Lysistrata by Aristophanes - Old Greek Comedy

Lysistrata by Aristophanes - Old Greek Comedy (Pronounced both ways, Liz-IS-trata and Lyzis-TRA-ta, Lysistrata is an anti-war comedy written by the fifth century Greek comic playwright Aristophanes.) Anti-War Sex Strike Lysistrata: And not so much as the shadow of a lover! Since the day the Milesians betrayed us, I have never once seen an eight-inch gadget even, to be a leathern consolation to us poor widows.... Now tell me, if I have discovered a means of ending the war, will you all second me?Cleonice: Yes verily, by all the goddesses, I swear I will, though I have to put my gown in pawn, and drink the money the same day.....Lysistrata: Then I will out with it at last, my mighty secret! Oh! sister women, if we would compel our husbands to make peace, we must refrain...-Lysistrata selection from EAWC Anthology Lysistrata Plot The basic plot of Lysistrata is that the women barricade themselves in the  acropolis and go on a sex strike to persuade their husbands to stop the Peloponnesian War. Fantastic Reversal of Societal Norms This is fantasy, of course, and was even more improbable at a time when women didnt have the vote and men had ample opportunities to whet their sexual appetites elsewhere. The sexual theme is just an attention-grabber. ... [T]he comedy neatly inverts spaces and boundaries the women turn the city into an extended household and seize control of the actual polis not as intruders but as reconcilers and healers. He [sc. Konstan] demonstrates how the womens visions and concepts surpass the fractious politics and warfare of the men.- From BMCR review of David Konstans Greek Comedy and Ideology Making Lysistrata even more far-fetched, according to Brian Arkins in Sexuality in Fifth-Century Athens, (1994) Classics Ireland, an Athenian male could be held incompetent at law for being under the influence of a woman. So, had Aristophanes plot been the historical reality since the women actually do get their way all the Athenian soldiers might have lost their legal rights for being under their wives power. Control of the War Chest Lysistratas band of chaste wives is supplemented by a band of older women who have taken the acropolis in order to  deny the soldiers access to the funds they need to wage war. When the Athenian men approach the acropolis, they are surprised by the number and determination of the women. When they express concern that the Spartans will destroy their city, Lysistrata assures them that women are all they need for defense. Womens Work Lysistrata uses an analogy from the mundane world in which ancient women lived to explain how their strategies will work: First you wash the city as we wash the wool,575cleaning out the bulls**t. Then we pluck away the parasites; break up strands that clump together, forming special interest groups; Heres a bozo: squeeze his head off. Now youre set to card the wool: use your basket for the carding, the basket of solidarity.580There we put our migrant workers, foreign friends, minorities, immigrants and wage-slaves, every person useful to the state. Dont forget our allies, either, languishing like separate strands. Bring it all together now, and585make one giant ball of yarn. Now youre ready: weave a brand new suit for all the citizens.- Lysistrata Lysistrata Makes the Peace After a while, the women grow weak with unsatisfied libido. Some claim they need to get home to their chores, although one is caught trying to escape to a brothel. Lysistrata assures the other women it wont be long; their husbands are in worse shape than they are. Soon men start showing up, trying everything to persuade their women to release them from their pointedly visible torments, but to no avail. Then a Spartan herald arrives to make a treaty. He, too, is very plainly suffering the priapism rampant among Athenian men. Lysistrata acts as go-between Sparta and Athens. After accusing both sides of dishonorable behavior, she persuades the men to agree to stop fighting. Male Female Actors The original comedy manipulated gender roles. Besides women acting like men (having political clout), there were men acting like women (all actors were male). The male characters wore large, erect leather phalluses like the one whose absence (see opening quote) Lysistrata laments. The convention of male actors playing female roles does appear to intrude into the text, just as it may have intruded into the performance. Femininity is represented by Aristophanes as the site of the ultimate comic figure: completely deceptive because she is not real at all. She must be given shape by a man, and everyone knows that.- From BMCR Review of Taaffes Aristophanes and Women Ancient/Classical History GlossaryGreek MythologyAncient AtlasGods and Goddesses A-ZFamous Ancient People (bbk.ac.uk/hca/classics/gender.htm) Aristophanes BibliographyFrom Diotima, scholarly work on Aristophanes. what Aristophanes must have gone through. Accessed 09.1999.(http://didaskalia.open.ac.uk/issues/vol2no1/withers.html) Writing New Ancient TheaterBy Paul Withers, from Didaskalia. Metaphor, simile, meter, unity of time and place are all ancient dramatic components that can be made use of in modern drama with classical themes. Accessed 09.1999.(http://didaskalia.open.ac.uk/issues/vol2no1/Rabinowitz.htm) The Male Actor of Greek Tragedy: Evidence of Misogyny or Gender-Bending?Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz doesnt believe it. She thinks the audience regarded the male actor as neither the man he was in real life, nor the woman he represented, but a representation of the woman. Accessed 09.1999.Guide for Aristophanes LysistrataFrom Temple University. Pages refer to text used in Greek Drama and Culture class. Contains plot summary and suggestions to make the play more entertaining like reading Lampito as a hillbilly. Accessed 04.21.2006.