¹ Ussher, R.G., Aristophanes Ecclesiazusae (Oxford, 1973)Google Scholar, xiii gives a good summary of the dismissal of Ecclesiazusae as an example of a move towards an inferior Middle Comedy and Aristophanes’ senility, exemplified by the memorable description by Murray, G., Aristophanes: A Study (Oxford, 1933), 197 Google Scholar of the play as ‘the literature of fatigue’. The commentaries of Ussher and of Sommerstein, A., Aristophanes Ecclesiazusae (Warminster, 1998)Google Scholar have gone some way towards attempting to reverse this perception, although they mainly focus on the play in terms of the gynaecocracy’s interaction with Plato's Republic and wider philosophical ideas of the early fourth century. Meanwhile, the introduction to M. Vetta, Le Donne all'Assemblea (Milan, 1989) examines the play in the context of the development of Attic comedy in the early fourth century. A few studies have swum against this tide, mainly focussing on Praxagora's plans of redistribution and reading the play's language of poverty against a background of the harsh effect of defeat upon the Athenian economy: e.g. David, E., Aristophanes and Athenian Society of the Early Fourth Century B.C. (Leiden, 1984)Google Scholar. Barry, E., The Ecclesiazusae as a Political Satire (Chicago, 1942)Google Scholar examines the play's criticism of the inconsistency of Athenian policy in the 390s, while Rothwell, K., Politics and Persuasion in Aristophanes’ Ecclesiazusae (Leiden, 1990)Google Scholar reads the play as an endorsement of the democracy and the usefulness of Πειθώ, embodied by Praxagora, within the democracy. Ober, J., Political Dissent in Democratic Athens (Princeton, NJ, 1998), 122–55Google Scholar discusses Ecclesiazusae within the wider context of a project examining dissenting voices against democracy in Classical Athens, analysing Aristophanes’ uses of persuasion, law and legal terminology. The twenty-first century has seen a further turn towards the political context of early fourth-century Athens; Scholtz, A., Concordia Discors: Eros and Dialogue in Classical Athenian Literature (Washington D.C., 2007), 71–111 Google Scholar was the first to suggest that Praxagora's plot bore echoes of fifth-century oligarchic coups, while Fletcher, J., ‘The women's decree: law and its other in Ecclesiazusae ’, in Marshall, C.W. and Kovacs, G. (edd.), No Laughing Matter: Studies in Athenian Comedy (Bristol, 2012), 127–40Google Scholar has discussed the legality of Praxagora's decrees in light of the actions of the νομοθέται.

² E.g. Scholtz (n. 1), Fletcher (n. 1).

³ Pace ‘the ironic readings’ (as labelled by Zumbrunnen, J., Aristophanic Comedy and the Challenge of Democratic Citizenship [Rochester, NY, 2012], 99–101 Google Scholar) of many readings of the play. E.g. von Wilamovitz-Moellendorff, U., Aristophanes: Lysistrate (Berlin, 1927), 203–21Google Scholar; Saïd, S., ‘L'Assemblée des femmes’, in Bonnamour, J. and Delavault, H. (edd.), Aristophane, Les femmes et la cité (Fontenay aux Roses, 1979), 33–69 Google Scholar; Foley, H., ‘The female intruder reconsidered’, CPh 77 (1982), 1–21 Google Scholar; Taaffe, L.K., Aristophanes and Women (London and New York, 1993), 103–33Google Scholar; Hubbard, T.K., ‘Utopianism and the sophistic city’, in Dobrov, G. (ed.), The City as Comedy: Society and Representation in Athenian Drama (Chapel Hill, NC, 1997), 23–50 Google Scholar; McClure, L., Spoken like a Woman (Princeton, NJ, 1999), 205–59Google Scholar; De Luca, K., Aristophanes’ Male and Female Revolutions (Lanham, MD, 2005)Google Scholar; Fletcher (n. 1).

