Lysistrata by Aristophanes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lysistrata

Some Greek men, you’ll discover,
Being a lesser lover
Than a renderer of war,
Treat their wives much like a whore.

So one day, Lysistrata,
Equipped with all the data,
Reckoned upon a tactic
To withhold love climactic.

She aimed to end all conflict
With some cohorts she had picked,
To flaunt breasts and nothing hide,
Though, ‘til peace, men were denied.

Males came with their pricks erect,
Revealed for all to inspect,
Still their wives rejected them,
Until war they would condemn.

So the violence did decrease
And the warring tribes made peace,
A gently handled magic wand
Made sure a double entendre.

At play’s end, the sun went down
On the whole of Athens town
And nothing followed after,
But the echoes of laughter.



Illustration by Norman Lindsay


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