Ecclesiazusae

Background

Ecclesiazusae (sometimes written as Ekklesiazousai, and known as Assemblywomen) is a comedy play written by ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes and first performed in roughly 392 BCE. It is also one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. The comedy follows the Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War in roughly 404 BCE, when the city-state was re-establishing a democratic government. Interestingly, the play suggests that Athens should allow women to run the government, in addition to the city-state to be more communist. The suggestion highlights how Aristophanes juxtaposes the play with ancient Greek society, which is normally male-dominant and women typically have far fewer rights and generally do not participate in governmental affairs.

Synopsis

The play begins with Praxagora, an Athenian woman, waiting outside her home before leading a group of women into the Assembly while all of them are dressed up as men. During the assembly, Praxagora and her group successfully led the vote for women to be in government, given how the suggestion had not been attempted before and other suggestions had gone poorly. She is then chosen as commander, if the proposal goes into effect. Praxagora then pushes for radical changes, ranging from abolishing private property to eliminating social inequalities and changing the structure of the family and household. Meanwhile, by Praxagora's home, Blepyrus, her husband (despite wearing her robes since she had taken his) wonders where his clothes (namely, his cloak and shoes) and his wife went before being interrupted by his friend Chremes who briefly comments on Blepyrus' outfit then tells him about the assembly meeting that day and the resulting vote. Following the vote, some express ranging levels of discontentment with the new laws, while others enjoy the benefits of the new system. Three scenes follow: a citizen refusing to hand over his property but still wants to participate in the communal feast, a young man is forced to sleep with a few women before with a young girl, and Blepyrus enjoying himself with young girls at the feast.

Defying Gender Norms and Transvestism

In ancient Greek society, women were not allowed to vote, and as shown in Ecclesiazusae, Praxagora and several women had to dress up as men to enter the Assembly and vote. This action of dressing up and entering the Assembly shows the defiance from gender norms (women could not participate in governmental affairs) and how unity of groups could lead to massive changes to society and its laws. First, the women took the opportunity to propose an amendment to the government, as Athens was in the process of re-establishing democracy but several attempted reforms had failed. The proposal, allowing women to govern, has not been attested yet and the city-state had very few options remaining. If the women had not taken the opportunity, democracy in Athens might have ceased. Second, the unity of women allowed Praxagora to put her proposals into effect, while additionally being named as a commander as a result. Additionally, the women entering the Assembly while cross-dressing implies how marginalized groups tended to be excluded from government, and somehow getting them into government (in some governments by election, and in the play, by physically entering the Assembly) can lead to changes that benefit those marginalized groups without excluding the dominant groups.

References

Aristophanes. "Assemblywomen." In Aristophanes: Frogs. Assemblywomen. Wealth, edited and translated by Jeffrey Henderson, 238-414. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998. doi:10.4159/DLCL.aristophanes-assemblywomen.2002.

Editors of GreekMythology.com. "Assemblywomen." GreekMythology.com Website, January 17, 2021. https://www.greekmythology.com/Plays/Aristophanes/Assemblywomen_/assemblywomen_.html.

Wasson, Donald L.. "Ecclesiazusae." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified February 25, 2019. https://www.worldhistory.org/Ecclesiazusae/.