Book Club: Lysistrata by Aristophanes

Led by Professor Sharon Gerstel, Director of the UCLA SNF Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture, and The Honorable Christina Valassopoulou, Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles, this academic year’s book club will feature Greek books in translation.

From the publisher: Aristophanes’ play, Lysistrata, takes place toward the end of the Peloponnesian War and centers on the lives of the soldiers’ wives. One woman, Lysistrata, under the impression that a man’s libido is ultimately his driving force in life, comes up with an interesting peace solution: to deny their husbands sexual relations until they can settle on a peace agreement that will end the war. However, Lysistrata’s strategy effectively creates even more war than before as the sexes begin to feud with each other. Aristophanes’ play is both comic and poignant as it reveals the relationship between men and women in classical Athens society.

This program is held under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles and is made possible thanks to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).