This play was written in 411 BC by a dude called Aristophanes. And he was a sick minded puppy (but in a good way). He is the biggest name in 'old comedy' basically because we have no other plays. There was this one other comedian called Cratinus, but none of his full plays survive.
Now, why is Aristophanes considered the Father of Comedy?
Because he used:
- Puns
- Witty dialogues
- Physical comedy
- Funny costumes
- Fart jokes
- Sex Jokes
- Poo jokes
Like, in one of the choruses for one of Aristophanes' plays, he actually got them to throw actual poo at an actual poet that he didn't like.
But we're talking Lysistrata here, so I'm just gonna focus on the sex.
So, Lysistrata is set in some alternate universe Athens, which is just like normal Athens, but things are craaaaazzzyyyy(!!!) But, like the Athens of the readers, it's set behind a wartime setting.
So we get this group of women from many different parts of what would eventually become Greece.
Audiance: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WOMEN calling a meeting?!?!
And this chick, Lysistrata (name meaning "defeater of Armies") stands up, all heroic like and proclaims:
I'm going to stop the Pelopenesian war and UNITE GREECE (even though there isn't a Greece yet) WHO IS WITH ME?!
And naturally, all the women are behind her, who wouldn't want to stop their children dying and bring their husbands home?
So they're all like "Yeah, okay, but how are we meant to do that?" to which Lysistrata replies
BY GIVING UP SEX.
And there's naturally only one response a woman would ever possibly make in this situation:
OH HELL NO.
But, eventually the women agree, and one Choral fight, several speeches and one almost sex-scene later, things are getting desperate.
I'd just like to take a moment here to remind ourselves of two every important facts
- All the parts in these plays were performed by men
- All the costumes were designed to exaggerate the body, eg. butts. which means that
- All the men were walking around with gigantic phallus's (because the women would not have sex with them) "Who are you? A man or a walking Phallus?"
So yeah. The Spartan Herald comes all rearin' to go, and the Athenian men realise that they're not so different after all. Enter an actual female prostitute all naked to please the audience and viola! One happy ending for all.
Main Characters:
Lysistrata: Leader of the Women. Strong, resourceful, and strategic.
Cinesias: Husband of Myrrhine, name is a pun meaning to strike or to fuck he's kind of a leader of the men, although he really only tries to stop the war because his wife says she won't have sex with him unless he doesn't.
Myrrhine: Said wife of Cinesias. Refuses to have sex with her husband, which is apparently a really big thing and we should all applaud her self control.
Lampeto: Spartan warrior. funny and bad ass.
Magistrate: Misogynistic pig. Doesn't like the women folk nor does he believe that they can run Greece.
There were really only 3 actors in these sorts of plays a volunteer if they could find them. There was the chorus of around roughly 12 people, this time split into a men's and a women's chorus. These people were sponsored by some wealthy dude to dance and sing. The Ancient Greeks were big on dancing and singing. As well as sex and alcohol.
You've also got to realise that this play presumes a few things. Like 1) The men could only have sex with the women to whom they were married. In reality there were slaves, prostitutes and even each other to have sex with. Also I don't see why they couldn't have just done it themselves, they obviously had masturbation, there's even a remark made by one of the females that they "haven't even seen one of those six-inch leather jobs that helped us out when all else failed". And 2) Why were the men so effected? They were out at war, therefore they really shouldn't be this effected by the strike!
Oh, also I need to make a point about feminism in this play:
It doesn't really exist. Sorry.
I mean I know a case may be made for it, with the lead character being a female who stops this massive war, but really about 80% of the humour came from the fact that a woman (of all things, how modern) managed to stop it. It's like a miniature poodle standing up to a Doberman. That being said an argument can be made for that because it was a woman who ended the war, that it could be Aristophanes sending out a message that if a mere woman can end violence, why can't all these big men in the real world do it?
But really, we try not to presume much real-life meaning inside if Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Just sit back and enjoy the show.
