Leviathan is one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. A classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign.

A dual language edition in English and French. The genocide in Rwanda shocked the world. Back then, Ery Nzaramba was only a teenager and his family’s escape to Europe turned him into a “survivor”. How should he now respond to questions about who he is and where he comes from? In this autobiographical one-man play, performed to acclaim on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the author journeys back to his Rwandan childhood. With the help of a cassette player, he brings to life nearly a dozen characters, exploring memories of kinship, cultural attitudes and personal identity. Both funny and poignant, the play highlights not only the intolerance that can breed violence and war but also the importance of power and privilege in the struggle for survival. Le génocide au Rwanda a choqué le monde. ? l'époque, Ery Nzaramba était un adolescent. Après que sa famille se fut échappé en Europe, il est devenu un ?survivant?. Désormais, que doit-il répondre à des questions sur qui il est et d'où il vient? Dans ce one-man show autobiographique, salué par la critique lors de sa présentation au Festival d'?dimbourg, l'auteur retourne vers son enfance au Rwanda. Accompagné d'un lecteur cassette, il donne vie à une bonne douzaine de personnages, explorant souvenirs de famille et d'affinités, attitudes culturelles et identité. ? la fois poignante et pleine d'humour, la pièce met en lumière non seulement l'intolérance qui peut engendrer violence et guerre, mais aussi l'importance du privilège dans la lutte pour la survie.

Environmental Degradation and Dryland Agro-Technologies in Northwest China” is a documentation of past and present research, training and extension experiences on: environmental degradation; conservation farming systems; water and nutrient management options; soil and water management technologies and training; soil erosion control; dryland agriculture and soil erosion; soil fertility and crop production; drought and soil water use, demonstration of ecologically sustainable agriculture; and dissemination of farming system technologies in the arid and semi-arid lands of Northwest China. These concerns are expounded on both from the national (China) and Regional (Loess Plateau) perspectives. The information provided herein was obtained through a review of all relevant literature and firsthand consultations/discussions undertaken by the author with professors and local research scientists, technicians and farmers in Northwest China. The facts and figures presented are based on their experiences of many years. This publication does provide valuable scientific information on the status of environmental degradation and dryland agro-technologies within Northwest China that are either traditional or newly developed through scientific research at various relevant Institutions such as NWAU, NWISWC and Regional Academies of Agricultural Sciences such as SAAS, GAAS, NAAF and QAAF. There are lessons to be learnt and plausible remedial conservation measures to be adopted elsewhere from these experiences in Northwest China.

