One of the few surviving examples of Old Comedy, the dramatic structure employed in Lysistrata represents a departure from conventions that organize Aristophanes' earlier plays. In particular the absence of a formal parabasis, or choral ode, and the informality of debate during the agon draw attention to the absurdity of a classical woman engaging in public debate.
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Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusae, another play focused on women transgressing the boundaries of the hearth (oikos) to participate in the political arena, premiered in the same year. Close on the heels of Athens' catastrophic defeat in the Sicilian Expedition of 413 BC, these plays exemplify Aristophanes' marked talent for satirizing contemporary society, politics, literature, and the Peloponnesian War.
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These lines, spoken by Lysistrata and her friend Calonice (Greek: 'Kalonike') at the beginning of the play, set the scene for the action that follows. Women, as represented by Calonice, are sly hedonists in need of firm guidance and direction. Lysistrata however is an extraordinary woman with a large sense of individual responsibility. She has convened a meeting of women from various city states in Greece (there is no mention of how she managed this feat) and, very soon after confiding in her friend about her concerns for the female sex, the women begin arriving. With support from Lampito, the Spartan, Lysistrata persuades the other women to withhold sexual privileges from their menfolk as a means of forcing them to end the interminable Peloponnesian War. The women are very reluctant but the deal is sealed with a solemn oath around a wine bowl, Lysistrata choosing the words and Calonice repeating them on behalf of the other women. It is a long and detailed oath, in which the women abjure all their sexual pleasures, including The Lioness on The Cheese Grater (a sexual position). Soon after the oath is finished, a cry of triumph is heard from the nearby Acropolis – the old women of Athens have seized control of it at Lysistrata's instigation, since it holds the state treasury, without which the men cannot long continue to fund their war. Lampito goes off to spread the word of revolt and the other women retreat behind the barred gates of the Acropolis to await the men's response.
Favorite Quotes
To My Husband.
Husband Quotes
It has reminded my husband
The Husband Store
Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusae, another play focused on women transgressing the boundaries of the hearth (oikos) to participate in the political arena, premiered in the same year. Close on the heels of Athens' catastrophic defeat in the Sicilian Expedition of 413 BC, these plays exemplify Aristophanes' marked talent for satirizing contemporary society, politics, literature, and the Peloponnesian War.
husband quotes
These lines, spoken by Lysistrata and her friend Calonice (Greek: 'Kalonike') at the beginning of the play, set the scene for the action that follows. Women, as represented by Calonice, are sly hedonists in need of firm guidance and direction. Lysistrata however is an extraordinary woman with a large sense of individual responsibility. She has convened a meeting of women from various city states in Greece (there is no mention of how she managed this feat) and, very soon after confiding in her friend about her concerns for the female sex, the women begin arriving. With support from Lampito, the Spartan, Lysistrata persuades the other women to withhold sexual privileges from their menfolk as a means of forcing them to end the interminable Peloponnesian War. The women are very reluctant but the deal is sealed with a solemn oath around a wine bowl, Lysistrata choosing the words and Calonice repeating them on behalf of the other women. It is a long and detailed oath, in which the women abjure all their sexual pleasures, including The Lioness on The Cheese Grater (a sexual position). Soon after the oath is finished, a cry of triumph is heard from the nearby Acropolis – the old women of Athens have seized control of it at Lysistrata's instigation, since it holds the state treasury, without which the men cannot long continue to fund their war. Lampito goes off to spread the word of revolt and the other women retreat behind the barred gates of the Acropolis to await the men's response.
Favorite Quotes
To My Husband.
Husband Quotes
It has reminded my husband
