Thesmophoriazousai was originally produced in 411 BC, probably at the City Dionysia (one of two Athenian festivals of Dionysus). New plays by several writers competed at the festival every year, trying to win the prize at a drama contest. There are no surviving records on whether Thesmophoriazousai won the contest or not.
"Old Comedy" plays typically used real figures of Athenian society as characters, as an opportunity to satirize them. The playwrights Euripides and Agathon, and the diplomat Cleisthenes are well-known historical figures. The play's real protagonist, Mnesilochus, is otherwise unknown and seems to be a fictional character.
While Aristophanes is estimated to have written about 40 theatrical plays, Thesmophoriazousai is one of only 11 of them to have survived to the 21st century. The rest are lost works.
While the play was produced during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), Thesmophoriazousai lacks the "anti-populist and anti-war" subplots and comments found on most of Aristophanes' works.
The playwright Euripides was a frequent target for Aristophanes' satire. Besides Thesmophoriazousai, Euripides appears as a character in "The Acharnians" (425 BC) and "The Frogs" (405 BC). Aristophanes seems to have been ideologically conservative, and viewed Euripides "as a spokesman for destructive, new ideas, associated with declining standards in both society and tragedy".