Welcome to Iris, the WGGS Classics newsle er. Our aim is to shed a li le light on the ancient world, and on the wide and diverse range of topics we encounter in our study of La n and Classical Civilisa on.
In this issue we focus on theatre, as Anjali discusses the controversial ancient comedy Lysistrata, and Rachel reviews a trip to the Na onal Theatre to see Bacchae, an ancient tragedy revamped for a modern audience. Also in this issue, Ariela in looks into the Antonine plague, and two Year 7 students share their crea ve wri ng inspired by the myth of Medusa.
We would also like to wish everyone involved in the school produc on of Hadestown a successful opening night! This fantas c musical adapts the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and takes place in a dystopian reimagining of Hades, the Greek underworld. Make sure to get your ckets, and look out for our review in the next issue!
If you would like to contribute to the next edion of Iris, please email your idea to: h.long@wa ordgirls.herts.sch.uk . We would love for you to be involved and for your voices to be heard!
Ms Long
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Catalyst for Catastrophe: The Neglected Plague that Outwit the Great Roman Empire—Ariela, Year 12
The rise of the Roman Empire
The great Roman empire earnt its legacy, clumsily clawing its way up to the golden age from its unstable republic counterpart. The republic of Rome was established in 509BCwhich scholars mark as the beginning of the classical Roman civilisa on the world has loved to explore. This ancient society blended the cultures and social structures of the Etruscans, Sabines, Oscans, and even some of the Greeks, who were around the same me pursuing a new interest in democracy (δημοκρατία -> rule of the people). Tumult and trouble nurtured this foetal Rome, suffering from perpetual conflict between not just them and their geographic opposi on (the Gauls and Carthaginians) but also themselves, the aristocra c, conserva st Op mates against reformist Populares. Civil violence heightened as slaves revolted in three Servile wars, as the semi-autonomous general Sulla and
March 2026
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Insidethisissue
A Catalyst for Catastrophe: The Neglected Plague that Outwit the Great Roman Empire Ariela, Year 12
The Funniest Revolu on in Classical Literature: Why Lysistrata S ll Ma ers Anjali, Year 12
Review: Bacchae at the Naonal Theatre Rachel, Year 12
Crea ve Wri ng: Inspired by Medusa– Ariana and Mugdha, Year 7
The WGGS Classics Newsle er
the Cinna-Marius fac on fought for control, and genera ons later as Ceaser declared himself as dictator. All these contributed to the republic’s overall instability as civil unrest remained an issue, and in possibly the most iconic act of civil defiance, Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. This compelled his heir Octavian, lieutenant Mark Antony, and Lepidus to form the second triumvirate and overcome the assassins, although their alliance was short lived and Octavian came out glorious. Elected by the roman senate, Octavian was granted all military assets, control over Rome’s provinces, and the whole new moniker of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. This was the accession of the great Roman empire!
The golden age: Pax Romana
The empire saw a period of prosperity and stability like never before during its first two centuries, described as the ‘Pax Romana’ (Roman peace), holding its greatest territorial reach. It spanned across most of Europe, the mediterranean and coasts of Africa, bordered fiercely by military roads and for fica ons. Due to the establishment of the imperial system, civil wars were diminished and internal order was administered through laws and efficient rule. By having territories alongside many coasts and geographically diverse countries the roman empire’s economy prospered, elaborate and strong transport systems for facilita ng trade both by sea and road. With this source of na onal income some of the ancient world’s greatest technological advancements were funded and built, ranging from the breathtaking cultural indulgence of the Pantheon and Colosseum to systems controlling sewage (Cloaca Maxima) and central hea ng, a founda on for modern city life today. With the quality of life improving by the day (for those unenslaved), people worked, worshipped, and enjoyed, lavished by luxurious literature of revered authors and playwrights like Virgil, Ovid, and Seneca. During this thriving community, in a period of 15 years from 165 AD to 180 AD, an invisible enemy began its ascent to devasta on.