It is fair to characterise the three suites of original water-colour drawings, as executed by our artist, as unique examples of the great George Cruikshank's special individual proficiency as an exponent of this branch of technical dexterity. More-over, it may be regarded as a fortunate circumstance that the three works, here reproduced with amazing fidelity in facsimile, represent happily the very chefs d'oeuvre of his wonderful productions; in their respective categories, preserving the best examples of his remarkable genius as an imaginative creator of vivid pictures, alike stirring and animated, and representing at one glance his vast dramatic powers, his mastery of the humorous side of life, and the intensity he was consistently able to infuse into terrible and tragic scenes. It is noteworthy that the inimitable artist George Cruikshank but rarely pro-duced finished water-colour drawings; the bulk of his prolific and familiarly rec-ognised designs for book illustrations were mostly dainty pencil sketches, occa-sionally finished in pen and ink. It is a problem difficult to solve satisfactorily whether, beyond the three memorable instances of the works here reproduced in facsimile, there are in existence any other complete suites of original illustrations by George Cruikshank—that is to say, fully executed by his master hand as finished water-colour drawings. Tinted sketches may be found in the prized possessions of Cruikshank collectors, and spirited studies for many of his favourite and most successful subjects have been cleverly touched in with watercolours; for instance, such as certain of his original drawings as designed for the illustrations of Harri-son Ainsworth's Tower of London, and the clever historical and picturesque series of Windsor Castle designs; these are, however, to be regarded as exceptional cases, for the bulk of these most successful and popular designs were carefully executed in pencil, or occasionally outlined with the pen, and highly finished with washes of warm sepia. It is worthy of recollection that Cruikshank was a most dexterous artist in this monochrome branch, his earlier artistic experiences having been al-most exclusively in the walk of aqua-tinted etchings; all his early book illustrations, his caricatures, and satirical plates—social or political—were uniformly etched by his hand in the most spirited fashion, after his ready sketches and rough studies, and when the outline etching was bitten in, Cruikshank elaborately worked out his colour suggestions, for light and shade, with a brush over the first-etched outline, in tones of sepia or Indian ink, for the guidance of the professional 'aquatinters'—the school of artists to whose trained skill was entrusted the task of completing these plates to produce the effect of highly finished washed drawings in mono-chrome. By this, his youthful practice, George Cruikshank had acquired remarka-ble dexterity, his original pen-and-ink designs, and the outline etchings, after his earlier book illustrations, being worked up in monochrome to the dainty finish of delicate miniatures, in which art both his father Isaac and his brother Isaac Robert were first-class proficients, as he himself has recorded with pride in describing the special gifts and qualifications which distinguished the Cruikshank family. ? ABOUT THE AUTHOR; George Cruikshank (1792 – 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience. Cruikshank was born in London. His father, Isaac Cruikshank, was one of the leading caricaturists of the late 1790s and Cruikshank started his career as his father's apprentice and assistant. His older brother, Isaac Robert, also followed in the family business as a caricaturist and illustrator. Cruikshank's early work was caricature; but in 1823, at the age of 31, he started to focus on book illustration. He illustrated the first, 1823 English translation (by Edgar Taylor and David Jardine) of Grimms' Fairy Tales, published in two volumes as German Popular Stories. On 16 October 1827, he married Mary Ann Walker (1807–1849). Two years after her death, on 7 March 1851, he married Eliza Widdison. The two lived at 263 Hampstead Road, North London.Upon his death, it was discovered that Cruikshank had fathered 11 illegitimate children with a mistress named Adelaide Attree, his former servant, who lived close to where he lived with his wife. Adelaide was ostensibly married and had taken the married surname 'Archibold'.

"The Spanish Tragedy", or "Hieronimo" is Mad Again is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, The Spanish Tragedy established a new genre in English theatre, the revenge play or revenge tragedy. Its plot contains several violent murders and includes as one of its characters a personification of Revenge. "The Spanish Tragedy "was often referred to (or parodied) in works written by other Elizabethan playwrights, including William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Christopher Marlowe. Many elements of The Spanish Tragedy, such as the play-within-a-play used to trap a murderer and a ghost intent on vengeance, appear in Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Thomas Kyd is frequently proposed as the author of the hypothetical Ur-Hamlet that may have been one of Shakespeare's primary sources for Hamlet.)

** Pamella Singh – Miss India 1982… spioan? de pat la NATO ** Frumoasele Miss, prad? u?oar? pentru trafican?ii de stupefiante ** Angela Nichitin – Miss Johannesburg, victim? a traficului de carne vie ** O Miss pentru solda?ii americani din Irak ** Miss Diaspora… uneori important poten?ial pentru spionaj ?i contraspionaj? ** Momeal? pentru pedofili ** Tita Cristescu, fost? Miss Rom?nia, ucis? cu cianur? de potasiu ** Concursurile Miss ?i reginele alese, motiv de scandal ?i crim?? ** Heather Whitestone – Miss America 1994, sub teroarea unui obsedat ** Evreica Lise Goldarbeiter – Miss Univers 1929 a supravie?uit nazismului ** C?teva regine… surpriz? **** Zsa Zsa Gabor – Miss Ungaria 1936. Nou? c?s?torii ?i scandaluri cu duiumul ** Rosemarie Frankland – Miss Univers 1961, ucis? de singur?tate? ** Imelda Marcos – Miss Leyte ?i ?Muza Manilei“ al?turi de un dictator ** Bess Myerson – Miss America 1945, de la politicieni, la mafio?i ** Plou? cu Miss-uri: Nud, Fund Mare, Jumbo ?i mai tr?snite ** Miss Penitenciar sau… Miss Pu?c?rie? ** Zig-zag ?n lumea concursurilor de frumuse?e ?i a concurentelor. Pilule dulciFiecare om, evident, are destinul s?u. Reginele au avut ?i au, ?i ele, firesc, destinul lor. Cele ?ncoronate ?i declarate ca atare datorit? frumuse?ii lor fizice ?i intelectuale sunt, de multe ori, superioare celor n?scute cu s?nge albastru, dar totodat? ele sunt expuse ?i mai mult unor pericole ce le dau t?rcoale. Tenta?iile ce apar des ?i capcanele ce li se ?ntind fostelor Miss sunt de multe ori ?irezistibile“. Din nefericire, unele tinere nu le-au sesizat la timp ?i, treptat, uneori f?r? voia lor, au c?zut ?n plasa unor servicii de spionaj sau a unor re?ele mafiote interna?ionale, implicate ?n traficul cu droguri, armament ?i fiin?e umane. Altele, ?ns?, au avut un destin ?i mai tragic, ajung?nd dup? gratii sau devenind ?inta unor asasinate care au f?cut v?lv? ?n pres?.Au fost ?ns? ?i ?Regine“ fericite. Din p?cate, pu?ine ?i pentru o perioad? scurt? de timp. Nici ?n lumea Miss-urilor n-au fost ?i nu vor fi dou? destine la fel.O carte ce cuprinde un soi de miniromane poli?iste, axate pe soarta, uneori-adeseori, dramatic? a reginelor frumuse?ii.

