Lysistrata (Dover Thrift Editions: Plays)

First presented in 411 B.C. | this ancient comedy concerns the efforts of Lysistrata | an Athenian woman | to persuade other women to join together in a strike against the men of Greece | denying them sex until they've agreed to put down their arms and end the disastrous wars between Athens and Sparta. When the strike begins | and the men respond | the comedic battle of the sexes that ensues makes this spirited play one of the most enjoyable of the classics. In it | Aristophanes employs a mixture of shrewd logic and raffish humor that fully exploits the rich comic potential of the story and its underlying antiwar sentiment. Always a favorite of audiences | Lysistrata | because of its pointed feminist sympathies | is studied and performed today more than ever.