Aristophanes

"These three plays by the great comic playwright Aristophanes, the well-known Lysistrata and the less familiar Women at the Thesmophoria and Assemblywomen, are the earliest surviving portrayals of contemporary women in the European literary tradition. These plays provide a unique glimpse of women not only in their familiar domestic roles but also in relation to household and city, religion and government, war and peace, theater and festival, and, of course, to men." "This freshly revised edition presents, for the first time in a single volume, all three plays in faithful modern translations that preserve intact Aristophanes' blunt and often obscene language, sparkling satire, political provocation, and beguiling fantasy. Alongside the translations are ample introductions and notes covering the politically engaged genre of Aristophanic comedy in general and issues of sex and gender in particular, fully updated since the first edition in light of recent scholarship. An appendix contains fragments of lost plays of Aristophanes that also featured women, and an up-to-date bibliography provides guidance for further exploration." "In addition to their timeless humor and biting satire, the plays are unique and invaluable documents in the history of Western sexuality and gender, and they offer strikingly prescient speculations about the social and political future of the female sex."--Jacket.

In medieval England, Gloriana, Lady of Kenbrook, awaits her husband, Dane St. Gregory, whom she has not seen since childhood. She is stunned to discover that he has returned with a betrothed; beautiful Gloriana is to be cast into a nunnery. Dane's mysterious sister-in-law, Elaina, counsels her to win Dane's heart or see the entire Kenbrook line imperiled.Entranced by her passionate will, he cannot resist Gloriana's potent charm, while she falls ever more deeply in love with Dane, her valiant swordsman. But their newfound happiness is brief -- suddenly, Gloriana is swept across the chasm of time to a dazzling future. Trapped centuries apart, Gloriana and Dane suffer the torment of their longing, knowing that only their love for one another and the strength of their desire can reunite them at last.

Extravagant power of invention and remarkable comic vitality make Aristophanes one of the most brilliant of the ancient Greek playwrights. From the hilariously bawdy yet fundamentally serious play, "Lysistrata", to the creative fantasy of the "Birds", to his comic masterpiece, the "Frogs", Aristophanes displays the biting satire, exquisite lyricism and licentious frankness that continue to make audiences laugh at the immensity of their own follies. A poet who hated an age of decadence, armed conflict and departure from tradition, Aristophanes' comic genius influenced the political and social order of his own fifth-century Athens. His true claim upon our attention is as the most brilliant and artistic and thoughtful wit our world has known. [Back cover].

In Aristophanes' most popular play, sex is a powerful agent of reconciliation. As war ravages ancient Greece, a band of women, led by Lysistrata, promise to deny their husbands all sex until they stop fighting. This volume of Lysistrata brings the play up to date with modern scholarship, providing an account of its history and containing new information about the comic theater and its social and political context. Lysistrata not only brims with topical references to social life, religion, and politics in classical Athens; it is also one of the best sources for information on the life of women in antiquity, offering a unique glimpse of their everyday life.

Siamo nel secondo giorno della festa femminile delle Tesmoforie ed Euripide si lamenta: teme che le donne lo condannino a morte, per punirlo di aver parlato male di loro. Convince quindi il Parente – un buffone – a vestire abiti femminili e a infiltrarsi come agente segreto. Ed ecco l’assemblea delle Tesmoforie: le donne protestano contro Euripide: il Parente denigra il gentil sesso: viene scoperto ed Euripide è costretto a intervenire; e così via, di trovata in trovata, ognuna più spettacolare e divertente dell’altra. Nelle "Donne alle Tesmoforie", la volgarità di Aristofane tocca il suo culmine: la commedia sembra una farsaccia da paese, come spesso le commedie di Shakespeare – ma una fantasia prodigiosa innalza tutto ciò che è volgare e osceno nel regno della vertiginosa follia comica.