Lysistrata: Matthew Chenevert

Lysistrata

This was a tough one for me. I was intimidated by the 72 page down load but at least it was a relative fast read.
I know this is categorized as a comedy but hopefully Aristophanes didn’t quit his day job.

Lysistrata’s character did some outside-the-box thinking in order to try to get the men home. One thing that puzzled me early on in the play was the initial resistance to the sex strike. Calonice and Myrrhine’s husbands had been away for 6 months or so but they didn’t want to commit to the strike? They were already not having sex (with their husbands at least) so what did they have to lose? I guess Cinesias came home at some point but Myrrhine got on board with the program when Cinesias started trying to initial relations.

I didn’t understand the importance of the “old men” and “old women” chorus.

The encounter between the men and the women at the Acropolis was mildly cute with the men bringing fire and the women bringing water to put out the fire. I guess this was a play on words especially when the men got doused and were cold and wrinkled. Kind of put out two fires.

The other thing that hit home to me was the women wanting control of the money! I guess some things don’t change even after 2500 years!


I had to remember this is a comedy. Having a woman with a voice at that time was laughable. Even though I’m sure many men often council with their wives of the time it was never probably never acknowledged.

I will also point out that Lysistrata went up against the Old Men. All the young men were fighting in the wars. So she was trying to be more young-man like than just man-like. That seemed to be the strength of here leadership over the young and old women.

The utile dolche of this play tells me that the women ultimately hold the power, even though the men think they do.