Ancient Athenians enjoyed broad freedom of speech, and few pushed it further than Aristophanes (446-386 BC). Collecting four of his best comedies, this anthology includes Clouds, a satire of Socrates; Lysistrata, in which women withhold sex from their warmongering lovers until they negotiate peace; Birds, with feathered creatures building a great city and becoming like gods; and Women of the Assembly, which inverts the norms of gender and power.