2010. <http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/mediterranean/Syracuse.html>.
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