Use What You've Got

I bet you think that feminism and pacifism were invented in the 60s. Not so. I'm not exactly sure when they first appeared but I can give you an example of a very early appearance of both: Lysistrata, a Greek comedy written by Aristophanes and first performed in 411 B.C. That's right, B.C....as in 2,400 years ago. But don't be put off the antiquity or the "loftiness" of the play. Earthy, racy, provocative, and laugh-out-loud funny...Lysistrata is a complete hoot!

The play is set during the then-current war between Athens and Sparta, just after the disastrous loss of Sicily by the Athenians. The war was not going well for Athens and the growing sense of futility in it all provides the backdrop for this play. The main character, Lysistrata, comes up with a radical idea: if all women from both sides of the conflict agree to refrain from having sex with their husbands, then they will be forced by their sheer ardor to capitulate to the women's demand, which is an immediate end to all hostilities. Of course, Lysistrata has a little trouble convincing her compatriots of her plan...it seems they have desires of their own...but in the end they all take an oath (a scene that is hilarious), take over the Acropolis, and proceed to hold out on their warrior mates. As the men's frustration increases, so too does Lysistrata's determination, though she does have a tough time keeping her female co-conspirators in line. One of the most amusing scenes occurs near the end when Lysistrata has to intercept a number of women that are driven both to distraction and defection by their own impulses. But in the end...well, you'll have to read the play to find out.

There were a couple of things that really struck me about Lysistrata. First of all, the various translations of this play (and, presumably all of the ancient Greek plays) differ greatly in terms of language. I read two versions: one was a personal copy translated by Benjamin Bickley Rogers from 1955 and the other was a KCLS copy from 1991 translated by Nicholas Rudall. The gist of the material is the same in both versions but on a line-by-line basis they differed greatly. For laughs, some of my friends did a reading of a few pages from the play, using at least three different translations. Though there was great variation in the verbage used, the meaning and the humor came through all the same. Here's the moral: if you don't like one translation, try another.

Another interesting facet of Lysistrata is, well, it's steaminess. Believe-you-me, those Greeks weren't all contemplating the ideal plane and that comes through loud-and-clear in this play. There are numerous instances of double-entendres, course language, and sexual explicitness. Clearly, Aristophanes wasn't an elitist; he was obviously aiming his work at "the masses" and he succeeded gloriously, for I found myself able to relate to the general tenor of this play in a way that I could not with other "classic" works. In a word, Lysistrata is universal.

So if you're in the mood for some burlesque that really makes you think, don't be afraid to check out Lysistrata!