The prac ce of ancient Rome medicine
The Roman way of medicine was typical of any old prac ces, a mixture of random herbs and a dangerous amount of faith in religion. However, certain scien fic advancements were made by ancient Roman physicians, adop ng the core concepts of Greek medicine and further developing these rites into func onal medicine. One of the most accomplished Roman medical researchers (Originally Greek), Galen, served as Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ personal physician and influenced ideas on anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and neurology. His research into anatomy was nurtured by the Hippocra c corpus, outlining the four humours – yellow bile, phlegm, black bile, and blood, with the balance of this thought to maintain human health. Galen and other physicians followed a theory of opposites, balancing the humours through trea ng illnesses with the opposite of their features like hot remedies to cure colds. Dissec ons and vivisec ons were prohibited in the Roman Empire due to the potent spiritual concerns about death and the sanc ty of the a erlife, so studies of anatomy and physiology were o en done on animals like pigs. Through this, Galen discovered that the brain controlled the nervous system rather than the heart, as well as even iden fying seven pairs of cranial nerves, heart valves, and transporta on vessels like arteries and veins. With the state-sponsored infrastructure projects of aqueducts, public baths, and systems facilita ng sewage disposal, ancient Romans also believed that sanita on and hygiene could prevent disease, something intrinsic to medical ins tu ons even today. With a lack of understanding of germ theory, disease appeared as a divine punishment for impious behaviour, a result of an imbalance in the four humours, or o en brought by environmental aspects.
The plague rises, the empire falls During Galen’s most pres gious period, disaster struck. Roman physicians were le hopeless and agitated with the rising spread of an extremely contagious, devasta ngly disgus ng disease, said to originate from the military returning in 180AD from a campaign in Mesopotamia Named a er Marcus Aurelius’ family name of Antoninus, the Antonine plague was linked to an es mated 5-10 million deaths by 165AD (Es mated end of plague), a fi h to a quarter of the en re popula on of the Roman empire. Galen describedsymptoms of exanthema (widespread rash erup on) across the whole body, taking on a black colour that extended to the pa ent’s stool, coupled with vomi ng, fever, cough, and ulcera ons of the larynx and trachea. While there is no biological evidence, many scholars believe this plague to be smallpox, or something within its family due to its potent and graphic symptoms. Others note measles, based on studies of smallpox highligh ng that, gene cally, it didn’t emerge in Europe un l centuries later. Despite its rela vely small mortality rate of around 25%, the impact of the plague was so great poli cally it was highlighted as the first step in the declineof the Pax Romana into an all too familiar period of civil war and instability, and eventually marked dissolu on in 476 AD. It greatlycontributed to destabilising the military, being the hypothesised source, as they worked and moved near each other and the empire itself as agents of its protec on. As roman medicine hadn’t predicted that a disease could be so violently communicable, they believed it was divine ordainment, and this problem of closeness wasn’t properly handled by the state. The army lost the ability to supress rebellions effec vely, and the strict and rigid nature of the empire’s borders weakened with sporadic a acks of both pathogenic and enemy forces. It dismantled Rome’s famed economic prosperity, devasta ng the agricultural industry as well as labourers, cra smen, and traders, stagna ng networks of exports and imports and causing shortages of food and materials which further exacerbated the impact of the disease. All these impacts heightened fear within the ci zens of Rome, the social disrup on being the final contributor to the ini al decline of the Pax Romana.
The Antonine plague serves as a cruel reminder of the feeble nature of humanity and its en tlement, assuming a foolish sense of stability in its power. However, this plague’s tricks couldn’t topple this empire’s tower of a legacy, s ll sparking intrigue today!
The Funniest Revolu on in Classical Literature: Why Lysistrata S ll
Ma ers—Anjali, Year 12
“Comedy,” said Dr Edith Hall, “has always been a place where socie es test their limits.” Few plays prove that be er than Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, a riotous Athenian comedy first staged in 411 BC in which women, fed up with the endless Peloponnesian War, stage a revolu on that is both absurd and sensible. It’s a play full of poli cal frustra on, and a sharp message about who gets listened to - and who doesn’t - in mes of crisis.
