Balladeer’s Blog’s previous look at Seven Ancient Greek Comedies with Themes That Are Still Relevant and Five More Ancient Greek Comedies … went over pretty well, so here are four more.

TAXIARCHOI – Written by Eupolis, who – along with Aristophanes and Cratinus – was one of the Big Three of Attic Old Comedy. The premise serves as a pointed reminder of the inherent ugliness in all taxation – that the power to impose and collect taxes is, ultimately, backed up by the use of force.

In Taxiarchoi the god Dionysus was depicted joining the title military unit in a presumed tax collecting expedition. The ancient Athenians valued freedom of expression so highly that even ridicule of their gods was permitted within the «anything goes» comedies performed in the Theater of Dionysus.

Because of that, Dionysus was depicted as he usually was in the comedies – fey, cowardly, soft and…