The Best Translation of Lysistrata
Lysistrata was written in Ancient Greek. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Alan H. Sommerstein
Penguin Classics · 2003 · 241 pages
Sommerstein in Penguin's Lysistrata and Other Plays. The jokes mostly land in English, and the introductions cover the Peloponnesian War context you'd otherwise be googling on the way through.
Every recommended edition, compared
Henderson is the living authority on Aristophanes, and his Oxford version keeps the bawdy humor intact while explaining the political shots modern readers miss. Denser apparatus than Penguin, funnier than you'd expect.
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Reading Lysistrata in translation
Lysistrata was written in Ancient Greek, so unless you read Ancient Greek, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.