Understanding Aristophanes’ Lysistrata in its Cultural Context
Warning: This article is NOT for the faint of heart - or children. Expect sexual references.
Especially since the start of the Iraq War,[1] renditions of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata have become increasingly popular in the theater industry. Rife with sexual innuendo and double entendre, its message of feminism and pacifism, as perceived by the modern audience, have resonated with social justice movements, culminating in new imitations of the work such as Lysistrata Jones[2] and Chi-Raq.[3] However, the moral gleaned from the play by most modern audiences is drastically different from that which Aristophanes’ audience would have taken. Whereas we see progressive ideals and equality, Aristophanes most probably meant to mock those ideals, and present an end result for the Peloponnesian War that was much desired by his fellow Athenians.
Someone holding up the name “Lysistrata” as a symbol of feminism
Oakland California Women’s March
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
To understand the play, it is important to first look at the world in which it was born. At the time of its first staging, in 411 BCE, the Athenians were already twenty-one years into their peninsula-splitting war with the Spartans, and it looked like they were on the losing side, having just suffered a terrible defeat in Sicily two years prior. [4] Athens was weary. The war was dragging on too long, and the plague that rampaged through the city around two decades earlier did not help either. The Athenians simply wanted a way to end the war without losing horribly. They were hoping for a close win, or at the very least an honorable loss. What was needed most of all was a relief, a “releaser of war,” a “Lysistrata.”
Thus, in the midst of such a catastrophe, came the comic playwright Aristophanes. It was his art form, the comedy, that the Athenians most needed for temporary relief. Comedy, unlike its earlier counterpart, the Satyr Play, started with disunity and confusion, and, through some ridiculous (i.e. comedic) mean, came to a constructive result.[5] In such a chaotic time in Athens’ history, it was precisely a comedy, one that 5would solve the problem of the Peloponnesian War, that was longed for by the Athenian people. Therefore, it would seem natural that Aristophanes, father of Athenian Comedy, would comment on this number one problem in Athens. His solution: Lysistrata, a young woman of Athens who is tired of Athenian men constantly going off to war, leaving their wives behind. She gathers the women of the city, as well as those of Sparta and its allies, to a secret meeting. There, she suggests that they all go on a sex strike, refusing to engage in such acts with their husbands until a peace is made. With some reluctance, the women agree, and make a pledge on a bowl of wine:
English Translation
LYSISTRATA: No man, no husband and no
lover. . . will get near me with a stiff prick.
. .Come on, say it! At home I’ll live
completely without sex. . . wearing
saffron silks, with lots of make up. . . to
make my man as horny as I can…[and I will
never submit to my husband][7]... If against
my will he takes me by force. . . I’ll be a
lousy lay, not move a limb… I’ll not raise
my slippers up towards the roof… nor
crouch down like a lioness on all fours… If I
do all this, then I may drink this wine… If I
fail, may this glass fill with water… Do all
you women swear this oath?
ALL: We do.[8]
Original Greek
ΛΥΣΙΣΤΡΆΤΗ: οὐκ ἔστιν
οὐδεὶς οὔτε μοιχὸς οὔτ᾽ ἀνήρ…
ὅστις πρὸς ἐμὲ πρόσεισιν
ἐστυκώς. Λέγε… οἴκοι δ᾽
ἀταυρώτη διάξω τὸν βίον…
κροκωτοφοροῦσα καὶ
κεκαλλωπισμένη… ὅπως ἂν
ἁνὴρ ἐπιτυφῇ μάλιστά μου…
κοὐδέποθ᾽ ἑκοῦσα τἀνδρὶ
τὠμῷ πείσομαι… ἐὰν δέ μ᾽
ἄκουσαν βιάζηται βίᾳ…
κακῶς παρέξω κοὐχὶ
προσκινήσομαι… οὐ πρὸς τὸν
ὄροφον ἀνατενῶ τὼ
Περσικά… οὐ στήσομαι
λέαιν᾽ ἐπὶ τυροκνήστιδος…
ταῦτ᾽ ἐμπεδοῦσα μὲν πίοιμ᾽
ἐντευθενί… εἰ δὲ
παραβαίην, ὕδατος ἐμπλῇθ᾽ ἡ
κύλιξ… συνεπόμνυθ᾽ ὑμεῖς
ταῦτα πᾶσαι;
ΠΑΣΑΙ: νὴ Δία.[6]
Soon after reciting this admittedly lewd oath, the women of the city swiftly take the Acropolis, where the public treasury is held, thus making war much harder to wage. In response, the men come up to the Acropolis with wood for a fire, to burn the women out. Throughout the play, the split chorus of men and women will antagonize each other, yelling back and forth, often making double entendres in the process. However, in the middle of the rabble, there is a moment in which Lysistrata stands up and makes a speech to the men, including a magistrate, laying out her reasoning, her plight, the suffering of all the women of Athens:
English Translation
MAGISTRATE: Shut up your croaking, you old
bag. [To Lysistrata] You—talk to me.
