Plutus (aka Wealth) is a play written by the great Greek comedy playwright Aristophanes in 388 BCE. It was the last of his plays to be performed during his lifetime. Like his earlier play Ecclesiazusae (The Assemblywomen), Wealth was written after the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War. Although the war was basically over, the city of Athens still suffered both economically and politically. The play centers on the status and poverty of everyday people. Aristophanes main character Chremylus, a poor Athenian, and his slave Carion are returning to the city from the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi when they meet a blind old beggar, identified later as Wealth. Upon returning to Athens with a reluctant Wealth, the social and economic structure of the city quickly changes, poverty and injustice quickly disappear. Riches are doled out to the deserving, but, unlike in his earlier plays, the rich in Wealth are not seen as virtuous and many of them lose their fortunes.
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