Summary
Scene 5. Lampito leads the Spartan herald onstage. The leader of the men's chorus greets the herald, noting his erection. Cinesias enters and asks where Lysistrata is, and the chorus leaders take note that he also has an erection. When the leader of the chorus of men questions him about it, he says, "I woke up like this, I slept like this, I went to sleep like this. I’m going so crazy with lust, even you’re starting to look pretty to me."
The herald tells Cinesias that he is there to declare peace. "Good, so am I. We'd better call for Lysistrata, then," says Cinesias. Lysistrata enters with Calonice and Myrrhina, as the chorus of women extols her virtues. They say, "Eloquent but not verbose, uncompromising but willing to negotiate, exacting but forgiving."
Lysistrata introduces everyone to "Peace," a "walking naked statue." She then tells them to bring the Spartan ambassador there, but gently, "like a woman." She then tells them to bring her the Athenian ambassador as well. "I may be just a woman, but I have common sense, brains, judgment, and good schooling. And I blame you both for what has been happening. We are of the same Greek blood. We worship at the same altars and share a common history. Yet all we’ve been done is kill each other, while the barbarians outside of Greece wait to attack us."
Cinesias complains that his penis hurts as Lysistrata continues, speaking to the Spartans. "Do you remember how you came to us and asked for aid after your earthquake, and how we sent an army of men to assist you in your time of crisis? And now, after we’ve helped you, you have turned on us, attacking those who were your allies."
The herald agrees that this was wrong before saying, "Peace has nice ass." Lysistrata then addresses the Athenians, saying, "Do you remember how, when a tyrant had enslaved the whole of Athens, the Spartans came to our aid? In just one day, they rescued us and restored our democracy! ... With such a history of friendship, how can you fight each other so fiercely now? Why can’t you just make peace?"
The herald requests that Cinesias give the Spartans back the "double rounded hills" behind their city, and he reluctantly agrees. He then asks for "the mountains in front, and the great gulf below, and the wooded place around it. And also the connecting legs." The herald gets mad about this, but Lysistrata tells them that they will have to share.
Lysistrata tells them to come into the Acropolis, where they can prepare a feast, make oaths, and sign treaties. Afterwards, she says, the men can go home with their wives.
Chorus 5 is "a scene of general celebration." Edward Einhorn, the translator, writes, "In the original production, Myrhinna and Cinesias, Lampito and the Spartan Herald, and the Magistrate and Calonice were seen resuming or beginning their romances."
Everyone sings a merry song about how everything has been solved and everyone is drinking and having a good time. Magistrate and Cinesias enter and talk about how the Spartans aren't so bad after all, especially after a few drinks. "People are stupid when they're sober," Cinesias agrees. Herald enters and talks about how they are all happy now, and everyone dances.
Analysis
After all of the work that Lysistrata has done to try and stop the war that is going on, the men in charge finally relent. A Spartan herald, sporting a large erection, arrives asking to speak to Cinesias, who has a similar problem, and they discuss the fact that they will stop the war once and for all. All of the trials of the period of abstinence, for women and men alike, pay off, and Lysistrata finally gets her way. Her unorthodox method of protest, seemingly ridiculous and implausible in the beginning, proves to be the only way to get the men to start listening to their wives and making peaceful political decisions.
In this final scene of the play, the choral elements are infused into the central action more. The two choruses, separated by gender and representing the older population, narrate the final scene as the action occurs. When Cinesias and the Spartan herald call for Lysistrata, the chorus of women introduces her with glowing words, listing her virtues: "Eloquent but not verbose, uncompromising but willing to negotiate, exacting but forgiving." Here, the world of the central action is celebrated and upheld by the elders.
When she enters, Lysistrata brings with her a walking, naked statue, which represents peace. She says, "May I introduce you all to Peace!" and brings on the walking statue, a representation of the peace that is to come in Greece. The statue of Peace is a dramatic device, a literalization of the aims of the characters. Making this all the more literal is the fact that she is naked. As Lysistrata negotiates with the different factions, they are libidinously distracted by the sight of the naked "Peace," and agree to Lysistrata's conditions.
Everything in this final peace treaty becomes a double entendre. Peace itself turns into a beautiful naked woman that the men desire. Then, when Cinesias and the Spartan herald discuss how they will divvy up land in peace times, they describe the landscape as they might a naked woman. The Spartans want the Greeks to give them back the "double rounded hills," Cinesias requests " the mountains in front, and the great gulf below, and the wooded place around it. And also the connecting legs." In this, it is difficult to tell whether they are talking about the surrounding area or the body of a woman, a continuation of the central joke of the play: that men can only be motivated to do anything if it is linked to their libido.
The play ends with a rousing celebration in the Acropolis. Now that Lysistrata's plan has worked, the men drink and carouse together, believing that their once-sworn enemies are not so bad after all, especially after a few drinks. The Athenians continue to joke at the expense of the Spartans and their perceived unintelligence, but Cinesias insists that "People are stupid when they're sober," and are much more amenable after a few drinks. It is a happy ending, with everyone getting what they wanted; the women get peace and a return to normal, and the men get their wives back.
