Entre o riso e a pólis

Abstract

This article offers a cultural-historical reading of Aristophanes’ Assembly of Women, drawing on theories of ethics and theatrical performativity. By analyzing the interplay between discourse, power, and representation, the study demonstrates how ancient Greek comedy – specifically within the Athenian polis – transcends mere entertainment to function as a critical device that interrogates symbolic and political structures. Through parody, carnivalesque inversion, and the subversive presence of the feminine, Aristophanes stages a comic utopia that destabilizes the boundaries between the possible and the unthinkable. Consequently, the play is analyzed as an artifact of cultural critique that challenges the foundations of citizenship, political rationality, and social exclusion in Classical Athens.