Lysistrata

Lysistrata (Lysistratē)

    Alternative Title: Revolt of the Women

    Author: Aristophanes

    First Performance: 411 BC, Athens

    First English Translation: 1878

    Genre: Greek com. in verse

    Setting: Before the Acropolis in Athens, early 5th c. bc

    Cast: 10m, 13f, extras, chorus (m), chorus (f)

Lysistrata (= ‘disbander of armies’), an Athenian woman, persuades the wives of Athens and other warring states to withhold their sexual favours from their husbands and lovers until they give up their senseless war. They join forces with the chorus of old women who have already taken over the Acropolis. A chorus of old men attempt to smoke the women out of the Acropolis, but they and the police are repelled by the women. It is proving difficult for the women to maintain their resolve, but one...

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