It is a comic account of a woman's mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city states by denying all the men of the land any sex, which was said to be the only thing they truly and deeply desired.

With support from the Spartan Lampito, Lysistrata persuades the other women to withhold sexual privileges from their menfolk as a means of forcing them to conclude the Peloponnesian War.

[6] Soon after the oath is finished, a cry of triumph is heard from the nearby Acropolis—the old women of Athens have seized control of it at Lysistrata's instigation, since it holds the state treasury, without which the men cannot long continue to fund their war.

He reflects on the nature of women, their devotion to wine, promiscuous sex, and exotic cults (such as to Sabazius and Adonis), but above all he blames men for poor supervision of their womenfolk.

He has come for silver from the state treasury to buy oars for the fleet and he instructs his Scythians to begin levering open the gate.

She explains the frustrations that women feel at a time of war when the men make decisions that affect everyone, and further complains that their wives' opinions are not listened to.

Myrrhine fetches a bed, a mattress, a pillow, a blanket, and a flask of oil, and after delaying the act for some time, locks herself in the Acropolis once more.

A Spartan herald then appears with a large burden (an erection) scarcely hidden inside his tunic and he requests to see the ruling council to arrange peace talks.

Some events that are significant for understanding the play:[citation needed] Old Comedy was a topical genre and the playwright expected his audience to be familiar with local identities and issues.

The following list of identities mentioned in the play gives some indication of the difficulty faced by any producer trying to stage Lysistrata for modern audiences:[citation needed] Pellene was also the name of a Peloponnesian town resisting Spartan pressure to contribute to naval operations against Athens at this time.