Lysistrata

War of the Sexes The battle of genders and the role that each are expected to fulfill is a predominant issue that can be seen throughout history and in literature. In the comedic Greek play, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes, both women and men are characterized by stereotypical thoughts; that men are the providers who have authority, and women are wild, impractical caretakers of the household. There is one though, who defies some the stereotypical thoughts of women, and that is Lysistrata, a strong, cunning, intellectual women who devises a plan to end on ongoing war that has left all the women throughout Attica lonely. She’s tired of how women get treated and think that the war could be stopped if men would give them a chance to speak. Even though her plan to end the war is a success, she does it while using women’s bodies, being manipulative, and ultimately acting and treating women like a man would. This indicates that Lysistrata is a hypocritical character who possesses both feminine and masculine characteristics. The beginning of the play starts off with an important scene with Lysistrata trying to convene a group of women from all around the area together. This is important for three reasons; right off the bat she conveys how she feels about all women, it shows how she treats women, and she tells them her plan (of manipulating the women) to end the war. So while she is waiting in the Acropolis frustrated that no one has arrived yet she says “If I’d invited them to hoot and prance at Bacchic rites, or at some sleazy shrine, I would have had to crawl through tambourines to get here” (Aristophanes, p. 1). The statement means that if she’d invited women to get party which included alcohol and sex, the place would be too crowded to move. This feeling that women are just lustful, promiscuous creatures is the same feeling that men had toward women, which gives the sense that Lysistrata isn’t treating all the other women fairly or that she is above them