Εκκλησιάζουσαι

by Aristophanes

"Εκκλησιάζουσαι" by Aristophanes is a comedy written in 391 BCE. When Athenian women seize control of the government, they institute radical reforms: abolishing private wealth and enforcing sexual equity that favors the old and unattractive. Led by the cunning Praxagora, the women disguise themselves as men to infiltrate the assembly and argue their superiority as leaders. Through political satire and ribald humor, Aristophanes critiques Athens's wartime confiscations of wealth while imagining an audacious reversal of power between the sexes.