Aristophanes in "The Wasps," which premiered in 422 B.C., satirizes the litigiousness of the Athenians and the state of their courts. He does not question the judicial function. On the contrary, his aim is to restore the institution, which had degenerated from a function of public oversight and justice into a pursuit of a meager salary and an opportunity for some citizens to indulge their vanity.

At the same time, the poet criticizes the way in which the powerful yet unscrupulous demagogues exploited the judges – who were draining the public treasury while most Athenians were starving – influencing them and often pushing them into unjust decisions...