aware of the reality behind her words. The play's chorus consists of elderly men, reflecting the absence of young men, casualties of the prolonged conflict.Lysistrata mourns the lack of eligible bachelors for the young women seeking husbands. As Aristophanes presented his play, the war showed no signs of ending, though it would finally conclude seven years later when Athens, besieged and starving, was forced to surrender.

The conclusion of the war marked a significant defeat for Athens, from which it could not rebound. In 404 B.C., a peace treaty was established, and Sparta enforced harsh penalties on Athens. Besides relinquishing nearly all of their remaining ships, Athens was compelled to dismantle its city walls and align its foreign policy with Sparta. The Peloponnesian War proved disastrous for Athens, resulting in the collapse of its empire. Although Athens continued to thrive as a hub of culture and wealth, its political power was permanently diminished. The city treasury, which Lysistrata and the elderly women aimed to protect, was devastated by the war that spanned twenty-seven years. Athens' government also underwent significant changes. Numerous political assassinations occurred, primarily orchestrated by the committee of thirty that Sparta installed to oversee Athens’ governance.

Audience
The audience is the group for whom a play is performed. Writers typically create their works with a specific audience in mind. Aristophanes wrote for viewers who sought entertainment through drama but also expected the playwright to weave in significant life lessons. In this context, the lesson revolves around an effective society and government that allows a prolonged war. This comedy employs satire and humor to convey to the audience that those in power have failed to effectively manage the war.

Character
A character is a person depicted in a dramatic piece. The narrative unfolds through the actions of each character, and their morality can also be a focal point. Characters may range from simple, stereotypical figures to complex, multifaceted individuals. They can also be defined by traits such as a rogue or a damsel in distress. Characterization involves crafting a lifelike persona from the author's imagination. To achieve this, the author endows the character with traits that define their identity and behavior in various situations. In Greek drama, character names often indicate their role, as seen in Lysistrata, where Lysistrata’s name means "she who disbands the army."

Chorus
In ancient Greek drama, the chorus was a group of actors who explained and commented on the play's action and themes, usually through song or chant. Initially, the chorus played a significant role in drama, as it does in Lysistrata. However, over time, its function waned, reducing the chorus to providing commentary between acts. Modern theater rarely incorporates a chorus.

Drama
Drama is typically defined as any work intended for stage performance. It includes a narrative, actors playing roles, and action. Historically, drama encompassed tragedy, comedy, religious pageant, and spectacle. In contemporary terms, drama addresses serious topics and themes but does not reach the gravitas of tragedy. Lysistrata is a traditional Greek drama. While drama informs and cautions, comedy can impart crucial lessons about governance. Audience laughter makes comedy a safer medium for critiquing those in power.

Genre
Genres are classifications of literature. The term "genre" is French for "kind" or "type." It can refer to categories like tragedy, comedy, epic, poetry, or pastoral, as well as modern forms like drama novels or short stories. It also includes literature types such as mystery, science fiction, comedy, or romance. Lysistrata belongs to the Greek comedy genre, specifically Old Comedy, characterized by earthy and humorous sexuality.

Farce
The play's action and dialogue are predominantly farcical, characterized by absurdity and exaggeration. The narrative unfolds over five days, beginning with the women taking control of the Acropolis, followed by a meeting between Athenian and Spartan envoys five days later. While exact timeframes aren't specified, the brief duration doesn't justify the extreme misery depicted by the men. The focus is on their physical discomfort and its obvious manifestations. The humor is crude and explicit, with suggestive references to what the women are withholding from the men.

Plot
The term "plot" refers to the sequence of events in a story. Typically, plots have a beginning, middle, and end, but they can also consist of interconnected episodes. Essentially, the plot allows the author to delve into key themes. Students often confuse plot with theme; however, themes delve into ideas, while plots simply recount events in a straightforward manner. For instance, in Lysistrata, the plot involves women refusing sex to compel men to end the war. The theme, however, critiques the ineffectiveness of men in resolving a war that has endured for twenty years and is set to continue for another seven.

Scene
Traditionally, a scene is part of an act, featuring continuous action in a specific time and place. However, Aristophanes does not use acts in this play, so the entire action occurs within a single scene, spanning an unspecified period, likely just a few days.

Setting
The setting refers to the time, place, and cultural context in which the play's events occur. Elements of the setting can include geographic location, physical or mental environments, prevailing cultural attitudes, or the historical period of the action. The main setting for Lysistrata is Athens, with the events taking place over several days, as suggested by the text to be around five days.

c. 411 B.C.: The democratic government of Athens is toppled by radicals who engage in open discussions with Sparta. These radicals are soon overthrown, and a few months later, the Athenian navy defeats the Spartan fleet.

