The Preponderant Lysistrata

Part I of Essay
What was comedy and entertainment like in 411 BC? According to J. F. Johnson, “Lysistrata was produced in 411 B.C. possibly at the Lenaea festival of Athens celebrated in the month roughly equivalent to January” (“Background,” page 1). In the ancient play Lysistrata by Aris ....

Part II of Essay
.... is their sexual relationship with their wives. Lysistrata knows how important sex is to the men of all city-states. Without the women, the men “walk around the city bent over like men lighting matches in a wind” (726, 1028-9). Lysistrata uses her knowledge to gain power over them by summoning all of the women together and calling for “a sex-strike against war” (701). This “sex-strike” puts the men in “a pretty high-strung condition” (727, 1102) and also puts them at the mercy of the women. Sex is the only commonality of any significance ....