The Best Translation of Peace
Peace was written in Ancient Greek. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Jeffrey Henderson
Harvard University Press · 1998 · 606 pages
Henderson's Loeb edition, facing-page Greek. For a comedy this dense with Athenian politics, having the leading Aristophanes scholar of the generation walking you through it is the difference between getting the jokes and not.
Every recommended edition, compared
Sommerstein's Aris and Phillips commentary is the deepest line-by-line treatment in print. Far more apparatus than a first reading needs, but the right tool if you're actually working on Aristophanes.
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Reading Peace in translation
Peace was written in Ancient Greek, so unless you read Ancient Greek, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.