ABSTRACT
The Argument’s considerations regarding Aristophanes’ desire to recommend his son to the audience are certainly no more than the opinion of a scholar who happened to have theatrical information relative to the two comedies succeeding Plutus (and perhaps noticed that they had been a great success: see further on). It is instead admissible to assume that Aristophanes died after Plutus and that his son brought the two comedies his father had left him to the stage, particularly when the Suda reports that Araros made his début (with comedies of his own) no earlier than 375-372. It seems almost definite that one of the two Aristophanic comedies was staged by Araros at the Dionysia of 387, inasmuch as the Fasti that year ascribe a victory to him: this was discussed at the end of section 6 of chapter 2, Chronology.
