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Lysistrata
I. Short introduction of Greek comedy:
A. By the fifth century B.C. both tragedy and
comedy were regularly produced at the
winter festivals of the god Dionysus in
Athens.
B. Comedy employed some elements like
tragedy, but its tone was burlesque and
parodic .
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C. The only comic poet of fifth century whose
work has survived is Aristophanes.
D. In his comedies, the institutions and
personalities of his time are caricatured
and criticized in a combination of poetry
and obscenity, of farce and wit.
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II. About Aristophanes:
A. He was born sometime in the middle of
fifth century and died in the next, around 385
B.C.
B. The bulk of his extant work dates from the
years of the Peloponnesian War
C. The war, in fact, is one of his comic
targets
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D. His famous works: The Acharnians,
Peace, Clouds, Birds.
F. These plays are all very funny, with plenty
of sexual wit.
G. But coarse humor and exquisite wit
combine with lyric poetry of a high quality and
comic plots of startling audacity to produce a
mixture unlike anything that went before or
has come after it.
Outline of the Peloponnesian War
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The First ten Years (431-421)
 End with Sparta’s surrender
Peace of Nicias 421-414 (BCE)
Last Ten-Years of War
 Disaster in Sicily 415-413
 Alcybiades’ plan to return
404: Athens surrenders
Sicilian Expedition

The Athenians respond to a ‘request for help’
issued by the city of Segesta in Sicily at war with
the city of Selinunt.
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This is an opportunity to gain influence in Sicily;
they decide to attack (or ‘help’) the Sicilians.
Sicily
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Athenians at first defeat the Syracusans
Spartans help Syracuse and declare war on Athens
in 413
In the same year the Athenian siege of Syracuse
ends as their fleet is trapped in the harbor of this
city and must surrender.
411 BCE
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Aristophanes fantasizes about of an honorable
way of bringing war to an end.
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Lysistrata was first performed in Athens in
probably during the Lenaia.
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III. About Lysistrata:
A. It is the outstanding play among the
Aristophenanic comedies.
B. This play is about the female sex-strike
against war.
C. Aristophanes through Lysistrata claims
that “war shall be the concern of Women!”
PLOT
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Women go on strike and occupy the Acropolis
Old men try to defeat them, with no success, but as
the two choruses quarrel, the restoration of Love is
achieved.
The play is far from nihilistic or anarchic;
Aristophanes’ hedonism is constructive.
The play ends with the restoration of love and
marriage rather than with an orgy of blind sexual
gratification; it is a plea for Panhellenic peace; Eros is
joined by the civilizing power of Sophia.
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IV. Characters:
A. Lysistrata - Lysistrata is an Athenian
woman who is sick and tired of war and the
treatment of women in Athens. Lysistrata
gathers the women of Sparta and Athens
together to solve these social ills and finds
success and power in her quest. Lysistrata is
the least feminine of the women from either
Athens or Sparta, and her masculinity helps
her gain respect among the men.
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B. Kleonike - Kleonike is the next-door neighbor
of Lysistrata and is the first to show up at
Lysistrata's meeting of women. Kleonike
embraces her feminine side and is delighted that
Lysistrata's scheme for peace .
C. Myrrhine - Myrrhine would be the second
strongest woman in Lysistrata. Myrrhine is able
to seduce her husband, Kinesias, but she
refuses sex with him just at the last minute.
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D. Lampito - Lampito is representative of
Spartan women. Lampito is a large, well-built
woman who brings the Spartan women into
Lysistrata's plan.
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E. Chorus of Old Men - The Chorus of Old
Men live up to their title; the chorus is made
up of twelve old men who teeter around
Athens attempting to keep the women in line.
Although, unsuccessful in their civic duties,
the Chorus of Old Men strike up some
fantastical misogynistic melodies and are a
generally comedic element of the play.
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F. Chorus of Old Women - The Chorus of Old
Women seizes and then protects the
Akropolis from the Chorus of Old Men. The
Chorus of Old Women, although frail, fights to
the last with the men and finds victory in the
end.
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G. Peace - Lysistrata's handmaid. Peace is the
unclothed beauty of a woman whom
Lysistrata displays and uses during her final
plea for peace between Athens and Sparta.
Terribly aroused and uncomfortable, the men
quickly discuss the terms of a truce, all the
while staring at Peace's body.
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H. Commissioner of Public Safety - The
Commissioner of Public Safety is apparently
the head of security and law in Athens, but is
completely overwhelmed by the women and
ends up being dressed as a woman himself.
