Lysistrata
by Aristophanes

While the Peloponnesian war continues to rage, keeping the cities’ menfolk far from home, Lysistrata persuades the women of Athens and Sparta to abstain from their “marital duties” until the two cities bring hostilities to an end. At the same time, the women seize the public treasury which is used to fund the military campaigns. The women’s actions have an immediate impact and the men in the opposing camp respond in every possible way. After setbacks, bickering and negotiations, peace is achieved and celebrated with a Bacchic feast.

Lysistrata was first performed in 411 BC, about eighteen months after Athens and its allies suffered a devastating defeat during the Sicilian campaign. It was in this atmosphere that Aristophanes made a belated—partly farcical, partly tragic—plea for peace with this, his most clearly anti-war play. To this day, Lysistrata remains one of the most powerful symbols of female rebellion in world literature.

With English surtitles