A Synopsis
The play opens in war me Athens, where Lysistrata, a sharp, determined woman, has summoned women from across Greece to discuss a radical plan. They’re red of watching their husbands, brothers, and sons march off to fight a war that never ends. Her solu on is bold: the women will refuse all roman c and sexual rela ons with their husbands un l the men agree to nego ate peace. This scene comes with that infamous line which has puzzled classicists for me immemorial: the women swear off the "lioness on the cheese-grater”. At first, the women hesitate - not because they disagree with the cause, but because the plan requires serious selfôcontrol. Eventually, they agree, swearing an oath to hold firm. At the same me, the old women of Athens seize the Acropolis, where the city’s treasury is kept, preven ng the men from accessing the funds needed to con nue the war, giving them real poli cal and economic power.
The men, predictably, do not take this well. They a empt to flush the women out, argue with them, and complain loudly about their “suffering.” Meanwhile, the women struggle with their own resolve. Several a empt to sneak away with increasingly ridiculous excuses (“I le the washing out,” “I need to check on my weaving”), but Lysistrata keeps them focused. As the men grow more desperate, their physical discomfort becomes the play’s main running joke and Aristophanes leans heavily into visual comedy. Eventually, envoys from the warring Greek states arrive, all in similar states of frustra on, and finally agree to nego ate. Lysistrata delivers a speech reminding them of their shared heritage and mutual interests, and the men, at last, agree to peace. The play ends with celebra on, dancing, and the restora on of harmony.
Analysis
Lysistrata is staged in 411BC, right in the thick of the Peloponnesian War, and two years a er a catastrophic defeat for Athens. A er twenty-one years of war, there seemed li le hope for peace and a short-lived oligarchic revolu on con nued to the ramifica ons. As Michael Pa erson puts it in The Oxford Guide to Plays, Aristophanes’ decisions to stage a play reminding Athenians of all they have in common with their war me enemies, the Spartans, is comparable to staging a play in London during WW1 that reminded the audience that Kaiser Wilhelm was Queen Victoria’s grandson. In other words, an incredibly bold choice.
A vase pain ng showing the staging and costumes of a Greek comedy
Lysistrata is very unusual as it has two choruses- one comprised of men and the other of women- which could suggest Aristophanes’ aim is for that of a ‘ba le between the sexes’, however the way Aristophanes reveals the extent to which women are undervalued for their contribu ons to Athenian society is sophis cated. When an indignant magistrate asks Lysistrata what she can possibly know of war, and why she is so concerned with it, she responds that it is the women of the city who bear the sons who go off to fight (and, in many cases, don’t come back alive).
She points out that women already know how to manage an economy – that of the running of the household (something even acknowledged in the etymology of the word ‘economy’, which comes from the Greek for ‘house management’). At another point, Lysistrata compares Athens to a clump of wool, drawing on weaving as a domesc chore she knows well to make a point about how a good city funcons.
The main story is built around two separate plans orchestrated by Lysistrata: “the boyco ng of sexual rela ons” and “the seizure of the Acropolis”. These two are juxtaposed against the ba le between the two semichoruses whose unifica on announces the reconcilia on at the end. Aristophanes skilfully intertwines these three narra ve arcs and uses all of them to explore two mainthemes: the ba le of the sexes and peace.
Remarkably, it’s quite possible that Lysistrata may have been based on a real character. Alan Sommerstein describes the existence of a contemporary priestess of Athena called Lysimache, whose name was not only similar to Lysistrata, in form and meaning, but in the play Lysistrata relates her hope that the women will one day be known as Lysimachai’. Lysistrata means “She who breaks up armies” and Lysimacha “She who breaks up ba les.”
Ul mately, Lysistrata is a play about peace, and Aristophanes used to express his hatred of war and the effect it had on hisbeloved Athens. However, it is a comedy, and whilst comedies do contain serious ideas, there is o en a boisterous feel to the overturning of the status quo in rela on to gender roles. It seems unlikely that the men in the audience when this was performed would havetaken this seriously.
