ABSTRACT
The text of Clouds as it was staged at the Dionysia of 423 has not been preserved. The extant text is one to which the author added a new parabasis around the year 419-417: lines 520-35 of this parabasis reveal that his intention had been to re-enter into the competition the comedy which had been defeated in 423 by Kratinos and Ameipsias. However, this version of Clouds, commonly described as the Second, was not subsequently performed: this is attested to rigorously by ancient sources as reported by the scholia on Clouds 549 and 552.