LYSISTRATA: I’ll do that. Up to now through
this long war we kept silent about all those
things you men were doing. We were being
modest. And you did not allow us to speak up,
although we were not happy. But still, we
listened faithfully to you, and often inside the
house we heard your wretched plans for some
great deed. And if we ached inside, we’d force
a smile and simply ask, “Today in the assembly
did the men propose a treaty carved in stone
decreeing peace?” But our husbands said, “Is
that your business? Why don’t you shut up?”
And I’d stay silent.
OLD WOMAN: I’d not have kept my mouth
shut.
MAGISTRATE: [to Lysistrata] You’d have
been smacked if you had not been quiet and
held your tongue.
LYSISTRATA: So there I am at home, saying
nothing. Then you’d tell us of another project,
even stupider than before. We’d say, “How
can you carry out a scheme like that? It’s
foolish.” Immediately he’d frown and say to
me, “If you don’t spin your thread, you’ll get a
major beating on your head. War is men’s
concern.”[10]
Original Greek
ΠΡΌΒΟΥΛΟΣ: τοῦτο μὲν ὦ
γραῦ σαυτῇ κρώξαις: σὺ
δέ μοι λέγε.
ΛΥΣΙΣΤΡΆΤΗ: ταῦτα
ποιήσω. ἡμεῖς τὸν μὲν
πρότερον πόλεμον καὶ
τὸν χρόνον ἠνεσχόμεθα
ὑπὸ σωφροσύνης τῆς
ἡμετέρας τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἅττ᾽
ἐποιεῖτε. οὐ γὰρ γρύζειν
εἰᾶθ᾽ ἡμᾶς. καίτοὐκ
ἠρέσκετέ γ᾽ ἡμᾶς. ἀλλ᾽
ᾐσθανόμεσθα καλῶς ὑμῶν,
καὶ πολλάκις ἔνδον ἂν
οὖσαι
ἠκούσαμεν ἄν τι κακῶς
ὑμᾶς βουλευσαμένους
μέγα πρᾶγμα: εἶτ᾽
ἀλγοῦσαι τἄνδοθεν ὑμᾶς
ἐπανηρόμεθ᾽ ἂν
γελάσασαι, ‘τί
βεβούλευται περὶ τῶν
σπονδῶν ἐν τῇ στήλῃ
παραγράψαι ἐν τῷ δήμῳ
τήμερονὑμῖν;’ ‘τίδὲ σοὶ
ταῦτ᾽;’ ἦ δ᾽ ὃς ἂν ἁνήρ. ‘οὐ
σιγήσει;’ κἀγὼ ἐσίγων.
ΓΥΝῊ Β: ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν ἐγώ
ποτ᾽ ἐσίγων.
ΠΡΌΒΟΥΛΟΣ: κἂν ᾤμωζές
γ᾽, εἰ μὴ 'σίγας.
ΛΥΣΙΣΤΡΆΤΗ: τοιγὰρ
ἔγωγ᾽ ἔνδον ἐσίγων....
ἔτερόν τι πονηρότερον
βούλευμ᾽ ἐπεπύσμεθ᾽ ἂν
ὑμῶν: εἶτ᾽ ἠρόμεθ᾽ ἄν: ‘πῶς
ταῦτ᾽ ὦνερ
διαπράττεσθ᾽ ὧδ᾽
ἀνοήτως;’ ὁ δέ μ᾽ εὐθὺς
ὑποβλέψας ἂν ἔφασκ᾽, εἰ μὴ
τὸν στήμονα νήσω,
ὀτοτύξεσθαι μακρὰ τὴν
κεφαλήν: ‘πόλεμος δ᾽
ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει.’[9]
This passage, of course, is unexpected. One might that it is from a 20th or 21st century playwright, not a Greek man from the 5th Century BCE. Such understanding, such empathy so well considered is a powerful monument to Aristophanes’ moral compass. It seems clear that he tried to show his message bright and clear, but it is important to note that to a Greek audience, his intentions may have been much more hidden, because they see it in a context different from our own - a distinctly Greek context.
