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We continue on with more madcap hijinks from the master of Old Comedy. This play, variously known as Women at the Thesmophoria, Thesmophoriazusae, or the easier-on-the-tongue The Poet and the Women, is about a group of women using the Thesmophoria (an annual fertility celebration dedicated to Demeter) to tear apart Euripides for his sexist portrayals of women. Cue the subversive flipping of gender roles & the inevitable lewd sexual jokes.
batsy Without fail, the ancient classical texts will have a moment that seems to come straight out of the present. In this case, in a very Twitter moment, a man disguised as a woman insults women in order to defend a famous man (Euripides), & encounters pushback from the women present. He then retorts that his right to free speech should allow him to present his strawman argument. It's honestly too good; Aristophanes would have loved social media. 2y
batsy The image shows a scene from the play that has a sack of wine disguised as a baby. 2y
vivastory For some reason this one isn't ringing a bell. I recently checked out a vol. of Aristophanes. I'll have to see if it's in there & I totally agree with you -Aristophanes would get a kick out of Twitter, especially considering the discourse on there lately. 2y
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batsy @vivastory Feels like I haven't heard of it before, either, which seems weird! Because it's pretty funny and quite pertinent as far as satires go. But it kind of goes off the rails a bit towards the end, but I think that's just how Aristophanes rolls, so... 😆 2y
Bookwomble @batsy I love that you have a feeling for how Aristophanes rolls! 😃 2y
batsy @Bookwomble Read a few plays in close succession and now I feel like I might know him too well 😆 2y
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