Aristophanes, Ecclesiazusae [Women in Council]

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The

Ecclesiazusae

, or “The women attending the Assembly”, is the second to last of Aristophanes' surviving plays. It therefore belongs to the period of Athenian history after the end of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), during which all Aristophanes' surviving plays except

Ecclesiazusae

and

Wealth

were written, and after the oligarchic coup of 404 BCE and the restoration of the democracy in the following year. The date of the original performance is controversial but it was certainly between 393 and 389 BCE (probably in either 391 or 390: for the arguments see the introduction in Sommerstein (1998)). In the shape of its plot, the play has many affinities with the earlier

Lysistrata

(411 BCE) insofar as the women of Athens, led by an altruistic heroine, conspire to take over the…

3118 words

Citation: Tordoff, Robert. "Ecclesiazusae". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13326, accessed 19 March 2024.]

13326 Ecclesiazusae 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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