This study of the gods in Aristophanes' Birds has served two purposes. It has presented each of the scenes in which the gods appear, paying close attention to their physical characteristics, as well as literary, religious, and philosophical contexts. Second, it has suggested a new political reading of the play. Because there are elements of unique fantasy and utopia in the play, many scholars have been unwilling to see Birds in relation to Athenian politics.[1] But when we look closely at how Peisetairos interacts with the gods he aims to overthrow, and how his world is different from both Olympos and Athens, we, as well as Aristophanes' audience, are left with a play that presents a fantastic world many Athenians desired to have. Only those who wished to continue living in an Athens where the stability of the demos depended on leaders who did not always have its interests at heart would reject Peisetairos' creation.

In this respect, Birds is similar to Aristophanes' earlier plays, in which the hero strives to find harmony in his comic world, between himself and the city he inhabits. Peisetairos embodies good upper class Athenian qualities that work to his advantage as well as the birds'. I have not argued that Peisetairos' ambition represents Athens' ambition to conquer Sicily; the text, I think, does not support this. But throughout the play, the world of Athens is constantly in mind and contrasted with the better, comic utopia of Nephelokokkygia. In the end, Peisetairos' success suggests to the Athenian audience that trusting elite rule may be more profitable for Athens.

While this is not a popular interpretation of the play, I believe it will be if scholars and readers of Aristophanes can be as amazed at the play's originality and poetic beauty as at Aristophanes' ability to enrich the plot with literary depth and a topicality that corresponds to the outlook of Aristophanic comedy.