⁴ Of particular interest here is Taaffe's ([n. 3], 182–3) observation of the parallels with Xenophon's description (in Hell. 1.7.8) of the conviction of the generals following Arginousae, where, at the Apatouria, Theramenes arranges for a large group of supporters to infiltrate the assembly dressed as mourning relatives of the war-dead and thereby persuade Callixenus to charge the generals in the council.

⁵ Sommerstein (n. 1), 154. More broadly, Halliwell, S., ‘Comic satire and freedom of speech in Classical Athens’, JHS 111 (1991), 48–71 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, Henderson, J., ‘Attic Old Comedy, frank speech and democracy’, in Boedeker, D. and Raaflaub, K.A. (edd.), Democracy, Empire and the Arts in Fifth-Century Athens (Cambridge, MA, 1998), 255–73Google Scholar and Sommerstein, A., ‘Comedy and the unspeakable’, in Cairns, D.L. and Knox, R.A. (edd.), Law, Rhetoric and Comedy in Classical Athens (Swansea, 2004), 205–22Google Scholar all examine legal restraints on comedy, particularly with regard to the decrees of Morychides and Syrankosios. It is safe to suggest that national disasters such as the plague or the Thirty were avoided by comic playwrights either through legal constraints or simply because, unlike personal disasters and misfortune, they were not good sources for comic material.

⁶ E.g. Eq. 846–57, Vesp. 500–2 for earlier accusations of seizing control of the city through a private army and aiming at tyranny respectively. Plut. 948–50 shows one instance of a throwaway charge of tyranny in the fourth century, where the informer tells Wealth that he will accuse him of overthrowing the city. The informer's parasitic nature may license the joke in this instance however.

⁷ Ussher (n. 1), xx-xxv favours 393 b.c.e., while Sommerstein (n. 1), 5–8 prefers a date of 391 b.c.e.

⁸ All Greek texts of Aristophanes are from N.G. Wilson, Aristophanis Fabulae (Oxford, 2007).

⁹ Especially prominent in Thesmophoriazusae, e.g. Thesm. 295–310, 372–9. See further Bowie, A.M., Aristophanes: Myth, Ritual and Comedy (Cambridge, 1993), 254–67CrossRefGoogle Scholar on the ritual context of the Ecclesiazusae and the Skira.

¹⁰ Mitchell, L.G. and Rhodes, P.J., ‘Friends and enemies in Athenian politics’, G&R 43 (1996), 11–30 Google Scholar and Connor, W.R., The New Politicians of Fifth Century Athens (Princeton, NJ, 1972), 44–9Google Scholar.

¹¹ Scholtz (n. 1), 75–6.

¹² Praxagora also uses the word at 528 and the audience is urged not to act like κακαὶ ἑταῖραι at 1161. Of the nineteen uses of ἑταῖρος/ἑταίρα in Aristophanes, five occur in Ecclesiazusae and the usage is especially marked in the play.

¹³ The use in Xenophon's Hiero, though not relating to oligarchic coups itself, would seem to be influenced by the word's use at this time, since it discusses a ruler, in this case a tyrant, being murdered by ἑταῖροι. Hansen, M.H., The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes (Norman, OK, 1999), 281–3Google Scholar argues from later fourth-century orators that ἑταιρεῖαι would have had a broader connotation of a social group of friends and relatives who might support someone in politics. Considering the paucity of surviving texts that could provide evidence for the use of the word in the politics of early fourth-century Athens, an argument ex silentio against Hansen would be unwise. Yet, even if ἑταῖροι had a broader meaning beyond oligarchical supporters in the 390s, the word would have retained sinister overtones in the context of a group meeting together in secret in order to force through the assembly a change in Athens’ government.

¹⁴ Ussher (n. 1), ad loc.; Sommerstein (n. 1), ad loc.

¹⁵ ‘Who wishes to address the assembly?’

¹⁶ Ussher (n. 1), ad loc. Cf. Aeschin. In Tim. 23 καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπερωτᾷ ὁ κῆρυξ· «τίς ἀγορεύειν βούλεται τῶν ὑπὲρ πεντήκοντα ἔτη γεγονότων;».

