Lysistrata
“But the gods and Euripides both hate women.”
While the tragedian Euripides often raised thought-provoking questions about women’s issues in antiquity, his rebellious and controversial female characters paradoxically saw him branded as a misogynist.
“To pile up one pyre and set it afire / For all with a hand in this wicked affair / Can pass without debate or amendments / Or special pleading—well, first get Lycon’s wife.”
Another example of Aristophanes taking a jab at a contemporary figure—in this case, the politician Lycon’s wife, who was rumored to be rather promiscuous.
“If somebody had done a proper job. / Of slapping them, they’d keep their yappers shut.”
Despite various threats of physical violence, the fight between Lysistrata’s male and female choruses is mostly verbal (with the occasional slapstick scuffle).