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Birds. Lysistrata. Women at the Thesmophoria

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Birds transports audiences to a fantastical utopia ruled by birds, creating an imaginative counter-Athens called Cloudcuckooland. Lysistrata features the first comic heroine who leads Athenian wives on a striking mission to end the siege of war through solidarity. Women at the Thesmophoria centres on a clever, humorous battle of the sexes as women exact revenge on Euripides for his negative portrayals, with sharp parody bringing the story to life.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This collection is ideal for enthusiasts of classical literature, drama students, and readers interested in ancient Greek culture and its timeless social commentary through comedy.

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Aristophanes (c. 450 c. 386 BCE) has been admired since antiquity for his wit, fantasy, language, and satire. The protagonists of Birds create a utopian counter-Athens. In Lysistrata wives go on conjugal strike until their husbands end war. Women in Women at the Thesmophoria punish Euripides for portraying them as wicked.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Aristophanes (ca. 446–386 BCE), one of the world's greatest comic dramatists, has been admired since antiquity for his iridescent wit and beguiling fantasy, exuberant language, and brilliant satire of the social, intellectual, and political life of Athens at its height. In this third volume of a new Loeb Classical Library edition of Aristophanes, Jeffrey Henderson presents a freshly edited Greek text and a lively, unexpurgated translation of three plays with full explanatory notes.

In Birds Aristophanes turns from the pointed political satire characteristic of earlier plays to a fantasy that soars literally into the air in search of a carefree world. Here the enterprising protagonists create a utopian counter-Athens, called Cloudcuckooland, ruled by birds.

Lysistrata blends boisterous comedy and an earnest call for peace. Lysistrata, our first comic heroine, organises a panhellenic conjugal strike of young wives until their husbands end the war between Athens and Sparta.

Athenian women again take centre stage in Women at the Thesmophoria, this time to punish Euripides for portraying them as wicked. Parody of Euripides' plots enlivens this witty confrontation of the sexes.

Series: Loeb Classical Library

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674995871

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 15 November 2000

Country: United States

Imprint: LOEB

Illustration: Index

Contributors:

  • Edited and translated by Jeffrey Henderson

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 33.0mm

Width: 108.0mm

Height: 162.0mm

Weight: 454g

Pages: 624

About the Author

Jeffrey Henderson is William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of Greek Language and Literature, Emeritus, at Boston University.

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