¹⁷ ‘I pray to the gods to arrange that things are decided correctly. My share in this country is just as much as yours.’ Ussher (n. 1), ad loc. notes various instances of assembly speeches openings with prayers, including most famously at Dem. De cor. 1 πρῶτον μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις. Vetta (n. 1) and Sommerstein (n. 1), ad loc. point out the advice in Arist. [Rh. Al.] 1437b13–16, which advises speakers intervening in controversial matters to declare the importance of everyone with an interest in the city's welfare to give an opinion. τῷ δὲ μὴ εἰθισμένῳ ἔκ τε τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν κινδύνων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι πάντα τινά, ᾧ τῆς πόλεως μέτεστιν, ὑπὲρ τῶν νῦν προκειμένων ἀποφαίνεσθαι γνώμην.

¹⁸ Ussher (n. 1), ad loc., Vetta (n. 1), ad loc. and Sommerstein (n. 1), ad loc. draw parallels with Dem. 4.1, Isoc. 6.2 and Thrasym. B 1.

¹⁹ Trans. Henderson, J., Aristophanes Frogs, Assemblywomen, Wealth (Cambridge, MA, 2002)Google Scholar with modifications. Whether Praxagora is referring to a specific historical incident here is unclear. The scholiasts state that this is an allusion to the Thirty but modern commemorators (e.g. Vetta [n. 1], ad loc., Sommerstein [n. 1], ad loc.) generally reject this, since this would have been precisely the time when there were not speeches being made on the Pnyx and large numbers of people were probably leaving Athens at that point. Modern suggestions centre around the various influxes of refugees from the Attic countryside during the Archidamian war and following the Spartan occupation of Deceleia or the aftermath of Aegospotamoi, when Lysander ordered that all Athenians living in the former empire return to Athens. Considering the regularity of these disruptions during the Peloponnesian War, Praxagora's reference is likely to refer more generally to times of disruption under the pre-404 democracy rather than to a specific incident.

²⁰ ‘And we women will choose you as general immediately, if you'll achieve what you have in mind.’

²¹ Pace Sommerstein (n. 1), ad loc., who suggests that Praxagora's election as sole general has sinister overtones, invoking Dionysius of Syracuse's election as στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ (Diod. Sic. 13.95.1) before making himself tyrant. I see no indication that that the role is being removed from its democratic context and it must have been common that sometimes some στρατηγοί in a year would eclipse others. The use of στρατηγός in combination with αἱρέομαι would ensure a suitably democratic-sounding procedure.

²² Cf. McClure (n. 3), 242: ‘like Lysistrata, who appears unmoved by the sexual appetites that weaken the resolve of her peers, Praxagora possesses self-control, which earns her the title of stratêgos, general.’ Note also Eccl. 304–5, where the chorus invoke the example of Myronides ὁ γεννάδας, a mid fifth-century general, as an example of the good old days.

²³ Hansen (n. 13), 268–69.

²⁴ Hansen (n. 13), 269–71 argues that this division between general and rhetorician began during the early fourth century rather than earlier during the Peloponnesian War owing to increasing professionalism in both disciplines. Once again, however, the majority of evidence comes from the time of Demosthenes. While some early fourth-century στρατηγοί such as Iphicrates no longer played a role in domestic politics, the case of Thrasybulus (elected general in 395/4 and 394/3 and also prominent in domestic politics, the last major example of this dual leadership) suggests that it was still possible for a στρατηγός to be thought of as taking a leading role in the assembly as well. The divergence of the two roles must still have been in its infancy in the 390s. On Thrasybulus, see Develin, R., Athenian Officials: 684–321 B.C. (Oxford, 1989), 207–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar, Strauss, B., Athens after the Peloponnesian War: Class, Faction and Policy 403–386 B.C. (Ithaca, NY, 1987), 90–4Google Scholar and Buck, R.J., Thrasybulus and the Athenian Democracy (Stuttgart, 1998)Google Scholar.

