Thesmophoriazusae

Thesmophoriazusae
Kore, daughter of Demeter, celebrated with her mother by the Thesmophoriazusae (women of the festival). Acropolis Museum, Athens.
The Dramatis Personae in ancient comedy depends on interpretation of textual evidence.[1] This list is based on David Barrett's translation[2]
Written byAristophanes
Chorus1) Agathon's chorus
2) Women of Athens
Characters
  • Euripides A poet
  • Mnesilochus, an elderly relative of Euripides
  • Agathon another poet
  • Cleisthenes a notorious homosexual
  • A servant of Agathon
  • A prytanis (magistrate)
  • A Scythian archer (policeman)
  • Micca ('1st woman')
  • Myrtle vendor ('2nd woman')
  • Critylla ('3rd woman')
  • Herald /leader of Woman's Chorus
    Silent roles:
  • Manya A maid of Micca
  • Philista Another maid of Micca
  • A dancing girl
Setting1) Street outside Agathon's house
2) Forecourt of the Temple of Demeter Thesmophoros

Thesmophoriazusae (Greek: Θεσμοφοριάζουσαι; Thesmophoriazousai, lit. 'women celebrating the festival of the Thesmophoria'), or Women at the Thesmophoria (sometimes also called The Poet and the Women), is one of eleven surviving comedy plays by Aristophanes. It was first produced in 411 BC, probably at the City Dionysia. The play's focuses include the subversive role of women in a male-dominated society; the vanity of contemporary poets, such as the tragic playwrights Euripides and Agathon; and the shameless, enterprising vulgarity of an ordinary Athenian, as represented in this play by the protagonist, Mnesilochus. The work is also notable for Aristophanes' free adaptation of key structural elements of Old Comedy and for the absence of the anti-populist and anti-war comments that pepper his earlier work.[3] It was produced in the same year as Lysistrata, another play with sexual themes.

How Thesmophoriazusae fared in the City Dionysia drama competition is unknown, but the play has been considered one of Aristophanes' most brilliant parodies of Athenian society.[3]

Phlyax scene from Thesmophoriazusae on an Apulian krater, c. 370 BC. Having been exposed, Mnesilochus grabs a baby as a hostage, but finds out it was a disguised wineskin. The 'mother' rushes over with a jar to collect the wine.[4]
  1. ^ Aristophanes: Lysistrata, The Acharnians, The Clouds Alan Sommerstein, Penguin Classics 1973, p. 37
  2. ^ Aristophanes: The Frogs and Other Plays David Barrett (ed), Penguin Classics 1964
  3. ^ a b Barrett, David, ed. (1964). Aristophanes: The Frogs and Other Plays. Penguin Books. p. 97. ISBN 0140441522.
  4. ^ "Digital LIMC". weblimc.org. Retrieved 2024-04-21.