Today: Greece stands as a unified nation with no city-state attempting to dominate the entire country.

c. 411 B.C.: The conflict between Sparta and Athens has persisted for two decades. The Peloponnesian War will conclude in 404 B.C. with Athens' defeat.

Today: Since the end of World War II, Greece has been marked by military coups and tensions with neighboring Turkey, but it is no longer seen as a leading military power.

c. 411 B.C.: In 429 B.C., a devastating plague wiped out a third, possibly up to two-thirds, of Athens' population. This led many Athenians to lose faith in their gods, resulting in widespread indulgence in drunkenness, gluttony, and immorality. This shift is evident in the play Lysistrata, where references to the gods are noticeably absent compared to earlier Greek dramas.

Today: Advances in medicine have allowed for the identification of disease causes, and most people today do not attribute plagues to divine wrath. However, there are instances, such as the early days of the AIDS epidemic, where parts of the population blamed the disease on divine punishment and moral judgment.

c. 411 B.C.: The annual drama awards at the Dionysus festival continue to attract the finest playwrights. Despite ongoing war, these dramatists fiercely compete for recognition and the title of greatest playwright.

Today: Dramatic competitions persist, with prizes for film and theater highly coveted each year. Winners of prestigious awards like Best Film at the Academy Awards or Best Play at the Critics' Circle Awards receive acclaim and financial rewards, facilitating future projects.

c. 411 B.C.: Slaves make up 25–35 percent of Greece's population, with many laboring in the silver mines.

Today: Slavery has long been abolished, but Greece now faces challenges of severe poverty and a declining economic foundation.

Although there are no film versions of this play, Lysistrata was transformed into an opera between 1963 and 1967. This adaptation was intended for performance by the Wayne State University opera workshop. A 90-minute cassette featuring the opera's music can be obtained from Greenwich Publishers located in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Sources
Aristophanes, Lysistrata, edited by Jeffrey Henderson, The Focus Classical Library, 1992.

Arkins, Brian, "Sexuality in Fifth-Century Athens," in Classics Ireland, University College, 1994.

Barnes, Clive, a collection of reviews on the 1930 production of Lysistrata, in New York Times Directory of the Theatre, Arno Press, 1973.

Coleman, Robert, review of Lysistrata, in Daily Mirror, November 25, 1959.

McCain, John, review of Lysistrata, in Journal American, November 15, 1959.

Motto, Anna Lydia, and John R. Clark, "Lysistrata: Overview," in Reference Guide to World Literature, 2nd ed., edited by Lesley Henderson, St. James Press, 1995.

Tyrrell, William Blake, and Larry J. Bennett, "Pericles' Muting of Women's Voices in Thuc. 2.45.2," paper presented at the Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, 1999.

Woolf, Virginia, "A Room of One's Own: Shakespeare's Sister," in The Lexington Reader, D.C. Heath & Co., 1987, pp. 50-60, originally published in 1929.

FURTHER READING
Bowie, A. M., Aristophanes: Myth, Ritual, and Comedy, Cambridge University Press, 1996. This book employs cultural anthropology techniques to compare Aristophanes' plays with ancient Greek myths and rituals. It also seeks to reconstruct the likely audience reactions to these performances.

MacDowell, Douglas M., Aristophanes and Athens: An Introduction to the Plays, Oxford University Press, 1995. This book offers insights into the political context of Aristophanes' works and is particularly useful for newcomers who may not be familiar with the social and political influences on the playwright's creations.

Rehm, Rush, Greek Tragic Theatre, Routledge, 1994. This book aids readers in understanding the mechanics of Greek tragedy. The author examines several play performances, prompting readers to consider the historical context in which these plays were staged.

Strauss, Barry S., Fathers and Sons in Athens: Ideology and Society in the Era of the Peloponnesian War, Princeton University Press, 1993. This text explores the impact of societal upheaval, especially during wartime, on family dynamics, particularly between fathers and sons. Strauss also makes connections between challenges faced by Athenian families and those experienced by modern families.

Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Penguin Classics, 1986. Thucydides' monumental account of the conflict between Sparta and Athens remains a timeless historical masterpiece.

Walton, J. Michael, Living Greek Theatre, Greenwood, 1987. This work concentrates on the staging and performance aspects of Greek theatre. The author attempts to bridge classical and contemporary theatre while offering extensive information on significant plays from the classical Greek era.

Wise, Jennifer, Dionysus Writes: The Invention of Theatre in Ancient Greece, Cornell University Press, 1998. The author explores the relationship between literature and theatre, examining how the emerging literary landscape influenced drama. This text also offers intriguing perspectives on the role of oral traditions in theatre.