Lysistrata Essay
In Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata,” the protagonist is an Athenian woman, who believes her purpose is to end the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. She calls the women of the two city-states together in a secret meeting to propose her idea, locking themselves up in the Acropolis to prevent the Athenian men from getting into the treasury, and withholding sex from the men until they agree to end the war. A title that reflects the theme of the play could be, “Lysistrata the Maiden and her Pack of Hounds.” The story encompasses many themes that are prevalent in society today, from masculinity and femininity, to sex and warfare, and political power of certain classes of people. The strongest theme of all is the use of feminine guile to withhold sex to persuade the men to give up their war-like ways. In the beginning of the play, Lysistrata waits for her female cohorts to arrive from both Athens and Sparta. The first to arrive is her neighbor, Calonice, and the sexual innuendos begin immediately during the initial interaction with her. First, she asks Lysistrata is the issue that brings them together is “big,” and “hard,” and inquires as to the others “could they not have come?” (23, 24). However, while Calonice shows more concern over material
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goods, Lysistrata hints at her ideas on how to end the Peloponnesian War. Slowly, the other women from the region of Attica begin to arrive. The sexual banter and innuendos continue with the arrival of Lampito, who Aristophanes describes as, “a strapping woman in a distinct, more revealing costume” (77-78). Thus, the assembling of “pack of hounds” is complete. The women in the play seem to be as sex crazed as the men as Lysistrata makes her plea with the others, as she tells the women that they must hold off from sex to get the men to declare a truce in the war. The women begin to turn pale, cry, and walk away when she says, “From now on, no more penises for you” (124). Calonice and Myrrhine, the early supporters of ending the war, both state that they would rather, “walk through fire” than give up sex with men (133). Finally, the women give in to Lysistrata’s proposal and swear an oath over a sacrificial bowl of unmixed wine. In the oath, the women swear to, “wear makeup and flashy dress,” to “…give my man the scorching hots,” and “not consent to what he wants” (219-224). When they finish their ceremony, a contingent of other women have taken over the Acropolis, effectively cutting the politicians off from their source of funding for the ongoing war. Although the comedy is a work of fiction, men viewed women of the time as political-inferiors to them and had little to no input into the democratic process.
However, the strength of the women to come together and swear to withhold sex from the men as a bargaining tool is very like groups of people in contemporary society peacefully gathering and demanding redress to their grievances. Personally, I found the comedic play entertaining, with a heavy mixture of crude sexual humor mixed in to make light of a bad war that the Athenians were losing.
Works Cited:
Aristophanes. "Lysistrata." The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. Edited by Martin Puchner. Translated by Sarah Ruden. Vol. 1, W.W. Norton & Co., New York,
2003.
goods, Lysistrata hints at her ideas on how to end the Peloponnesian War. Slowly, the other women from the region of Attica begin to arrive. The sexual banter and innuendos continue with the arrival of Lampito, who Aristophanes describes as, “a strapping woman in a distinct, more revealing costume” (77-78). Thus, the assembling of “pack of hounds” is complete. The women in the play seem to be as sex crazed as the men as Lysistrata makes her plea with the others, as she tells the women that they must hold off from sex to get the men to declare a truce in the war. The women begin to turn pale, cry, and walk away when she says, “From now on, no more penises for you” (124). Calonice and Myrrhine, the early supporters of ending the war, both state that they would rather, “walk through fire” than give up sex with men (133). Finally, the women give in to Lysistrata’s proposal and swear an oath over a sacrificial bowl of unmixed wine. In the oath, the women swear to, “wear makeup and flashy dress,” to “…give my man the scorching hots,” and “not consent to what he wants” (219-224). When they finish their ceremony, a contingent of other women have taken over the Acropolis, effectively cutting the politicians off from their source of funding for the ongoing war. Although the comedy is a work of fiction, men viewed women of the time as political-inferiors to them and had little to no input into the democratic process.
However, the strength of the women to come together and swear to withhold sex from the men as a bargaining tool is very like groups of people in contemporary society peacefully gathering and demanding redress to their grievances. Personally, I found the comedic play entertaining, with a heavy mixture of crude sexual humor mixed in to make light of a bad war that the Athenians were losing.
Works Cited:
Aristophanes. "Lysistrata." The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. Edited by Martin Puchner. Translated by Sarah Ruden. Vol. 1, W.W. Norton & Co., New York,
2003.