109: Aristophanes: Thesmophoriazusae

Thesmophoriazusae (Ancient 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." (more)

We'll be using the translation included in Frogs and Other Plays (Penguin Classics, 2007), Shomit Dutta (Editor, Introduction).

Shomit Dutta's introduction discusses Aristophanes' life, the cultural context of his work and conventions of Greek comedy. This updated version of David Barrett's translation also includes extensive notes and a preface for each play.

The Greek text, edited by F.W. Hall and W.M. Geldart, is online on the Perseus Hopper at https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0031