Lysistrata has a lengthy conversation with the
Commissioner about the future of Athens and
peace in the region, but the Commissioner is
very slow to understand her logic.
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I. Kinesias - The needy, desperate clown that
Myrrhine calls her husband. Kinesias is the first
man to be affected by the sex strike and comes
to the Akropolis, fully inflamed.
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V. Summary:
Lysistrata has planned a meeting between all of
the women of Greece to discuss the plan to
end the Peloponnesian War. As Lysistrata
waits for the women of Sparta, Thebes, and
other areas to meet her she curses the
weakness of women. Lysistrata plans to ask
the women to refuse sex with their husbands
until a treaty for peace has been signed.
Lysistrata has also made plans with the older
women of Athens (the Chorus of Old Women)
to seize the Akropolis later that day.
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The women from the various regions finally
assemble and Lysistrata convinces them to
swear an oath that they will withhold sex from
their husbands until both sides sign a treaty
of peace. As the women sacrifice a bottle of
wine to the Gods in celebration of their oath,
they hear the sounds of the older women
taking the Akropolis, the fortress that houses
the treasury of Athens.
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In Lysistrata there are two choruses—the Chorus
of Old Men and the Chorus of Old Women.
The Chorus of Men is first to appear on stage
carrying wood and fire to the gates of the
Akropolis. The Chorus of Men is an old and
bedraggled bunch of men who have great
difficulty with the wood and the great earthen
pots of fire they carry.
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The men plan to smoke the women out of
the Akropolis. The Chorus of Old Women
also approaches the Akropolis, carrying
jugs of water to put out the men's fires.
The Chorus of Old Women is victorious
in the contest between the choruses and
triumphantly pours the jugs of water over
the heads of the men.
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The Commissioner, an appointed magistrate,
comes to the Akropolis seeking funds for the
naval ships. The Commissioner is surprised
to find the women at the Akropolis and orders
his policemen to arrest Lysistrata and the
other women. In a humorous battle, that
involves little physical contact, the policemen
are scared off.
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The Commissioner takes the opportunity to
tell the men of Athens that they have been
too generous and allowed too much
freedom with the women of the city. As the
policemen run off, the Commissioner and
Lysistrata are left to argue about the
Peloponnesian War.
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Lysistrata argues that the War is a concern for
women especially and she adds her two
cents as to how the city should be run,
drawing an elaborate analogy to show that
Athens should be structured as a woman
would spin wool.
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Lysistrata tells the Commissioner that war is a
concern of women because women have
sacrificed greatly for it—women have given
their husbands and their sons to the effort.
Lysistrata adds that it is now difficult for a
woman to find a husband. The women
mockingly dress the Commissioner as a
woman.
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The next day, or perhaps some considerable
time afterwards, the sex-strike devised at
the beginning of the text, begins to take
effect on the men. Lysistrata spots
Kinesias, husband of Myrrhine,
approaching the Akropolis.
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Kinesias is desperate for his wife. Myrrhine
refuses to have intercourse with Kinesias
until peace exists between Athens and
Sparta. Kinesias tells Myrrhine that her
child needs her, he needs her and he
loves her and Myrrhine pretends to listen
to his frustrated pleas.
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Myrrhine hints that she might make love to
Kinesias, but delays by going repeatedly into
the Akropolis to fetch things to make the
couple comfortable. As Kinesias promises to
only think about a treaty of peace for Athens
and Sparta, Myrrhine disappears into the
Akropolis and leaves her husband in great
pain.
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A Spartan Herald approaches the
Akropolis. The Spartan describes the
desperate situation of his countrymen
and pleads for a treaty. Delegations
from both states then meet at the
Akropolis to discuss peace. Lysistrata
comes out of the Akropolis with her
naked handmaid, Peace.
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While the men are fully distracted by Peace,
Lysistrata lectures them on the need for
reconciliation between the states of
Greece. Lysistrata reasons that because
both Athens and Sparta are of a common
heritage and because they have
previously helped one another and owe a
debt to one another, the two sides should
not be fighting.
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Using Peace as a map of Greece, the
Spartan and Athenian leaders decide
land rights that will end the war. After
both sides agree, Lysistrata gives the
women back to the men and a great
celebration ensues. The play ends with a
song sung in unison by the Chorus of Old
Men and the Chorus of Old Women while
everyone dances.