Lysistrata

Fed up with the endless war between Athens and Sparta, the Athenian woman Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sex from their husbands until the men agree to make peace. The ribald battle of the sexes that follows is one of the great comedies of the ancient world—bawdy, hilarious, and surprisingly pointed in its antiwar message. Aristophanes combines farce, satire, and genuine social critique in a play that remains startlingly relevant and frequently staged today. Outrageous and sharp-witted, Lysistrata is a timeless comic masterpiece about the folly of war and the power of women to stop it.