Many of the conventions we find in comedy today have their origins in Greek comedy and Aristophanes is heralded as Greece’s foremost comedy playwright.
Aristophanes was a contemporary of the famous dramatists Euripides and Sophocles although he was noted for his comedies rather than dramas. His plays continue to be produced and have remained popular because of their wit, comic invention, and poetic language.
Aristophanes is believed to have been born in Athens, Greece in 448 BCE. While many of his plays have a broad, almost slapstick ribald, style of humour they were first and foremost satires. During his lifetime, Athens underwent huge social changes as well as suffering through the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath. Aristophanes found many targets in the politicians, poets, and philosophers of his day. No one escaped his rapier like satire and no class, group, age, sex or profession was exempt.
Over his 90 years, Aristophanes wrote more than 40 plays, although only 11 are extant.
Dramatists competed in the Festival while comedic writers competed at two events the City Dionysia and the Lenea festival. Aristophanes was probably victorious at least once at the City Dionysia, with Babylonians in 426 and at least three times at the Lenaia, with Acharnians in 425, The Knights in 424, and Frogs in 405 BCE.
Later plays, although more famous to us were not as well received. The Clouds, for example, was awarded a humiliating third place when it was first performed in 423BCE.
The Acharnians, written around 425 BCE, was a none too subtle plea for ending the war with Sparta. The Knights, written the following year was a blistering satirical attack on the Athenian politician, demagogue and military leader Cleon. Thucydides had little good to say about Cleon either, but many have seen Cleon’s savaging of one of Aristophanes’ earlier plays and Cleon’s attempts to prosecute the playwright for defaming the state publicly as the real reason behind the play’s satirical jabs. 
Over the next four years Aristophanes wrote his most famous works. The Clouds satirized the philosopher Socrates, and the pretensions of self-involved academia. According to contemporary sources and Plato’s Symposium, Socrates was not offended the satire and the philosopher and playwright were perhaps friends. In The Wasps, Aristophanes satirized the law courts of the day, and in The Peace written in 421 BCE he again argued for peace between Athens and Sparta. Later plays were less successful and today, with the exception of The Frogs, a satirical attack on Euripides written in 405 BCE, a seldom performed.

The Birds

The Birds, written in 414 BCE, is a fantasy that takes place in the clouds in “cloudcuckooland.” Two Athenian gentlemen, Pisthetairos and Euelpides, flee war ravaged Athens to find a King who has been turned into a bird in the hope he can show them a new utopia in the clouds. Once in the sky, the meet up with the King’s bird descendants. They also find the city of birds and quickly the two Athenians become rulers. Pisthetairos becomes eventually becomes dictator, forcing Euelpides to leave in disgust.  Pisthetairos has a giant wall built and all visitors tossed out. The Titan Prometheus arrives to inform the birds that the city has become the focus of all of humanity’s worship and the Gods no longer receive sacrifice from humans. Eventually Pisthetairos negotiates a treaty with the gods of Olympus giving the sacrifices back to the gods in return for being allowed to marry Zeus’ hand maiden, the real power in the universe. Thus Pisthetairos becomes ruler of the universe.
The play is a satire on how the desire for utopia can be quickly blinded by power. It details how an egalitarian gentleman can so easily become a tyrant. The play was written during the disastrous Sicilian campaign, which eventually led to the destruction of Athens in the Peloponnesian War and can be also be seen as satire on hubris and the Athenian arrogance in the face of an impending disaster.

Lysistrata

Written in 411 BCE, this play is perhaps Aristophanes’ most famous work. The play is still performed today as an anti-war comedy. Aristophanes was less concerned with making an anti war statement than he was about criticizing the fact that Greeks were fighting Greeks. The play was written during the 21st year of the Peloponnesian War and the play suggests a desperate remedy is called for.
The women of Athens, led by Lysistrata and supported by female delegates from the other states of Greece, decide to take matters into their own hands and force the men to stop the war. At a meeting of the women, Lysistrata exlains her scheme -- very wife and mistress should refuse all sexual favours whatsoever, till the men have come to terms of peace. If the women are forced they are to give in they are to be passive and unpassinate and only give the minimum amount of pleasure to their partners.
The plan of campaign is adopted, and the assembled women take a solemn oath to observe the compact faithfully. As a precautionary measure they seize the Acropolis, and the State treasury. The agitated men of the city try to take the fortress but are repulsed by "the terrible regiment" of women. Before long the sexual abstinence plan of Lysistrata proves effective, and peace soon breaks out.
The plot obviously lends itself to a lot of ribald humour, which has contributed to the play’s ongoing popularity. The plot has also made it a popular play among women, who enjoy outcome the “girl power” storyline.