Foto?raf makinesi, insan o?lunun en ?nemli icatlar?ndan biridir. Bir foto?raf, ‘’an’’ denilen k?sac?k bir zaman?n tan???d?r. Ancak onda bir tarihi yakalamak da mümkündür. Bu bak?mdan foto?raf? sadece g?rsel bir obje olarak g?rmemek gerekir. Bakmas?n? bilenler i?in foto?raf; tarih, sosyoloji, psikoloji, kültürel yap?, sosyal de?i?im… konular?n ?nemli ip u?lar? i?erir. Foto?raf; g?rüp g?sterme, ger?e?i g?rünür k?lma, ger?e?i kavratmad?r. Her foto?raf?n bir dili vard?r. O dili anlayabilenler, nice güzellikleri ke?federler. Foto?rafta sadece g?rüneni de?il, g?sterilmek isteneni de bilmek ve alg?lamak gerekir. Her foto?raf bir ‘’an’’? yakalasa da onun i?inde sakl? bir hik?ye bulunur. Foto?raf, g?rselli?iyle beraber; topluma, zamana, mekana ve bireylere ili?kin bilgi ve belgelerle doludur. Foto?raf bireylerin ve toplumun aynas?d?r. Bu albüm-kitapta siz kendinizi bulacaks?n?z. Mahalleniz, k?yünüz, hat?ralar?n?z, akraba ve dostlar?n?z burada, sizin kar??n?zda olacakt?r. Sizleri ‘’Ge?mi?ten Gelece?e Emirda? ‘’ gezintisine ??kar?yoruz. Bu albüm-kitap Emirda?’?n tarihi süre? i?inde ge?ti?i a?amalar? da yans?tarak, gelece?imize ???k tutacakt?r. Emirda?’?n sosyal de?i?imini kitapta g?rmek mümkündür Foto?raflar grupla?t?r?larak okuyucuya kolayl?k sa?lanm??t?r. Genel, askerlik, ?ar??-pazar, bayramlar, spor, e?itim, tar?m-hayvanc?l?k, otobüs?ülük, aile, k?yler, ?ehreler, g??, yayla, bina-yap?lar, milli mücadele ve yat?rlara ait foto?raflar bir araya toplanm??t?r. “Ge?mi?ten Gelece?e Emirda?”?n olu?mas?nda eme?i ge?en, katk? sa?layan tüm Emirda?’l?lara te?ekkür ederim.. ? Ak?n A?CA Emirda? Kaymakam?