²⁵ For Pericles the thundering Olympian, see Ach. 530–1 ἐντεῦθεν ὀργῇ Περικλέης οὑλύμπιος | ἤστραπτ’, ἐβρόντα, ξυνεκύκα τὴν Ἑλλάδα. On Cleon, see Vesp. 1034 φωνὴν δ’ εἶχεν χαράδρας ὄλεθρον τετοκυίας. The latter reference of course is not positive but does illustrate that, in Aristophanic comedy, having a strong-speaking voice was necessary for those who wished to acquire political leadership in the Assembly.

²⁶ See further Rothwell (n. 1), 82–92 for Praxagora's characterization as a ῥήτωρ.

²⁷ Sommerstein, A., ‘Aristophanes and the demon poverty’, CQ 34 (1984), 314–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar discusses the portrayal of poverty in Ecclesiazusae and Wealth, arguing against the ‘ironic interpretation’ of the two plays’ utopian proposals. Sommerstein is certainly correct that the Peloponnesian War led to a decrease in prosperity amongst the Athenians and that this thus became an extremely relevant topic for Aristophanes. See also Strauss (n. 24), 42–54 for an analysis of post-war Athens’ economy and agricultural production.

²⁸ There is some disagreement over whether owning only one cloak is a mark of poverty or not. Sommerstein (n. 1), ad loc.—following MacDowell, D.M., Aristophanes and Athens: An Introduction to the Plays (Oxford, 1995), 310 Google Scholar—suggests that even well-to-do Athenians might have only one cloak, merely replacing it more regularly.

²⁹ E.g. Eccl. 185–8, discussing the varying reactions to the introduction of assembly-pay, depending on whether or not someone is benefitting from it. On self-interest as a key theme in Ecclesiazusae, see Rothwell (n. 1), 10–19.

³⁰ E.g. Eccl. 605 ‘no one will experience poverty’, οὐδεὶς οὐδὲν πενίᾳ δράσει. The basic message of the speech at Eccl. 588–94 is also to ensure that everyone at least has enough to live on, aiming to establish ‘a common livelihood for all’, κοινὸν πᾶσιν βίοτον (Eccl. 594).

³¹ As Said (n. 3), 34–6 suggests, characterizing the gynaecocracy as the final stage in the corruption of democracy.

³² Loraux, N., The Children of Athena (Princeton, NJ, 1993), 152–3Google Scholar.

³³ The key evidence for Pericles’ citizenship law is Arist. [Ath. Pol.] 26.4, who states that Pericles proposed that someone only became a citizen if both parents were Athenians, ἐξ ἀμφοῖν ἀστοῖν. For a recent discussion of Pericles’ citizenship law, see Blok, J.H., ‘Perikles’ citizenship law: a new perspective’, Historia 58 (2009), 141–70Google Scholar, who provides a thorough overview of all sources referring to the law and argues that the law was not designed to restrict the numbers of an ever-growing citizen body but an attempt to raise the status of the δῆμος. See also Patterson, C., ‘Athenian citizenship law’, in Gagarin, M. and Cohen, D. (edd.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Greek Law (Cambridge, 2005), 267–89CrossRefGoogle Scholar, who discusses the use of the specific term ἀστός and places Pericles’ law in the broader context of Athenian ideas concerning citizenship from Solon to Demosthenes.

³⁴ Ober (n. 1), 136–9. Taaffe (n. 3), 115–23 discusses the physical and linguistic disguises of the women in detail but does not consider the feminized portrayal of the male Athenian citizens.

³⁵ Following Foley (n. 3), 5, who observes that ideas about the oikos and communal living were current in political theory at this point (especially in relation to Sparta), using the example of Xen. Oec.

³⁶ For further analysis of gender switching (especially in light of Ecclesiazusae’s status as a play performed by a cast of male actors), see Taaffe (n. 3).

