Assemblywomen
Encyclopedia
Aristophanes
' Ecclesiazusae (Ancient Greek
, Ekklesiazousai; translated as Assemblywomen, Women in Parliament, Women in Power, and A Parliament of Women) is a play
dating from 391 BCE which is similar in theme to Lysistrata
in that a large portion of the comedy comes from women involving themselves in politics. This play is much more infused with gender
issues than Lysistrata is. This play also shows a change in the style of Ancient Greek comedy
after the short period of oligarchy
after the Peloponnesian War
, or at least an attempt at it. It seems to be a merging of the two styles that works in the beginning, but falls apart by the end.
, because they could rule it better than they have been. The women, in the guise of men, sneak into the assembly and vote the measure, convincing some of the men to vote for it because it is the only thing they have not tried.
The women then institute a totalitarian-like government in which the state feeds, houses, and generally takes care of every Athenian. They enforce an idea of equality by allowing every man to sleep with every woman, but that the man must sleep with an ugly woman before he may sleep with a beautiful one.
There is a scene in which two men are talking. One of them is going along with the new government, giving his property to the women, and obeying their orders. The other does not wish to give up his property, but he is more than willing to take advantage of the free food.
The following scene has a pair of young lovers unable to make their tryst as a succession of ever older and more hideous women attempting to and eventually succeeding in dragging the man off to make love to them first, as laid down by the new laws.
The final scene or epilogue has Praxagora's husband, Blepyrus, on his way to the communal feast, and inviting the audience to join him.
The enforced equality is also something of a political statement in addition to being a social one. After the oligarchy put in place after the war fell, Athenians asserted their democracy
and equality very strongly, to the point that, while it was a clear exaggeration, the play surely made its position on excessive democracy clear.
lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimupotrimmatosilphioliparomelitoaktakexhumenokichlepikossuphophattoperis-teralektruonoptopiphallidokinklopeleioplagoosiraiobaphetragalopterugon,
or, in the Greek alphabet:
λοπαδοτεμαχοσελαχογαλεοκρανιολειψανοδριμυποτριμματοσιλφιοκαραβομελιτοκατακεχυμενοκιχλεπικοσσυφοφαττοπεριστεραλεκτρυονοπτοκεφα-λλιοκιγκλοπελειολαγῳοσιραιοβαφητραγανοπτερύγων. (1169-74)
Liddell and Scott translate this as "name of a dish compounded of all kinds of dainties, fish, flesh, fowl, and sauces." The Greek word contains 171 letters, which far surpasses that of Shakespeare's 27-letter long word, "honorificabilitudinitatibus
" in his Love's Labour's Lost V.I.
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' Ecclesiazusae (Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, Ekklesiazousai; translated as Assemblywomen, Women in Parliament, Women in Power, and A Parliament of Women) is a play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
dating from 391 BCE which is similar in theme to Lysistrata
Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
in that a large portion of the comedy comes from women involving themselves in politics. This play is much more infused with gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
issues than Lysistrata is. This play also shows a change in the style of Ancient Greek comedy
Ancient Greek comedy
Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece . Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy...
after the short period of oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
after the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
, or at least an attempt at it. It seems to be a merging of the two styles that works in the beginning, but falls apart by the end.
Plot
The play concerns a group of women, the leader of which is Praxagora. She has decided that the women must convince the men to give them control of AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, because they could rule it better than they have been. The women, in the guise of men, sneak into the assembly and vote the measure, convincing some of the men to vote for it because it is the only thing they have not tried.
The women then institute a totalitarian-like government in which the state feeds, houses, and generally takes care of every Athenian. They enforce an idea of equality by allowing every man to sleep with every woman, but that the man must sleep with an ugly woman before he may sleep with a beautiful one.
There is a scene in which two men are talking. One of them is going along with the new government, giving his property to the women, and obeying their orders. The other does not wish to give up his property, but he is more than willing to take advantage of the free food.
The following scene has a pair of young lovers unable to make their tryst as a succession of ever older and more hideous women attempting to and eventually succeeding in dragging the man off to make love to them first, as laid down by the new laws.
The final scene or epilogue has Praxagora's husband, Blepyrus, on his way to the communal feast, and inviting the audience to join him.
Political background
The play portrays a common view of women at the time.The enforced equality is also something of a political statement in addition to being a social one. After the oligarchy put in place after the war fell, Athenians asserted their democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and equality very strongly, to the point that, while it was a clear exaggeration, the play surely made its position on excessive democracy clear.
Longest word
The play contains the longest word in Greek, transliterated as:lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimupotrimmatosilphioliparomelitoaktakexhumenokichlepikossuphophattoperis-teralektruonoptopiphallidokinklopeleioplagoosiraiobaphetragalopterugon,
or, in the Greek alphabet:
λοπαδοτεμαχοσελαχογαλεοκρανιολειψανοδριμυποτριμματοσιλφιοκαραβομελιτοκατακεχυμενοκιχλεπικοσσυφοφαττοπεριστεραλεκτρυονοπτοκεφα-λλιοκιγκλοπελειολαγῳοσιραιοβαφητραγανοπτερύγων. (1169-74)
Liddell and Scott translate this as "name of a dish compounded of all kinds of dainties, fish, flesh, fowl, and sauces." The Greek word contains 171 letters, which far surpasses that of Shakespeare's 27-letter long word, "honorificabilitudinitatibus
Honorificabilitudinitatibus
Honorificabilitudinitatibus is the dative and ablative plural of the mediæval Latin word honorificabilitudinitas, which can be translated as "the state of being able to achieve honours". It is mentioned by the character Costard in Act V, Scene I of William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost...
" in his Love's Labour's Lost V.I.