Lysistrata by Aristophanes. Short summary

5 seconds

Lysistrata decided to stop the ten-year war between Sparta and Athens. She organized a strike of women who refused intimacy with men until the war ended. A truce was established.

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Lysistrata, the «destroyer of war,» wanted to stop the ten-year war between Sparta and Athens. She incited the women to declare a strike on their husbands: no intimacy until the war was over. No one wanted to give up relationships with men, but Lysistrata was able to convince them. The women swore over wine that they would not betray the promise, and those who broke it were doomed to drink only water.

The women moved to the Athenian acropolis. As the young men are at war, the old men come to them with torches and threaten to burn them. In retaliation, the women pour water on them, and the indignant old men retreat.
A city councilor comes out of the crowd to settle the dispute. He advises the women to stay out of the war, and the women declare that they are tired of waiting for their husbands and giving birth to sons to go off to war. Lysistrata says there is no problem in the world that women cannot solve, but men limit their free will.

After a lengthy argument, peace negotiations are arranged and the war ends with a truce.

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