³⁷ Arist. [Ath. Pol.] 29.2–4 details the establishment of the committee in 411 b.c.e. and 34.3 shows that it was still active in 404 b.c.e. as well. Andoc. 1.82 also demonstrates the process continued after the restoration.

³⁸ E.g. Arist. [Ath. Pol.] 35.2 on the initial actions of the Thirty: ‘at first they were moderate towards the citizens and pretended to seek for the ancestral constitution’, τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον μέτριοι τοῖς πολίταις ἦσαν καὶ προσεποιοῦντο διώκειν τὴν πάτριον πολιτείαν. Shear, J., Polis and Revolution: Responding to Oligarchy in Classical Athens (Cambridge, 2011), 42–3Google Scholar also presents Thrasym. B 1, a fragmentary speech preserved by Dion. Hal. Dem. 3, claiming that the πάτριος πολιτεία was causing civic unrest through its frequent innovations despite being perfectly simple. For an extensive analysis of the πάτριος πολιτεία theme and constitutional reform, see Finley, M.I., ‘The ancestral constitution’, in The Use and Abuse of History (London, 1975), 34–59 Google Scholar and Mossé, C., ‘La thème de la patrios politeia dans la pensée Grecque du IVème siècle’, Eirene 16 (1978), 81–9Google Scholar. More recently, Shear discusses the πάτριος πολιτεία theme in the context of reactions to oligarchy in Athens, while M. Canevaro, ‘Making and changing laws in ancient Athens’, in M. Canevaro and E.M. Harris (edd.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Law (Oxford, forthcoming) examines the phrase's role in Athenian law-making. Both Shear and Canevaro see the invocation of the πάτριος πολιτεία initially as an oligarchic initiative that was then taken up by democrats in their response to the periods of oligarchic rule.

³⁹ Hansen (n. 13), 296–300. On ‘founding fathers’, see e.g. Dem. 22.30–2 for Solon, and [Dem.] 59.75 for Theseus.

⁴⁰ Arist. [Ath. Pol.] 40.2–3; Andoc. 1.82–3 describes the continual work of the commission to examine the ancestral laws and to formulate new ones. Hansen (n. 13), 161–77 provides an overview of the process along with Robertson, N., ‘The laws of Athens, 410–399 b.c.: the evidence for review and publication’, JHS 110 (1990), 43–75 CrossRefGoogle Scholar and P.J. Rhodes, ‘The Athenian code of laws, 410–399 b.c.’, JHS 111 (1991), 87–100. On the review of state sacrifices, see Dow, S., ‘The Athenian calendar of sacrifices: the chronology of Nikomakhos’ second term’, Historia 9 (1960), 270–93Google Scholar.

⁴¹ Arist. [Ath. Pol.] 40.1 provides one example of unsuccessful constitutional reform with Thrasybulus’ attempt to grant citizenship to slaves and metics who had helped restore the democracy.

⁴² Rhodes, P.J., A Commentary on the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia (Oxford, 1981)Google Scholar, ad loc.  The phrase is quoted from the decree of Pythodorus. Sommerstein (n. 1), ad loc. also supplies Dem. 18.248 for the phrase's use after the defeat at Chaeronea, while Vetta (n. 1), ad loc. discusses the phrase's use in political thought at the time.

⁴³ Following Henderson (n. 19), I take the manuscript reading of ἀρχῆς over Bergk's emendation ἀρετῆς used by Wilson (n. 8).

⁴⁴ Following Christ, M., ‘Imagining bad citizenship in Classical Athens: Aristophanes’ Ecclesiazusae 730–876’, in Sluiter, I. and Rosen, R.M. (edd.), Kakos: Badness and Anti-Value in Classical Antiquity (Leiden, 2008), 169–83CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁴⁵ On the other hand, note the intriguing suggestion in Olson, S.D. ‘The identity of the δεσπότης at Ecclesiazusae 1128 ff.’, GRBS 28 (1987), 161–6Google Scholar, at 165 n. 10 that the Selfish Man may reappear as Epigenes, the Young Man in the ‘hag scene’ (a suggestion which would make his fate clear-cut). This proposal has not met with general acceptance, however.

