Lysistrata rallies her forces, and convinces one of its most prominent members, Myrrhine, to seduce her husband Cinesias and leave him at the most critical moment. After some time, however, the rebellious women start feeling the pressure and the inconvenience of their own oath: most of them would rather the war went on than bear another day without sleeping with their husbands. At the same time, Lysistrata successfully contends with the current magistrate (or proboulos) on whether war is a man’s or a woman’s affair. However, they are easily dealt with by a corresponding semichorus of twelve old women. Twelve old men (the first semichorus) arrive at the Acropolis with an intent to burn down its gates. Coordinated with women from all the other cities across Greece, the plan works well for a while, despite temptations and tentative setbacks. Led by a woman named Lysistrata, they occupy the Acropolis (with the object of denying Athens the financial resources to fight on) and launch a sex-strike as a way to enforce their husbands to negotiate peace. Written just two years after the disastrous failure of the Sicilian Expedition, the play follows an interesting attempt of the Athenian women (in collaboration with women from other Greek city-states) to bring an end to the Peloponnesian War. First performed in 411 BC (probably) at the Lenaea, Lysistrata is one of Aristophanes’ best-known comedies, primarily because of its modern adaptations as a feminist play.
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