Oblomov's Reviews > The Ecclesiazusae (or Women in Council)

A group of women don fakes beards and their husbands' cloaks, all to attend the male assembly and convince the Athenians to turn the city's rule over to those more competent: the women.

Ok. This play is, eh... Hmm. I'm struggling to know where I should begin. Let's start off with a different Aristophanes' play, the Thesmophoriazusae which is all about the women of Athens hating Euripides' misogynistic plays so much that they decide to kill him. I hoped Euripides replied with some lost Satyr play about the female Athenians reacting to The Ecclesiazusae because, ho-ly shit, is this terrible. I felt near on shellshocked after reading this, and couldn't understand how the same bloke who created the Lysistrata wrote this thing. Then I remember Plutus and say 'oh, right'.

Having gained their power, the women essentially create a free love commune. All wealth is put into a public fund, so now theft is impossible. Meals are served at one giant table for all, so everyone's equal (except the slaves). Sex is free and open, with the only stipulations being free folk and slaves cannot have sex with each other, and the ugliest citizens must always be erotically served first *Socrates roars approvingly*. The women are, apparently, perfectly fine with shagging the least appealing of the male sex, but Aristophanes gives us a scene from the opposite perspective, where a handsome young man tries to visit his girlfriend and is apprehended by three old women, who insist he must deal with them first, ignore his protests and drag him away to rape him. What the ever Zeus-loving fuck, Aristophanes?

I remember Plutus being very mean spirited, but this play is far worse. The humour is cruder, such as this line about a man with constipation ‘I really think there must be a wild pear obstructing my rectum’, there's lots of talk about fondling buttocks or grabbing privates, and some terrible descriptions of the bodies of old women, with suggestions they should 'stop up their holes'.

This is one of those stories that hates everyone: men are stupid and women are devious. Wikipedia informs me this is less a play about female rule, and more an accusation against the Athenian male elite being both incompetent and effeminate. That might have been his argument, but it does nothing to excuse just how tasteless and cruel this whole mess is.

I happened to read this while drunk and, though I don't reccomend you read the play, I would suggest you get utterly pissed if you do, because it'll make it a hell of a lot easier.