⁴⁶ E.g. T.K. Hubbard (n. 3), 39, Wilamowitz (n. 3), 215: ‘Wir lernen zugleich, daß der Kommunismus schon am Egoismus scheitert.’

⁴⁷ Sommerstein (n. 1), 21, 213.

⁴⁸ Slater, N.W., Spectator Politics: Metatheatre and Performance in Aristophanes (Philadelphia, 2002), 221–3Google Scholar. Cf. McClure (n. 3), 236–53 for an analysis of how the language of Praxagora and her co-conspirators changes dramatically depending on whom they are talking to. The women are much more lewd when talking among themselves but return (briefly and not without the standard being undermined) to speech more appropriate to their social roles as women when talking to Blepyrus et al.

⁴⁹ Rothwell (n. 1), 65.

⁵⁰ Slater (n. 48), 229.

⁵¹ Hansen (n. 13), 162–4.

⁵² The word νόμος occurs thirteen times, Eccl. 216, 609, 741, 759, 762, 944, 987, 988, 1022, 1041, 1049, 1056 and 1077. ψήφισμα occurs only four times, Eccl. 649, 813, 1013 and 1090.

⁵³ Ober (n. 1), 145–7.

⁵⁴ Fletcher (n. 1), 135.

⁵⁵ Fletcher (n. 1), 134.

⁵⁶ Trans. Henderson (n. 19) with modifications.

⁵⁷ For discussions of Ecclesiazusae and Sparta, see David (n. 1), 25–9; Perentidis, S., ‘La femme spartiate, sujet de conflit entre Aristophane et les Socratiques’, in Ménard, H., Sauzeau, P. and Thomas, J.-F., La Pomme d’Éris: Le conflit et sa representation dan l'Antiquité (Montpellier, 2012), 425–44Google Scholar.

⁵⁸ Ussher (n. 1), ad loc. points out that βακτηρίας are typical of either old men or of Laconophiles. Ussher uses Theophr. Char. 5.9 as evidence for the association of βακτηρίας with Sparta, while also noting that Aristophanes describes Laconophiles ἐσκυταλιοφόρουν at Av. 1283.

⁵⁹ E.g. Thesm. 142, Vesp. 1158 for Spartan boots. Note that the Wasps reference prompts a joke that wearers of Spartan boots would be sympathetic to Sparta, something Philocleon is not. For staffs, see Ach. 682.

⁶⁰ David (n. 1), 25–9.

⁶¹ E.g. Xen. Lac. 5.2–4 for communal dining (Hdt. 1.65 also references this, using συσσίτια to describe the dining), Lac. 6.3–4 for sharing of property, and Lac. 1.6–9 for sharing of wives.

⁶² David (n. 1), 25–6.

⁶³ This trend is best exhibited in Xenophon's Respublica Lacedaemoniorum, although examples appear elsewhere. E.g. Xen. Mem. 3.5.15 provides a striking example of this fourth-century philo-Laconianism from elsewhere in Xenophon's work: ‘For when will Athenians show the Spartan reverence for age … when will they adopt the Spartan system of training … when will they reach that standard of obedience to their rulers … or when will they attain that harmony?’ (trans. Marchant, rev. Henderson, Xenophon Memorabilia, Oeconomicus, Symposium, Apology [Cambridge, MA, 2013]Google Scholar). These sorts of ideas are also likely the source for some of the ideas about redistribution in Plato's Republic, as Ussher (n. 1), xiii-xx, David (n. 1), 20–3 and Sommerstein (n. 1), 13–18 point out.

⁶⁴ The most notable examples are Mossé, C., ‘Comment s'élabore un mythe politique: Solon, « père fondateur » de la démocratie athénienne’, Annales 34 (1999), 425–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Hansen, M.H., ‘Solonian democracy in fourth-century Athens’, C&M 40 (1989), 71–99 Google Scholar. The papers in Noussia, M. and Nagy, G. (edd.), Solon in the Making: The Early Reception in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries (Berlin, 2015)Google Scholar shed further light on the development of the persona of Solon in the Archaic and Classical Greek literary tradition.

