Lysistrata: ancient Greek comedy and political satire

Lysistrata

Thomas Crofts states in Aristophanes Lysistrata that Aristophanes is the "most celebrated comic playwright of ancient Greece," (v) and that Aristophanes brought his "predilection for causing an uproar" (v) to bear in a number of different plays, most notably his three war plays still in existence today, including Lysistrata. Crofts then continued his thoughts by giving examples of the types of works that Aristophanes wrote (besides Lysistrata) displaying Aristophanes disdain for war in general and the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) in specific.

Crofts states that Lysistrata was written as a semi-serious proposal by Aristophanes as a method to end the long-standing war that was costing Athens and Sparta men, money, goods and services. The play has women of the era following Lysistrata's lead in withholding physical intimacy from the men until there is peace between Sparta and Athens.

What Crofts did not pontificate on was the fact that the women of the era were not all in one accord with their leader Lysistrata. The fact that Artistophanes included this dissension between the women as they initially react to Lysistrata's suggestion is an important one, and one that suggests Aristophanes was not only a keen observer of the follies of men, but knew the motivations of women as well.

Aristophanes was well-known for his racy commentary and Crofts pointed this out as well. Crofts mentions the fact that, "Lysistrata is notorious for its racy, almost pornographic, humor," and indeed, much of the humor found in the play is definitely off-color.

Crofts, however, seems to imply that Lysistrata is all about the humor, when in fact the play makes a serious attempt at portraying the stupidity of war, the cost of war, and the expense of war in other terms than just economical ones.

Crofts does not talk about the gender differences and similarities found in Lysistrata, which misses a good point. Thomas could have been much more in-depth and comprehensive in his approach, but perhaps felt that it was not his duty to include to much in his writings. It seems as if he opted to travel the road less traveled by allowing the reader to come to his/her own conclusion deciding the effectiveness of Aristophane and Lysistrata.