How did Babylonians depict Athens’s allied city-states?

In his comedy Babylonians (426 BCE), the Greek dramatist Aristophanes depicted the city-states that were theoretically allied with Athens as slaves of the Athenian Demos, a personification of the Athenian citizen electorate.1

Although these city-states were officially considered allies, they functioned in practice as satellites of Athens. By portraying them in this manner, alongside a virulent attack on the Athenian demagogue Cleon, the play provoked a political backlash that led to Aristophanes being impeached by Cleon.1