Inchizi?ia spaniol?, poate cea mai temut? institu?ie din istoria omenirii, a fost ?nfiin?at? ?n 1478 de Regii Catolici, Ferdinand ?i Isabella, ?i abolit? abia ?n 1834, odat? cu R?zboaiele Napoleoniene. Spre deosebire de Inchizi?ia medieval? din restul Europei, cea din Spania ?i Portugalia s-a r?sp?ndit ?n coloniile iberice din Asia, Africa ?i America de Sud, ajung?nd s? terorizeze, timp de peste trei secole, nu mai pu?in de patru continente.Care au fost ?ns? motivele ?nfiin??rii ei? De ce provoca at?ta team?? Cine erau victimele torturate ?i arse ?n autodafeuri? Toby Green readuce la via?? aceast? perioad? a istoriei cu ajutorul uria?ei arhive inchizitoriale p?strate ?i prezint? nenum?rate cazuri judecate de Sf?ntul Oficiu, de la arhiepiscopi la oameni obi?nui?i, victime inocente ale unui sistem diabolic. De?i ?nsp?im?nt?toare, aceste pove?ti sunt un exemplu al rezisten?ei spiritului uman ?n fa?a absurdului ?i a r?ului. Toby Green ne dezv?luie mecanismele prin care pot ap?rea persecu?ia ?i teroarea, dar ?i felul ?n care pot fi evitate. Inchizi?ia este un avertisment venit din trecut, o lec?ie a istoriei pentru noi to?i!

Volumul Sublimul tr?d?rii reprezint? o incursiune ?n lumea ?multidimensional?“ a crea?iei teatrale. Convins de existen?a unor straturi rarefiate ale spiritului, ?n care reprezenta?ia a fost h?r?zit? s? existe, autorul se ?ndep?rteaz? de orice interpretare ?vulgar?“, la prima m?n?, a artei scenice. F?c?ndu-se apel la teorii ale esteticii teatrale, dar ?i ale filosofiei, psihanalizei, exegezei ?i criticii literare, ne este relevat un univers artistic complicat, complex, predispus unei analize profunde. Astfel, locul care ?i este destinat spectatorului nu mai este acela de privitor pasiv, ci de partener al actorilor.?Oper?nd alegerea de sine“, spectatorul iese din plasa esteticului nu pentru a-i desfide rostul, ci pentru a se proiecta ?n centrul ac?iunii scenice, ?ntr-un loc ?n care ??i poate afirma prezen?a. Actul ?lecturii“ teatrului implic? ?ndatoriri egale cu cele din spa?iul public, for??ndu-l pe insul aflat ?n sala de spectacol s? faca o eschiva printre imperativele vie?ii, consider?nd interpretarea ca circumscriere concret? ?n ?legea universal?“ a eticului. Doar ?n acest fel, spectatorul poate accepta responsabilit??i legate de ceea ce i se ?nt?mpl?, atent la (?i preocupat de) via?a sa superioar?, spiritual?.“

Mein Kampf ist eine politisch-ideologische Programmschrift Adolf Hitlers. Sie erschien in zwei Teilen. Hitler stellte darin seinen Werdegang zum Politiker und seine Weltanschauung dar. Das Buch enthalt Hitlers Autobiografie, ist in der Hauptsache aber eine zweckgerichtete Kampf- und Propagandaschrift, die zum Neuaufbau der NSDAP als zentral gelenkter Partei unter Hitlers Fuhrung dienen sollte.??Der erste Band entstand in Hitlers Haftzeit 1924 und wurde erstmals am 18. Juli 1925, der zweite am 11. Dezember 1926 veroffentlicht. Vor allem der erste Band wurde bis 1932 in der Weimarer Republik zu einem viel diskutierten Bestseller.??Hitler schrieb 1924 den ersten Teil von Mein Kampf wahrend seiner Festungshaft in der Haftanstalt Landsberg in Landsberg am Lech. Er soll den Text seinem spateren Stellvertreter Rudolf HeB diktiert haben. Neuere Erkenntnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Hitler den Text selbst auf einer Reiseschreibmaschine tippte. Winifred Wagner berichtete, Hitler "massenhaft Schreibpapier" nach Landsberg geschickt zu haben.??Ursprunglich sollte das Buch Viereinhalb Jahre [des Kampfes] gegen Luge, Dummheit und Feigheit heiBen. Nach der vorzeitigen Haftentlassung im Dezember 1924 diktierte Hitler den starker programmatisch ausgelegten zweiten Teil von Mein Kampf seinem Gefolgsmann Max Amann, Direktor des Franz-Eher-Verlags. Amann und Hitler zogen sich im Sommer 1925 in das (daher spater so genannte) Kampfhausl des Pensionswirts Bruno Buchner auf dem Obersalzberg (nahe dem spateren Berghof) zuruck, um das Manuskript zu tippen.??Im Juli 1925 erschien der erste Band, im Dezember 1926 der zweite. Bis 1930 vertrieb der Verlag Mein Kampf in zwei groBformatigen Banden zum Preis von zunachst je 12, ab 1928 14 Reichsmark.??Der Originaltext erlebte in seiner zwanzigjahrigen Editionsgeschichte von 1925 bis 1945 zahlreiche Anderungen und Erweiterungen. Der Text der spaten Ausgaben aus den 1940er Jahren ist nur bedingt in direkten Bezug zu setzen mit Hitlers publizistischer und politischer Positionierung Mitte der 1920er. ??Im Herbst 2006 tauchten in Munchen funf Manuskript- und achtzehn Entwurfsseiten zu Hitlers Buch auf, die er vor dessen Veroffentlichung im Fruhjahr und im Sommer 1924 wahrend seiner Festungshaft in Landsberg verfasst hatte. Der Vergleich mit der spateren Endfassung ermoglichte der Hitlerforschung Ruckschlusse zur Entwicklung von Hitlers Weltbild und Agitationsweise.??Der erste und der zweite Band erschienen in einer Erstauflage von je 10.000 Exemplaren. Die NSDAP finanzierte sich ganz wesentlich uber den eigenen Parteiverlag, an dem auch Hitler personlich beteiligt war. Von der einbandigen Volksausgabe wurden bis Januar 1933 287.000 Exemplare zum Preis von je 12 RM durch den Zentralverlag der NSDAP (Franz Eher Nachfolger) verkauft. ??Hitler erhielt pro verkauftem Buch 10 Prozent Tantiemen. Die folgende einbandige Ausgabe kostete 8 RM ("Volksausgabe", ab 1930)...

