Athens, 411 BC. In the countryside, two veterans, Trasillo and Polemone, live in adjacent cottages. Years earlier they fought together in the infamous battle of Mantinea, where Athens was crushed by Sparta. The two survivors now live as humble farmers, constantly putting off the decision to find husbands for their two daughters, Glicera and Charis, who are beginning to get impatient. But for the two old men the only thing that matters is politics. Athens invented democracy, and they must defend it against the rich oligarchs who plot to reinstate their tyrannical rule...