What is the message behind Lysistrata?

Lysistrata persuades the women of the warring cities 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. Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley, 1896.

Is Lysistrata a comedy or tragedy?

“Lysistrata” is a bawdy anti-war comedy by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, first staged in 411 BCE.

What is the plot of Lysistrata?

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.

What does Lysistrata mean in English?

Lysistrata in American English (ˌlɪsəˈstrɑːtə, laiˈsɪstrətə) noun. a comedy (411 b. c.) by Aristophanes.

What happened at the end of Lysistrata?

The play ends with a crazy drunken party in celebration of the peace treaty that has just been signed between Athens and Sparta. At the party, the former enemies realize that the members of the opposing side really aren’t so bad.

Why was Lysistrata banned?

Lysistrata. One of the oldest documented cases of censorship of the theater is the ban of Aristophanes’s “Lysistrata,” written in 411 BC, which was deemed “unacceptably subversive” by Greek authorities at the time, reports LA Weekly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMlVcbJ1s5U&list=PLGFggNnQ7Jo8pIXxnJK6EiX9rNiXgWe4Z

Who is Myrrhine’s husband in Lysistrata?

Kinesias
Myrrhine identifies the man as Kinesias, her husband and assures Lysistrata that she can take care of him.

Who is the antagonist of Lysistrata?

Magistrate, Men’s Leader Lysistrata is such a dominant figure in this play that there isn’t even much of an antagonist to oppose her. The way we see it, the Antagonist role gets taken up by two separate figures: the Magistrate and the Men’s Leader.

Why was Lysistrata so important?

It is the comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War, as Lysistrata convinces the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands as a means of forcing the men to negotiate a peace. Some consider it his greatest work, and it is probably the most anthologized.

What is the climax of Lysistrata?

The climax occurs when the men sue for peace, the goddess of peace appears, and Lysistrata makes a speech.

Why is Lysistrata still relevant today?

In fact, the plot of Lysistrata could be an actual headline from today’s news: The women of Greece are fed up with the Peloponnesian War, which has been raging for 20 years. The title character, Lysistrata, proposes that the women withhold sexual privileges until the men can negotiate peace.

Is Lysistrata a feminist?

Lysistrata was a female turned masculine to keep the other women, controlled by their insatiable vices, in order. While some of her passages may seem uniquely feminist, that does not constitute her as a feminist figure. In fact, the play is rampantly anti-feminist when its context is understood.

Why is Lysistrata not a feminist?

​Lysistrata could never have been considered feminist due to the nature of Old Comedy, which made fun of the status of ancient Athenian women. Those who hail Lysistrata as a feminist icon simply have no context in which to understand that she was never intended to be anything more than a joke.