It was a winter night, and the ground around Paris was covered with snow, although the flakes had ceased to fall since some hours.?Spite of the cold and the darkness, a young man, wrapped in a mantle so voluminous as to hide a babe in his arms, strode over the white fields out of the town of Villers Cotterets, in the woods, eighteen leagues from the capital, which he had reached by the stage-coach, towards a hamlet called Haramont. His assured step seemed to indicate that he had previously gone this road.?Soon above him streaked the leafless boughs upon the grey sky. The sharp air, the odor of the oaks, the icicles and beads on the tips of branches, all appealed to the poetry in the wanderer.??Through the clumps he looked for the village spire and the blue smoke of the chimneys, filtering from the cottages through the natural trellis of the limbs.?It was dawn when he crossed a brook, bordered with yellow cress and frozen vines, and at the first hovel asked for the laborer's boy to take him to Madeline Pi-tou's home.??Mute and attentive, not so dull as most of their kind, the children sprang up and staring at the stranger, led him by the hand to a rather large and good-looking cottage, on the bank of the rivulet running by most of the dwellings.?A plank served as a bridge.?"There," said one of the guides nodding his head to-wards it.?Gilbert gave them a coin, which made their eyes open still more widely, and crossed the board to the door which he pushed open, while the children, taking one another's hand, started with all their might at the handsome gentleman in a brown cloth coat, buckled shoes and large cloak, who wanted to find Madeline Pitou.?Apart from them, Gilbert, for such was the young man's name, simply so for he had no other, saw no liv-ing things: Haramont was the deserted village he was seeking.??As soon as the door was open, his sight was struck by a scene full of charm, for almost anybody, and par-ticularly for a young philosopher like our roamer.?A robust peasant woman was suckling a baby, while another child, a sturdy boy of four or five, was saying a prayer in a loud voice.?In the chimney corner, near a window or rather a hole in the wall in which was stuck a pane of glass, an-other woman, going on for thirty-five or six, was spin-ning, with a stool under her feet, and a fat poodle on an end of this stool.?Catching sight of the visitor the dog barked in a civil and hospitable manner just to show that he had not been caught napping. The praying boy turned, cutting the devotional phrase in two, and both females uttered an exclamation between joy and surprise.?"I greet you, good mother Madeline," said Gilbert with a smile.

Despre Europa s-a vorbit mult, ?n special din perspectiva social? ?i economic?, ?ns? tema nu a fost dezb?tut?, a?a cum s-ar fi cuvenit, de pe pozi?ia culturii. Cartea Mituri ?i legende ale antichit??ii propune studii eseistice referitoare la baza culturii europene. Eseurile ne invit? s? g?ndim ?mpreun? Europa din perspectiva singurului factor care une?te – cultura.

