Appalachian State University
Department of Theatre & Dance presents
Playwright
Aristophanes (c. 448 – c. 385 BCE) is widely considered the greatest of the Greek comic playwrights. His eleven surviving plays (of the thirty he is known to have written) are the only examples of Greek comedy available to contemporary audiences. Aristophanes was a writer of Old Comedy – a style in which the playwright lampoons, ridicules or satirizes important public figures or institutions. Though there is some speculation about whether or not Aristophanes was actually born in Athens, he was certainly educated there and the majority of his plays center on Athenian issues. Many of his plays, including Lysistrata, comment on and criticize the policies surrounding the Peloponnesian War.
Lysistrata was written in 411 BCE – twenty years after the beginning of the Peloponnesian War and ten years before its end. It is clear that Aristophanes advocated peace for Athens. Women were not involved in the political life of ancient Greece, so the fact that, in the play, women had to intervene is a testament to just how dire Aristophanes thought the situation was. Though the role of women in society has changed since 411 BCE, the humor and themes of the play still resonate with audiences today.
Sources:
Jacobus, Lee A. Bedford Introduction to Drama, 6th Edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston and New York, 2009.
The Drama: Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 2. ed. Alfred Bates. London: Historical Publishing Company, 1906. pp. 7-16. <http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/aristophanes001.html>
