Norman Cantor in his book Antiquity said the playwright reflected the conservative opinion of many Athenians, showing them to be people who valued old simplicity and morality. He was an outspoken critic of both the philosopher Socrates and his fellow playwright Euripides. There was the usual chorus of 24 as well as three actors who wore grotesque masks and costumes.Īristophanes' plays, with their simplicity & vulgarity, were recognized & appreciated for their rich fantasy as well as humor & indecency.Īlthough somewhat quiet on the subject of Athenian politics, Aristophanes opposed all changes in the traditional aspects of philosophy, education, poetry, and music.

However, much of the presentation of drama remained the same. By the time Aristophanes began to write, Greek theatre was in serious decline. Unfortunately, his works are the only examples to remain intact. AristophanesĪs the author of at least forty plays, only eleven of which have survived, Aristophanes is considered by many to be the greatest poet of Greek comedy. Together with the withholding of sex, both sides would soon be begging for peace. Further, by occupying the Acropolis, home of the Athenian treasury, the women controlled access to the money necessary to finance the war. Instead, there was to be no romantic relations of any kind with their husbands. In order to force peace, the women decided to go on strike. So, in Aristophanes' play, the wives and mothers of the warring cities, led by the Athenian Lysistrata, came together with an ingenious solution. Many Greeks believed the war was bringing nothing but ruin to Greece, making it susceptible to Persian attack. The play is essentially a dream about peace. Shown in 411 BCE at the Lenaea festival in Athens, it was written during the final years of the war between Athens and Sparta. Lysistrata was the third and final of the peace plays written by the great Greek comic playwright Aristophanes (c.

Lysistrata by Aristophanes