In German, such a spirit is known as “Zeitgeist,” from the German words Zeit, meaning “time,” and Geist, meaning “spirit” or “ghost.” But some works remain in the cultural Zeitgeist in successive eras, even if somewhat transmogrified. Moreover, Athens, the strongest city-state in Greece prior to the war’s beginning, was reduced to a state of near-complete subjection, while Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece.Įvaluation: Scholars maintain that each era has a unique spirit that sets it apart from all other epochs. In the case of the Peloponnesian War, he may have been quite correct: although the war had been going on for twenty years when the play was first staged, it still had another seven years to run. The effect is a bit off-putting because Lindsay’s pseudo-Scotsmen are barely understandable.Īlthough Aristophanes is known as a comic playwright and this play contains some comic scenes, the overall message is rather sad i.e., there may be no rational or practical solution to the problems presented by war. He attempted to create authenticity by having some of the interlocutors speak in what seemed like a Scottish accent. The translation I read, by Jack Lindsay, was too academic, archaic, and sterile.

I imagine part of the fun for ancient Greek audiences derived from the playwright’s mastery of different Greek dialects and accents. Aristophanes introduces some bawdy levity in that the peace talks between the contestants are conducted by men who have constant erections.īecause the plot is so simple, the enjoyment of the play must come from the caliber of the dialog. The play consists primarily of dialog among the women in organizing their movement, and later discussions between choruses of women and men justifying their positions. She gathers representative women from all the city-states engaged in the war and persuades them to withhold sex from their husbands and lovers until peace is concluded.īut for some minor scuffling for control of the Acropolis between the women and the men of Athens who are too old to be fighting the Spartans, very little action takes place. Seeing no likely prospect of an end to the war, Lysistrata, an Athenian woman, takes matters into her own hands and proposes desperate measures. Last summer I was assigned, for a yearly symposium I attend at Notre Dame, the reading of Lysistrata, authored by the Greek playwright Aristophanes and first performed in 411 BCE.Īs the play begins, the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (431–404 BC) has been going on interminably, with nearly all the young men away from home or otherwise engaged in the conflict. Translation of comedy is always a challenge, particularly when the jokes are 25 centuries old.