ABSTRACT
The most sustained extant comic depiction of the Spartans can be found in Aristophanes' Lysistrata. In Lysistrata Spartan men are depicted as speaking differently, lacking linguistic fluency, being bellicose, dirty, anti-democratic, and overly fond of anal sex. When the women are gathered to discuss the sex strike, Lampito refers to the pugnacious reputation of the Spartans, mentioning that her husband barely gets home before he is armed and on his way. The subjection of Spartan women to comedy in Lysistrata is more aggressive than the treatment of the men and, even in terms of Athenian norms, much more offensive. Diallage, which is usually translated as Reconciliation, also means surrogate. Diallage is a mute nude female. Matthew Dillon describes her as a symbol of pure sexuality, a triumph of the life instinct over the urge to destroy, or a convenient way to unite the men.