⁶⁵ Martin, R.P., ‘Solon in comedy’, in Noussia, M. and Nagy, G. (edd.), Solon in the Making: The Early Reception in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries (Berlin, 2015), 66–85 Google Scholar examines these instances and suggests several further plays where Solon may have appeared, focussing especially on Cratinus’ potential use of the character as a counterpart to Pericles. By contrast, Aristophanes’ old poet of choice (another setting where we might expect to see Solon appear) seems to be Simonides rather than Solon, e.g. Nub. 1355–62, Vesp. 1410–11.

⁶⁶ Storey, I., Eupolis: Poet of Old Comedy (Oxford, 2003), 114–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar and 130–4.

⁶⁷ Trans. Henderson, J., Aristophanes Birds, Lysistrata, Women at the Thesmophoria (Cambridge, MA, 2000)Google Scholar.

⁶⁸ For a full discussion, see Shear (n. 38), 19–135 on 411, 167–70 on 404, and 227–62 on democratic responses to the Thirty, and Canevaro (n. 38).

⁶⁹ Lys. 30.2: προσταχθὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ τεττάρων μηνῶν ἀναγράψαι τοὺς νόμους τοὺς Σόλωνος, ἀντὶ μὲν Σόλωνος αὑτὸν νομοθέτην κατέστησεν, ἀντὶ δὲ τεττάρων μηνῶν ἑξέτη τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐποιήσατο, καθ’ ἑκάστην δὲ ἡμέραν ἀργύριον λαμβάνων τοὺς μὲν ἐνέγραφε τοὺς δὲ ἐξήλειφεν.

⁷⁰ I leave aside the decree of Tisamenus, quoted at Andoc. 1.83–4, which contains the phrase πολιτεύεσθαι Ἀθηναίους κατὰ τὰ πάτρια, νόμοις δὲ χρῆσθαι τοῖς Σόλωνος. Canevaro, M. and Harris, E.M., ‘The documents in Andocides’ On the Mysteries ’, CQ 62 (2012), 98–129 CrossRefGoogle Scholar have raised legitimate concerns about the authenticity of the documents in Andocides’ On the Mysteries.

⁷¹ By the mid fourth century it was extremely common to claim Solon as the founding father, e.g. Isoc. 7.16.

⁷² The fact that Praxagora's reforms overturn the laws attributed to Solon regarding female financial holdings does not affect this comparison. Praxagora is not Solon reborn but a founder figure and lawgiver in the manner of Solon.

⁷³ Knights is perhaps the closest Aristophanes previously comes to explicitly criticizing the demos. While the play is certainly critical of the demos for being duped by leaders such as Cleon, the transformation of the Sausage-Seller and the rebirth of Demos at the end of the play provide an ending whereby the Athenian demos remains a body capable of governing itself.

⁷⁴ Cf. Major, W.E., The Court of Comedy: Aristophanes, Rhetoric and Democracy in Fifth-Century Athens (Columbus, 2012), 181 Google Scholar, who notes that Aristophanes served in the boulē in the early fourth century (IG II².1740.24) and speculates that ‘serving on the Council could have been discouraged and led him to believe deeper structural change was needed, perhaps explaining why in the late plays the Council no longer factors in social reform or provides stability’.

⁷⁵ See e.g. Saïd, S., Le monde à l'envers: pouvoir féminin et communauté des femmes en Grèce ancienne (Paris, 2013)Google Scholar, Saïd (n. 3), Foley (n. 3), Taaffe (n. 3), 103–33, McClure (n. 3), 236–64, De Luca (n. 3) or Fletcher (n. 1) for a fairly pessimistic view, while Sommerstein (n. 1), Ober (n. 1), Scholtz (n. 1) and Slater (n. 48) are generally positive. Ussher (n. 1) tries to strike a balance somewhere between the two.

