A farmer by the name of Trygaeus is weary of war and despairing of relief he does want anyone would do: he rides a giant dung-beetle up to heaven to get the gods to end the war. However, the gods are sick and tired of the Greeks and their constantly little wars and have left War to do as he wants. However, the God of War (identified by the title rather than by Ares, to avoid offending religious sensibilities), has buried Peace in a pit and it is up to the Chorus of Farmers to dig her up. Of course, this greatly upsets the war profiteers. The play was performed at the Great Dionysia in 421 during the final months of the Peloponnesian War fought between Athens and Sparta. In fact, a few weaks after "Peace" was performed the Peace of Nicias was ratified and suspended hostilities between the two city-states for six years.

It is my understanding that scholars believe the text we have today of "Peace" is pieced together from two different versions, but whether this is the result of two different productions staged by Aristophanes or because of the efforts of some nameless soul recopying the ancient text at some point in history. Aristophanes appeals to me because his satire is usually based on "reductio ad absurdum," the great human impulse to take things to their logical extreme to render them ridiculous and therefore impotent. Certainly "Peace" is representative of Aristophanes as reformer, the gad-fly who wanted to persuade his audiences to change their foolish ways by ridiculing them on stage.

I have always maintained that in studying Greek plays, whether the comedies of Aristophanes or the tragedies of Euripides, it is important to understand the particular structure of these plays and the various dramatic conventions of the theater. This involves not only the distinction between episodes and stasimons (scenes and songs), but elements like the "agon" (a formal debate on the crucial issue of the play), and the "parabasis" (in which the Chorus partially abandons its dramatic role and addresses the audience directly). "Peace" is usually considered a second tier comedy by Aristophanes, below "Lysistrata" and "The Clouds," but I still consider it an above-average comedy by the only Greek who managed to have any of his plays survive.

Sex, war, peace, the ingredients to a great play. Lysistrata is about women who are tired of losing their sons in battle. The women band together to bring peace by forming a pact, they refuse sexual intercourse with their husbands unless the war is brought to an end. However, that is only the beginning of the bag of tricks she has up her sleeve.
The play is an absolute riot. I've seen this play performed live and while there were some good moments, I liked the book better. The book has a lot more witty humor and a sense of building frustration that the play lacked. The sexual innuendos are nothing too rash as to be insulting or offensive but rather appropriate, something college students can well appreciate. The "love scene" between Myrrhine and her husband Kinesias will leave you rolling on the floor. The use of props such as the "phalli" and towels are brilliant in accompanying the humor. It's funny to read (and picture) how the women "man-handle" their husbands to try to bring peace to the land. As a college student I've read and studied this book and found many interesting values covered that are appropriate for a Rhetoric or gender studies course. The theme of women suffrage, rising up against the men in a time when women need to be heard, is dominant in the play. Women banding together to fight for a common cause is something I have not read before and was pleasantly surprised of. For a Greek play, the women are portrayed as being very human, rather than being serial killers and jealous lovers and the sort. The women are characterized as being very sleek and sexy, something always to look forward to! The men aren't desensitized either; rather the men are just as human as the women.
I recommend this book for any college rhetoric course or even an Interpretation of Literature course. It's the best of both worlds in terms of being very entertaining and having a fair share of educational value.

Lysistrata, wife of an influential Athenian has had it with 20+ years of war with Sparta and calls on her sisters from around Greece (including Sparta) to plot to end the war once and for all. The two-pronged plan is elegant in its simplicity: take over the treasury so that no more money can be spent on war, and deny their husbands marital congress until they agree to make peace with each other. The beauty of the play (and what makes it enjoyable to the 21st century reader) is that it speaks to the most basic needs of the human condition while allowing the reader to freely translate the action to modern times. Part of the fun is envisioning the staging of this play - the battle between the women and the graybeards (a slightly distressing scene since my acquisition of an AARP card) - and the approach of the envoys for the peace talks whose obvious sexual distress assures the women of the impending success of their plan provoked an image that actually had me laughing out loud. All in all, it helps support the notion that the classics can be (and should be) fun.

This is probably the most entertaining play I've ever read, and it was written more than 2,000 years ago! Aristophanes brilliantly critiques the rigid gender roles of ancient Greek society in several dozen hilarious pages.

Aristophanes writes of a group of Greek women who, in protest of war, refuse to have sex with their husbands, and the plot is a glorious success. Aristophanes depicts men begging their wives for sex, and paints a picture of Greek women not very dissimilar to the women of contemporary Western society.

"Lysistrata" is a crucial reading for anyone interested in Greek history, feminism, or anyone who just wants to read a devastatingly funny comedy about sex.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!