The latest Lysistrata

From this column's headline, students of classic Greek Literature will assume this week's writing is about sex. They are right. We're going to discuss the age old power females have used by personally denying sensual delights from males. Sometimes it has worked. Sometimes it hasn't. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's not.

During studies at the University of Montana it was my good fortune to take courses in humanities from the renowned Leslie Fiedler, "the maverick man of letters.". Humanities is the study of human history concerned with relationships, history, philosophy, and literature.

One day during a lecture period, Dr. Fiedler was giving out a reading assignment from the early works of Greek writers such as Aristophanes. He made a point to tell our large class that he was reluctant to assign "The Lysistrata" because of current prudish attitudes regarding its subject matter. He said, "Perhaps it would be better if you skipped over the Lysistrata and read "The Clouds,"

At the opening of the next lecture class Fiedler asked, "Out of curiosity, I would be interested in knowing how many of you ignored my last assignment and read the Lysistrata anyway?"

Many hands were raised, and some of us had suspicions that most of those who did not raise their hands had actually read the forbidden play also. Fiedler then said, "Well, seeing as how the majority of you have tested the forbidden literary fruit, we are left with no logical choice but to discuss it," and we did.

Aristophanes was a popular but controversial writer who produced more than forty plays, mainly satire and humor, attacking even the highest placed government officials. His prize winning career lasted about forty years, much of it during the 27 years of the Peloponnesian War between the Greeks of Athens and the island of Sparta.

According to the play, Lysistrata was a young and beautiful woman who along with hundreds of her friends got sick and tired… fed up… desperate to stop their men from warring all the time. The men of Athens would go down to Sparta and fight a few battles then come home for some passionate love then take off again. The same with the men of Sparta. There seemed to be regular temporary truces for making mad love.

Lysistrata and her friends organized a plan wherein they and the equally disgusted women of Sparta would cut off all sex life until the men came to their senses and quit killing each other. There are some very funny descriptions of what ensues after the women get their plan working, including details on how the suffering men are walking stooped over, etcetra.

It has been over 55 years since I studied Lysistrata. It is long and contains lengthy poems and songs for the various choruses. There were threats of violence and ill feelings, Can't remember who gave-in first, the women or the men; however if any one wants to find out THEY could read it and then let us know. If not, maybe you could read "The Clouds."

Got to thinking about the Lysistrata last week because of a news story about several women in the gang ridden Colombian town of Pereira. The "No lovin" idea started earlier this fall and by the middle of October had enlisted more than a hundred girlfriends to go on a "sex-strike" to urge their boyfriends away from the drug-gang life. According to syndicated columnist Chuck Shepard, Pereira is also the South American city where a Columbian soap opera, "Sin Tetas" originates. That TV show features a woman who thinks her chest is not large enough so she constantly schemes to raise money for a breast-augmentation surgery. I don't know if she is in on the sex rationing or not.

In an unrelated matter, a man in St. Louis County, Missouri, was found to have cast two absentee ballots in the November 7th election. The election board picked up on this illegal action but are not going to prosecute the man. They said he is "up in years" and just forgot that he had already voted. Don't laugh. I voted at the Fairgrounds the morning of the seventh, came home, fixed lunch, and climbed into my recliner for a short nap. Woke up about 2:30 and half awake went rushing out to my car before remembering… I'd already voted.

Wait until you are over 75.