Why Does Lysistrata Ma er?
On the surface, Lysistrata is a farce about a sex strike. But underneath the jokes lies a serious cri que of war, leadership, and civic responsibility. Firstly, it’s an -war without being moralising. Aristophanes lived through a brutal, decades long conflict and so his audience knew the cost of war in mately. The comedy allows him to say what many Athenians were thinking: that the war was pointless, destruc ve, and prolonged by stubborn male poli cians. Secondly, it exposes who gets excluded from poli cal decision making. Women in classical Athens had no formal poli cal power, indeed they had no way to par cipate in civic life at all,yet in the play, they are the only ones who act decisively, strategically, and with the city’s best interests at heart. Thirdly, it shows how comedy can challenge authority. Aristophanes uses laughter as a poli cal tool as the play mocks generals, ci zens, and even theaudience themselves for tolera ng a war that should have ended long ago.
A 5th Century BCE vase pain ng showing a woman saying goodbye to a young soldier
Modern Echoes
Lysistrata has inspired countless modern reinterpreta ons, from feminist theatre to poli cal protests. The idea of a“sex strike” resurfaces regularly in headlines, some mes seriously, some mes symbolically, whenever groups of women want to draw a en on topolical issues. More broadly, the play taps into a recurring theme in modern ac vism: withholding labour or par cipa on to force change. Whether it’s workers striking or communi es boyco ng, the logic is the same as Lysistrata’s: if those in power won’t listen, remove the thing they take for granted.
The play also resonates with contemporary discussions about who gets to speak in poli cal spaces. Women’s voices especially in conflict zones are s ll sidelined, despite huge amounts of evidence that peace nego a ons are more successful and more durable when women are involved. One of the most powerful and striking modern examples took place in Liberia in the early 2000s. A er years of civil war, thousands of Liberian women across different communi es and backgrounds united under Leymah Gbowee to demand peace. They organised mass sit-ins, prayers, and public demonstra ons, refusing to leave un l nego a ons for peace started. They also went on a sex strike, although this was only a small part of a wider effort. Eventually, their persistence paid off, bringing the warring fac ons to the nego a ng table and ending the war. Their ac ons also contributed directly towards the elec on of Africa’s first female head of state: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. It’s a powerful reminder that when women refuse to accept the world as it is, real change can happen.
Women’s Agency and Power in the Play
One of the most striking things about Lysistrata is how confidently it gives women centre stage. Aristophanes, wri ng in a society where women couldn’t vote, own property independently, or speak in the Assembly, imagines a world where they take control of the city’s future. The tular character, Lysistrata is a leader. She organises, persuades, strategises, and nego ates, calm when others panic and firm when others waver. Addi onally, the other Athenian women act collec vely. Their power comes not from individual rebellion but from solidarity, so Aristophanes shows that unity, especially among people society underes mates, can be transforma ve. Furthermore, their method is unconven onal but effec ve. The comedy exaggerates their tac c, but the underlying message isserious: when tradi onal poli cal channels exclude you, you find another way. It’s not a modern feminist manifesto, but it is a reminder that agency can appear in unexpected forms, even in a genre known for slaps ck and sa re.
A Call to Ac on
Lysistrata may be over two thousand years old, but its core message is startlingly fresh: change happens when ordinary peopledecide they’ve had enough. Aristophanes invites his audience to laugh, but also to reflect on war, on leadership, and on whose voices get ignored. If there’s anything to take from this ancient comedy, it’s that revolu ons don’t always begin with grand speeches or heroic ba les. Some mes they start with a group of people who refuse to accept the world as it is, and who dare to imagine it differently. And maybe that’s the real power of Lysistrata: it reminds us that even the funniest revolu on in classical literature can s ll inspire one of our own.
