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Lysistrata/The Acharnians/The Clouds Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1995

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Aristophanes (Author)
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Aristophanes (Author), Alan H. Sommerstein (Translator, Introduction)
4.3 out of 5 stars 23 customer reviews
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There is a newer edition of this item:

Lysistrata and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)
Lysistrata and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)
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Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (March 30, 1974)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140442871
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140442878
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 7.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsTranslation with wit but without true character of original
By A Customer on September 29, 1998
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Alan Sommerstein went to some length to translate the puns and plays on words (as further explained in the endnotes), which results in a very active play, and, for the careful reader, wit in nearly every line. He also uses the endnotes to explain further the Greek personalities mentioned in the plays, which adds to the understanding; my recommendation would be to read the play straight, then read the associated endnotes, then reread the play in question.
This translation captures the humor of the original, which ranges from low-brow slapstick to witty one-liners to political asides--a union of vaudeville, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Russell. However, what Sommerstein utterly misses is the form of ancient Greek comedy. The lyric choruses are rendered in choppy iambic lines, with many of them set to tunes from Gilbert & Sullivan. Aristophanes meant to use vulgarity in the acting, not in the lines of the Chorus.
Two stars for verbal wit, two stars for completeness of endnotes, and one star for my love of "Lysistrata", minus one star for excessive use of campy tunes.
(For those of you who do like his translations, or those just looking for the other eight plays, they are contained in two more volumes. Sommerstein collaborated with David Barrett in the volume Knights/Peace/Birds/Women's Assembly/Wealth, while Barrett translated Wasps/Women's Assembly/Frogs. Barrett takes less care with the translation of humor, but does not destroy the credibility of the choral lines.)
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5.0 out of 5 starsthe father of western comedy...
By Jeremy Davies on November 13, 2004
Format: Paperback
Brilliantly written and translated (quite a feat considering the many word-plays in ancient Greek...), this book (or any of Arsitophanes' plays for that matter) is a 'must read' for the humourist and the classisist combined. When the King of Syracuse asked Plato what he should read to understand how the average Athenian thought, he was instructed to read Aristophanes. You will be fascinated to see just how 'modern' the humour is, or, as the introduction explains, how 'ancient' our modern comedy is.

'The Clouds', inlcuded in this volume, is the imfamous play that Plato criticised Aristophanes over after the death of Socrates: he claimed that the parody of his teacher helped those who secured Socrates' death. I'd like to think Socrates did not concur. It has been reported that he bowed in good humour after witnessing the performance. Also, 'Lysistrata' is often used as a proto-feminist story - although it is much more interesting than that. Ancient Greeks have, as one of their chief virtues and downfalls a drive to be self examining and critical. It gives todays social relativists plenty of ammunition. Those that use it as an anti-war/peace-at-any-cost story, when it is actually against civil war, have not studied Aristophanes enough, or are prepared to ignore what doesn't work for their cause...
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4.0 out of 5 starsAristophanes with Tact
By F. S. L'hoir VINE VOICE on November 11, 2007
Format: Paperback
I have used this book repeatedly for my classes on women in antiquity, mostly out of habit. Professor Sommerstein's translation is extremely readable, but he is such a gentleman that the really flagrant double entendres of the Greek in "Lysistrata" and the "Acharnians" often pass unnoticed, or must be teased out of the text; and because they have often been rendered into a Scottish dialect, they must be explained. And when humor has to be explained--especially Aristophanic humor--it loses something of its ribaldry in the process of explanation. Nevertheless, the book makes for reading that is painless, pleasant, and usually terribly polite.
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3.0 out of 5 starsFun Read, Lots of Page-Flipping
By ace1339 on July 9, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Even in a college classroom, discussions about Lysistrata are met with giggles. Phallic jokes aside, Aristophanes mixes feminism and fast-paced banter to create an intelligently funny play. It's a great read for folks who know a little bit about ancient Greek history, and for those who don't, the text provides useful background knowledge. The editor chose to use end notes instead of footnotes, so expect some page-flipping.
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5.0 out of 5 starsLove and war and rhetoric, comically rendered for a classical audience
By Paul Haspel on October 18, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Love – or at least lust – wins out over war in Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata”; everybody knows that. But what stands out about this Penguin Books edition of “Lysistrata” is the way in which “Lysistrata” is brought together with two other, perhaps lesser-known plays from Aristophanes’ canon, all of which are united by the way in which the great Athenian comic dramatist uses comedy to confront the society of his time. Two of these plays -- “Lysistrata” itself and “The Acharnians” -- provide trenchant commentary on the Peloponnesian War in which Athens was then engaged against Sparta; the third, “The Clouds”, is equally successful as a comedy of ideas.

The title of “The Acharnians” (425 B.C.) made me ask, “Who were the Acharnians?” A quick bit of research showed me that Acharnae was a *deme* or district of Athens whose citizens were renowned for military valor; for a U.S. analogy, imagine an American playwright calling a play “The Texans” and thus capitalizing on Texans’ reputation for particular fighting spirit within U.S. culture. The Acharnians of “The Acharnians” are the play’s chorus – a group of old war veterans, the kind of guys who like to sit around and recount their courage of old, while expecting the younger generation to emulate their example. And these old Acharnians are anything but happy with the play’s protagonist, Dikaiopolis. You see, Dikaiopolis (whose name, to me, sounds more fitting for a city than for a person) sees the absurdity of the Peloponnesian War (“The Acharnians” was first performed in the war’s sixth year), and wishes to make what amounts to a separate peace.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Thank you.

Published 1 month ago by Molly1451
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Simply amazing.

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsLysistrata

This was a shockingly good play and translated modernly very well. I think that this should be shower in schools to older students though of course.

Published 5 months ago by Raven Coe
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great condition

Published 6 months ago by RJC
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great!

Published 11 months ago by Dr. Viteazu
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is immortal literary heritage!

Indeed, it is no wonder that Aristophanes called the "Father of Comedy". This greatest of ancient Greek Comedy playwright gracefully and cleverly ridiculed in his works,... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Jordan Davis
1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star

Hated reading it

Published 18 months ago by timothy r boyd
3.0 out of 5 starsLewd, crude and rude

This is my first foray into the Greek comedies. Call me a prude, but I think I'll be sticking with the tragedies.

Published 21 months ago by Jon Burnett
5.0 out of 5 starsClassical comedy at its best!

A must read classical work. Lysistrata is a timeless metaphor, delivered through comedy, against the ills of war. If only there was an Aristophanes of our generation...

Published on September 21, 2014 by Lamont A. Timmons
4.0 out of 5 starsQuite Good for a required read

I won't lie. These plays (acharnians, lysistrata) won't be the easiest to write a "significance" essay over, but being short as they are and as entertaining as they are I... Read more

Published on August 4, 2014 by Drew

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