 Although comedy is sometimes identified as antagonist to philosophy in the “ancient quarrel” Plato speaks of between philosophy and poetry (Most 2011), Aristophanes has also long been seen as Plato’s precursor in the moralistic critique of poetry. They share conservative sensibilities that outweigh Aristophanes’ slander of Socrates in Clouds (Nussbaum 1980). But Aristophanes’ influence on Plato extends, as commentators do not always recognize, to the nature of mimêsis. He uses that word in a technical sense that describes what actors do in a play, and with suggestions of fraud or concealment.