Cea dinti monografie care ofer o imagine cuprinztoare asupra receptrii literaturii romne n Cehia, cartea de fa este o incursiune n diversele etape ale totalitarismului comunist: stalinismul integral, perioada dezgheului, anii aizeci (cu transformrile din jurul Primverii de la Praga), urmai de perioada de normalizare care se ntinde pn la momentul Revoluiei de Catifea. Ineditul acestei lucrri este dat i de explorarea manifestrii unor opere i a unor personaliti literare romneti (precum Mircea Eliade, Constantin Virgil Gheorghiu sau Petru Dumitriu) n zona literar ceh prohibit din anii supui studiului, mai precis n publicaiile din exil i n revistele de tip samizdat. Cititorului i este oferit un tablou amplu asupra autorilor romni receptai cu predilecie de ctre cehi sub comunism i asupra tendinelor manifestate de romnitii cehi (coloana vertebral a procesului receptrii), de criticii literari i de recenzeni. Cartea definete o epoc n istoria raporturilor culturale dintre romni i cehi, dou popoare legate de un trecut adeseori comun i de o prietenie sincer.“ – Profesor dr. Mihai Mitu

In this boisterous but sensitive drama, playwright J. Ajlouny looks beyond public image to find the heart of this young woman thrust wildly into fame as a sex symbol. Presented as a play-in-the-making within a play, Marilyn, Norma Jean and Me weaves biography with humor to explore the movie star’s widely speculated plan to leave Hollywood for Broadway. The author imagines her innocence and vulnerability, her friendliness and loyalty, even as the public image threatens to steal her humanity. This play is a must-see or -read for fans of film and stage, not just because it is so good, but for its powerful way of finding the real Norma Jean in the legend known as Marilyn Monroe.

Do you tell your dog to lay down or lie down? How do you respond to the question of "How are you?" Do you say good or well? If these questions confuse you, imagine how tough it is for your kids. Don't worry about it anymore. Let Queen Shinobi teach them the proper way. She's been around a long, long time and she knows her stuff. So invest a few bucks in your child's learning and let Queen Shinobi show them how to do it. ?

Hamlet is commonly regarded as one of the greatest plays ever written. Drawing on Danish chronicles and the Elizabethan vogue for revenge tragedy, Shakespeare created a play that is at once a philosophic treatise, a family drama, and a supernatural thriller. In the wake of his father’s death, Prince Hamlet finds that his Uncle Claudius has swiftly taken the throne and married his mother, Queen Gertrude. The ghost of the dead king then appears and charges Claudius with ‘murder most foul.’ Hamlet is called to revenge his father’s death: but will he be able to act before it is too late?

Ilie Badescu, sociologul care a redeschis dezbaterea privind puterea si importanta pe care o are spiritul si desavarsirea fiintei si societatii, in lucrarea de fata ne vorbeste despre forta invataturilor precum si despre devierile prin care sunt propagate in lume falsele invataturi.

Bradford, in the month of Ramadan. Shaz, a local garage mechanic, is trying to keep his business going despite the terrible scandal of Asian men involved in grooming young girls for sex in the area. A protest march through the city is planned and Samina, Shaz’s sister wants to make a speech at a counter-demonstration for Peace. Shaz just wants a quiet life so that his prospective in-laws will let him marry their beautiful daughter, but as the city gets swept up in the protest, his world gets turned upside down. Asif Khan’s debut play is a fabulously comic take on the combustion surrounding young British Muslim lives.

The story is based around incident when Apuleius was accused of using magic to gain the attentions and fortune of a wealthy widow. He declaimed and then distributed a witty tour de force in his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near ancient Tripoli, Libya.

Lysistrata is a comedy originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. A comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace—a strategy, however, that inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is notable for being an early exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society.

Two middle-aged men stumbling across a hillside wilderness are guided by a pet crow and a pet jackdaw. One of them advises the audience that they are fed up with life in Athens, where people do nothing all day but argue over laws, and they are looking for Tereus, a king who was once metamorphosed into the Hoopoe, for they believe he might help them find a better life somewhere else.