Cratinus’ fragment shows us the κομψὸς θεατής (subtle viewer) to whom drama of Euripides and Aristophanes as a dialogue appeals. Such κομψὸς θεατής, as we suppose, should recognize the principle of simulatio/dissimulatio (to show what is not really is and to hide what really is). Thus, on the one hand, we have to demonstrate what the principle of simulatio/dissimulatio is and where it could be derived from. On the other hand, we concern that the drama of Euripides and Aristophanes could be considered as a dialogue between such intellectual viewer and the intellectual context of this drama, the relationship of which could influence Plato’s drama.
     A connection between logos and the principle of simulatio/dissimulatio we find already in Euripides in the Hippolytus. Euripides seems to examine love (ἔρος). Phaedra, whose name is connected to Plato’s Phaedrus semantically (Phaed; Symp.) speaks of her love embodied in a speech (logos) and, therefore, in the φάρμακον (Hippol. 389-391;478-479;698-699): to tell about her love means a salvation and death at the same time. Then, the tragedy is not about love, supposedly, the tragedy is about speeches.
     In the Hippolytus we see how the relation between λόγος and the deeds that speech must reveal splits out: the letter of Phaedra lies, but Theseus considers it to be truth. Hippolytus is not guilty, but he seems guilty. The logos has a function of simulatio/dissimulatio, splitting out the relation between words and deeds (τὸ ὄνομα and τὰ πράγματα), discussed by Plato in Cratylus. Such ambivalence of the logos could be recognized only by the κομψὸς θεατής.
     The comedy of Aristophanes already represents the principle directly appealing to the viewer. For example, in the Acharnians Dikaiopolis, when he goes to the house of Euripides, begging him to help with the speech, appeals to the audience, saying that it is necessary for him that the audience see him as he is and he is not at the same time (Acharn. 440-445). The audience as a κομψὸς θεατής must distinguish between “to be” and “to seem” of the characters, who do not distinguish this within the comedy.
     Comedy by implementing the principle of simmulatio/dissimulatio focuses on the demonstrated and hidden, noticed only by a κομψὸς θεατής, who has a dialogue with an authors’ work and without whom this demonstrated remains closed in the structure of drama. If the drama of Euripides tells us that the author is involved in the formation of the philosophical thought of his era, Aristophanes, bringing Euripides to his scene confirms that Euripides is in the one intellectual context with the Sophists, where the logos and the problem of Being and Seeming had been discussed. Moreover, this kind of dialogue drama, based on simulatio / dissimulatio and addressed directly to the subtle viewer, could serve as the basis for formation of Plato’s drama, which has become a dialogue as such.
     

Euripides, Aristophanes, dialogue, drama, simulatio, dissimulatio, Hippolytus, logos