⁷⁶ E.g. De Luca (n. 3), 99–112, Taaffe (n. 3), 123–9 respectively. Foley (n. 3), 20 sees the scene as representing the ‘orgiastic religion and unbridled lust’ of comic women.

⁷⁷ Thus Slater (n. 48), 226–7: ‘If the image of rejuvenated old men such as Philocleon or Dicaeopolis who win young girls for their pleasure is meant to be a comic celebration, why should we assume that the reverse is satiric.’

⁷⁸ Sommerstein (n. 27), 320–1: ‘… we will find that Old Comedy, in marked contrast to New, throughout displays a systematic bias in favour of older and against younger men. The rejuvenation of the old is a favourite theme, and in other plays as well as this one sexual success with attractive young women is the almost exclusive prerogative of the older male … Aristophanes’ young men are typically self-confident, cocksure of their ability to get their way, and arrogant in their superiority to other forms of humanity; and it appears to be one of the functions of comedy to take them down a peg.’

⁷⁹ Following the suggestion of McGlew, J., Citizens on Stage: Comedy and Political Culture in the Athenian Democracy (Ann Arbor, 2002), 199 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁸⁰ Slater (n. 48), 224.

⁸¹ Slater (n. 48), 224.

⁸² McClure (n. 3), 253.

⁸³ Bowie (n. 9), 266–7. Bowie follows the suggestion of Fraenkel, E., ‘Dramaturgical problems in the Ecclesiazusae ’, in Bailey, C., Bowra, C.M., Barber, E.A., Denniston, J.D. and Page, D.L. (edd.), Greek Poetry and Life: Essays Presented to Gilbert Murray on his Seventieth Birthday (Oxford, 1936), 264–6Google Scholar that the women were standing on the roof of the stage-building. ‘Lascivious singing and dancing on a roof might well have provoked thoughts of the Adonia in the audience.’ Even if Fraenkel's staging suggestion is incorrect (both Sommerstein [n. 1], 214 and Mastronade, D., ‘Actors on high: the skene roof, the crane, and the gods in Attic drama’ ClAnt 9 (1990), 247–94Google Scholar, at 257 place the women at windows), the rowdy solicitation and dramatic setting following the Skira would still recall the Adonia.

⁸⁴ On the Skira and Ecclesiazusae, see Bowie (n. 9), 256–8.

⁸⁵ Henderson, J., ‘Older women in Attic comedy’, TAPhA 117 (1987), 105–29Google Scholar, discussing the crucial role played by older women in the plots of Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusae and Ecclesiazusae.

⁸⁶ Henderson (n. 85), 119.

⁸⁷ Henderson (n. 85), 118 summarizing the position of Saïd (n. 3).

⁸⁸ McClure (n. 3), 256.

⁸⁹ Slater (n. 48), 225 notes that Eccl. 938–41 demonstrates that the Young Man is aware of the law.

⁹⁰ Note here Olson's suggestion (see [n. 45], 165 n. 10) that the Young Man is the Selfish Man, in which case things are much clearer as to the Selfish Man's fate.

⁹¹ Sommerstein (n. 1), 236 gives Lys. 1043–71 and 1189–1215 as examples alongside the endings of Plautus’ Rudens and Pseudolus (Plaut. Rud. 1418–22, Pseud. 1331–4).

⁹² Cf. Sommerstein (n. 27) on poverty as a motif in Aristophanes’ final two plays and, more generally, Strauss (n. 24), especially 42–69, on post-war society and economy in Athens.

⁹³ E.g. Eccl. 721–4, which explicitly penalizes non-citizens and thereby privileges all members of the citizen body.

⁹⁴ Lys. 574–86, following the analysis of Olson, S.D., ‘Lysistrata's conspiracy and the politics of 412’, in Marshall, C.W. and Kovacs, G. (edd.), No Laughing Matter: Studies in Athenian Comedy (Bristol, 2012), 77–82 Google Scholar.