Stele of Lysistrata from c. 350-325 BCE, made of marble. Inscription at top:
ΛΥΣΙΣΤΡΑΤΗ ΠΑΝΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ, “Panathenaic Lysistrata”
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
In the modern world, we expect for our playwrights to express progressive ideals and morals in their plays. The way in which we present this play in particular reflects that. However, there are a number of conventions in Greek plays that obscure the extraction of any serious meaning. For example, each and every Greek actor was male, thus diminishing the power of the above speech, for it was recited by a man, not a woman. Secondly, the play is a Comedy, which by nature is meant to present a ridiculous solution to a problem. Therefore, suggesting that the solution to the Peloponnesian War might be to have the women display their strength and rise up, a Greek audience immediately recognizes this as satire, because to them the notion would have been utterly insane. Thirdly, and possibly most importantly, though there are plenty of brave females in the play, the means by which they bring about peace doesn’t exactly shed off hurtful stereotypes. Especially since some women try to escape the Acropolis and meet with their husbands, women are portrayed as intrinsically sexual beings, who, whether under control of their husbands or not, express themselves merely through this means. All in all, if Aristophanes really means to share his ideals of liberty and equality for women, he’s hiding it to his Athenian peers quite well.
However, neither the intent of the playwright nor the impact on the original Greek audience matter. The modern world clearly sees a very distinct meaning in this play, one which has inspired people all across the globe in recent years. We can still see this play as a morally upright justification for women’s rights everywhere. Sure, there are still plenty of sexually charged jokes and references, but they can be seen (as many women today do) not as demeaning in any sort of way, but instead playful and liberating. And that freedom to interpret the text in a new light is part of what makes the classics unique. These plays are classic because we still find new meaning in them after two and a half millennia. That, my friends, is the true power of Lysistrata, and the classics as a whole. Its ability to speak to the modern mind in such a prolific way is truly astonishing, and it is what makes it such a great read, not to mention that Aristophanes makes the innuendo into a true form of art. For these reasons, I encourage you all to explore this play, and find your own message in it.
Notes
[1] Wikipedia has compiled a comprehensive list of Lysistrata’s influence on modern plays. Note everything written in 2001 or after. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata#Influence_and_legacy
[2] Playbill: http://www.playbill.com/production/lysistrata-jones-walter-kerr-theatre-vault-0000013755 Trailer (explicit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe3KV8VcH4E
[3] IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4594834/ Trailer (explicit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGTuuj-aTJs
[4] Luke Mastin, “ANCIENT GREECE - ARISTOPHANES - LYSISTRATA,” ancient-literature.com, https://www.ancient-literature.com/greece_aristophanes_lysistrata.html
[5] “Ancient Greek drama, comedy, tragedy, and satyr plays,” hellenism.net, 11-29-18, http://www.hellenism.net/greece/ancient-greek-literature/comedy-tragedy .
[6] Aristophanes, Lysistrata , ed. F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart, Ed., lines 212-238, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0035%3Acard%3D1 .
[7] Translation Correction Courtesy of Magistri Langford and Hartnett
[8] Aristophanes, Lysistrata , trans. Ian Johnston (Richer Resources Publications, 2008), pgs. 17-18, accessed November 29, 2018, https://lcsl.uic.edu/docs/default-source/classics/the-original-ancient-text.pdf?sfvrsn=280e32a5_0 .
[9] Aristophanes, Lysistrata , ed. F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart, Ed., lines 507-520, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0035%3Acard%3D1 .
[10] Aristophanes, Lysistrata , trans. Ian Johnston (Richer Resources Publications, 2008), pgs. 34-35, accessed November 29, 2018, https://lcsl.uic.edu/docs/default-source/classics/the-original-ancient-text.pdf?sfvrsn=280e32a5_0 .