A demonstra on by Women of Liberia Mass Ac on for Peace in 2003
Review: Bacchae at the Na onal Theatre Rachel, Year 12
Last October, myself and several of the other Year 12 Classics students went to watch the Na onal Theatre produc on of ‘Bacchae’, wri en by Euripides in the early 5th century BC (and remodelled by Nina Taleghani in this performance), in prepara on for when we study it as part of the A-Level specifica on.
The Na onal Theatre aims to broaden the demographic of their audience and, as such, this modern retelling of the story was incredibly different to the original text, but s ll true to most of the earlier storyline. This made the produc on significantly more accessible and suitable for a wider modern audience due to the freshness and relevance of its vocabulary. The clever use of props, subtle rhyming lyric and the involvement of the chorus contributed to my deep enjoyment of the evening. Having previously read the original script in order to understand the development of the plot, the adapta ons in the retelling was far from what I had expected, but kept the progress con nuous and the pace quick, especially so due to the rapid fire rap-style exchange of lines studded throughout.
What I found most exci ng about the produc on was the heightened modernity of the chorus members, both to the structure of the play, as well as within the context of modern society - they branded themselves as a group commi ed to libera ng women, thus becoming feminist advocates who are prevalent today. The quick-wi ed humour and individual quali es of each character really shone through their dialogue since Taleghani abandoned the tradi onal chan ng and unisonthat an ancient audience would have expected to witness. The chorus had huge stage presence through remaining onstage for the majority of run- me, providing either commentary or humour through their collec ve mo ons (which can be seen as a dance of sorts) or simply well thought through adopted postures.
Although certainly not a produc on suitable for younger viewers due to the exple ves, innuendos and graphic depic ons of gore that were prevalent throughout, I believe that these added to the themes that Taleghani was trying to emphasise through the Bacchant women - who le their communi es across Asia in order to pursue worship of Dionysus (or Bacchus as he is some mes called) and thus experience joy and pleasure. A key plot point suppor ng this was Pentheus’ (the king of Thebes) assump ons that the women were indulging in misdemeanours completely unacceptable in rule-abiding civilised Thebes, leading to many jokes which had the audience chuckling in their seats.
I also appreciated the costumes and props which I was fortunate enough to see from a close distance. The costumes, ranging from gli ering hammered metal shirts to richly embroidered dresses, earth tone layered ou its and more, added to the sense of movement and stage presence of each character. In terms of staging, props were lowered by ropes from high above to enable instant scene changes without disrup on, my favourite of which was a gigan c wooden wardrobe filled to the brim with gorgeously shimmering dresses of every colour of the rainbow. These mul coloured marvels featured in the comic scene when Pentheus cross-dressed as a woman, encouraged by Dionysus, and heightened the sense of peripeteia (a reversal in fortune).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this new version of ‘Bacchae’ - although I also appreciate learning about an ancient perspec ve whilst studying the play in Classics lessons - and I would recommend any fans of Classics, feminism, or even rap to take a look!
Crea ve Wri ng—Inspired by the Myth of Medusa
Medusa—Ariana, Year 7
I never wanted to be a monster.
All I was doing was praying in Athena’s temple, when Poseidon came and a acked me. And a er all of that, what did Athena do? Turn me into a gorgon. Now I live my days hiding in the shadows, in the inky darkness of my cave, wai ng ever so pa ently with my sisters, wai ng for someone to come. Not trying to kill me but come with apologies. Apologies for what mankind did to me. Ispend my days wishing wis ully that this never happened, that I was s ll a normal human, with a normal life. I wish that someonewould understand my pain, my longing, for the life I once had. So please, don’t shut the book, don’t shut me out, and just try just try to understand.
Medusa—Mugdha, Year 7
When you don't look like you used to , when you can't go out on your own without killing an innocent person. Well, that is mylife. I spend every single day wondering 'what did I do ?' Hiding away in the shadows. I'm sick and red of this, no-one likes me . I only have my sisters and my dog. I wish this was over. I can't help turning men into stone I never wanted this to happen. I'm trying so hard, but for what? To be despised? HATED? Well that is life, but why is it so difficult.
