𧡠Assemblywomen by Aristophanes might be my favorite play. It predicts with surgical precision the degradation we see in our own time, of power being in the hands of geriatrics and women when the men degrade to such a degree that the exchange becomes interchangeable:
The play, a comedy in and of itself, presents the greatest critique of socialism and feminist ideology in the form of pure parody - all in 391 B.C.
Aristophanes wrote it to criticize the Athenian leadership of his time, as Athens was still reeling from the Peloponnesian War.
Aristophanes wrote it to criticize the Athenian leadership of his time, as Athens was still reeling from the Peloponnesian War.
Despite its scathing reveal of what female leadership and political action actually entail (the sheer truth of it being why it's so funny), by and large, this isn't how normies who read it interpret it. It goes right over their heads.
The play starts with the women of Athens getting up before dawn, and walking to parliament dressed in their husband's clothing. Many are wearing fake beards and coach each other on what to say.
Their goal is to show up to parliament and change things for "the better"
Their goal is to show up to parliament and change things for "the better"
The symbolism here is quite direct - the effeminate male leaders are so decrepit that their women can disguise as them and get away with it
Before we see how these women vote however, we get a ridiculous scene with Praxagora's (the main woman) husband, Blepyrus
Before we see how these women vote however, we get a ridiculous scene with Praxagora's (the main woman) husband, Blepyrus
Blepyrus is old, constipated, confused - completely oblivious to the fact his wife has gone off with a gaggle of her friends to cause regime change in Athens. He's dressed in his wife's clothing since she took his, and he's running around looking for a place to relieve himself.
Blepyrus is the contemporary man Aristophanes hates; content with his own weakness, quite relieved even when he finds out from his friend later that the "group" at parliament successfully voted to hand over control to Athens' women.
Praxagora's argument, apparently, was that the women deserved power because they never strayed from true Athenian tradition (a lie). They don't steal or cheat, don't kill and start wars; there will be peace for all if they had a say!
This reminds me of an argument Mary Daly, an ex-Christian feminist from the 70s, made regarding why men should embrace incoming reforms for equality.
It wasn't because it was the "right" thing to do, but that it would make their lives "easier"! An appeal to the bugman, basically
It wasn't because it was the "right" thing to do, but that it would make their lives "easier"! An appeal to the bugman, basically
The laws of the new female-led Athens were as follows: no ownership of private wealth. Equal pay for all and a single standard of living. People will be provided for by a "common fund"
They make it so that men and women will be free to sleep with whomever they wish, as long as the old and ugly are prioritized.
As a result of this, parental responsibilities and the family are abolished, since knowing paternity gets wiped away with the massive fornication
As a result of this, parental responsibilities and the family are abolished, since knowing paternity gets wiped away with the massive fornication
As such, one of the main goals of the equalist female-led society is revealed: the oldest and ugliest women are given precedence to destroy any competition with the younger and prettier ones, who take up the attention of most men regardless of age group.
It also shows the big train of thinking that leads straight from communist delusion to feminism. Women are natural caretakers, who excel at managing the man's home in his absence. Feminism assumes that together, the entire country can be managed like one big household.
Also, because no one owns anything, there will be no more debt or lawsuits. Punishments for crimes will just be taking out a person's food rations, and it's assumed theft won't happen because everyone will get "their fair share"
Oh, but we still need slaves though. That's not going away.
βWhat a blessed future this city will have!β
βWhat a blessed future this city will have!β
The results are what you expect. A character named The Selfish Man is shown to immediately begin cheating the system, taking as much as he wants from the common pot whilst withholding his own property. It's implied (and obvious) that others begin to do the same.
Then, one of the funniest scenes of the whole play happens. A young woman waits for her boyfriend Epigenes, a handsome man, but gets into a brash argument with an old woman scouting for a hot date. Epigenes gets with his girl, but is interrupted by the old woman.
The poor young girlfriend of Epigenes loses the fight, but then, even more older and uglier women fight each other over who should have him, citing that the worst looking of them is most befitting of him. He's dragged away against his will.
The final scene shows the other end of this degeneracy, the older men taking charge of being with the younger women who have no men their age to be with.
In this very accurate parody, the lowest in society triumph, but their position and level of happiness don't change. The old and ugly women win at the expense of everyone else, but they're still clawing at each other as they feast on the misery of the majority.
It's also important to point out, at the end, how this play begins. Often we hear the stupid myth that feminism at its beginning was justified because of "abuses against women."
The reality as shown isn't that the women gathered due to being oppressed in such horrible ways,
The reality as shown isn't that the women gathered due to being oppressed in such horrible ways,
(remember, Blepyrus didn't even care where his wife went in the middle of the night), but rather it came about when the men grew so weak and effeminate that their "leadership" became meaningless.
Also shows that this society we live in now wasn't entirely new in the minds of our predecessors. Often bits and pieces of this insanity were tried, and the consequences were disastrous.
But to the extent we have it now? That was always seen as a joke. Because we live in one.
But to the extent we have it now? That was always seen as a joke. Because we live in one.
Thank you everyone, if you like writings of this kind and interested in my long form stuff, check out and subscribe to my substack:
avdullah.substack.com
avdullah.substack.com
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