Lysistrata

Lysistrata
Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley, 1896. Dramatis Personae in ancient comedy depend on scholars' interpretation of textual evidence. This list is based on Alan Sommerstein's 1973 translation.
Written by	Aristophanes
Chorus	Old men Old women
Characters	Lysistrata Calonice Myrrhine Lampito Magistrate Cinesias Baby Spartan Herald Spartan Ambassador Athenian Negotiator Two Layabouts Doorkeeper Two Diners Stratyllis Five Young Women
Mute	Ismenia Corinthian Woman Reconciliation Four Scythian Policemen Scythian Policewoman Athenian citizens, Spartan envoys, slaves et al.
Setting	Before the Propylaea, or gateway to the Acropolis of Athens, 411 BC

Lysistrata (/laɪˈsɪstrətə/ or /ˌlɪsəˈstrɑːtə/; Attic Greek: Λυσιστράτη, "Army Disbander") is a comedy by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace—a strategy, however, that inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is notable for being an early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society. Additionally, its dramatic structure represents a shift from the conventions of Old Comedy, a trend typical of the author's career. It was produced in the same year as the Thesmophoriazusae, another play with a focus on gender-based issues, just two years after Athens' catastrophic defeat in the Sicilian Expedition.

These lines, spoken by Lysistrata and her friend Calonice at the beginning of the play, set the scene for the action that follows. Women, as represented by Calonice, are sly hedonists in need of firm guidance and direction. Lysistrata, however, is an extraordinary woman with a large sense of individual and social responsibility. She has convened a meeting of women from various city states in Greece (there is no mention of how she managed this feat) and, very soon after confiding in her friend about her concerns for the female sex, the women begin arriving.

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