Lysistrata Gender Roles

Greek theater served as an important aspect in history, this is because of the views of culture which were explained in it. Plays commonly referenced important cultural views such as; political, social, and religious themes. They offered new ways to view things, and helped to form what we have come to know as the base of Greek culture. Athens a city-state in Greece began a long on-going war with Sparta, the powerful city-state of southern Greece’s Peloponnesian Peninsula. Religion, politics and popular culture all play a part in understanding Lysistrata, a play that was written to explain the ending of this war. In the play, gods and goddesses are referenced constantly and the people did what they had to do to make the gods happy. In Athens;
their democracy wasn’t “for the people” but “for the important people” therefor making the elite make decisions over the war, and the elite did not include the women that ended up actually having a lot of power when working together. This is shown when they would go on strike against the weak willed to show their voice. The state of life in Athens is clearly reflected through Lysistrata, and the play represents and explains what life would be like at the time, and how to settle a major conflict in this civilization. Lysistrata is known for the peace she wants to make between city- states, and how she does it in a way that men have not yet been able to achieve.
Athens terrible war with Sparta has been going on for years and Lysistrata, a middle-class housewife from Athens, organized a meeting with women from Athens and other cities, including Sparta, that the women should all refuse to have sex with their husbands until their husbands end the ridiculous war. After convincing the women, Lysistrata also explains that she's sent women to occupy the Acropolis, the government center of Athens, therefor hoping to gain control of the treasury, and be able to cut off the money supply for the war. The women swear an oath that they will follow Lysistratas’ plan, and the women join together at the Acropolis. The Chorus of Men met them there from Athenian, chorus referring to “a group” in the play who advise one another, they have come with fire to smoke the women out of the Acropolis; however, the Chorus of Women shows up carrying buckets of water. After the Women's Leader drenches the Men's Leader, the group of men leave embarrassed, showing the first bit of power that the woman obtained over the men. Lysistrata then emerges from the Acropolis to complain that she is worried that the women are all going against the oath, and trying to have sex with their husbands. This is a huge conflict because the women need to stick together, and fight together against the men if they wanted any change. An
example of this was when Cinesias, the husband of Myrrhine, one of the women on the sex-strike, complains that the house is a wreck and he doesn't know how to take care of the baby and begs his wife for the sex he desires. Myrrhine pretends to give in, however she stays strong to the oath and does not give into her husband. This causes Cinesias and the Men's Chorus to tell stories about their sexual frustration. When a Herald shows up from Sparta, everyone realizes that the women's sex-strike is an international conspiracy. Cinesias sends the Herald back to Sparta with a message of peace, and when the women hear this, they are overwhelmed, merging the choruses and hoping that their point has been enough to prove that the war should end. Lysistrata arrives to help form peace between the two places, and calls on the goddess of Reconciliation for help in defending and proving her point. Gods and goddesses are important because people lived to please them, and they had a greater influence on people’s lives than average leaders. Lysistrata lectures the two sides on the foolishness of being at war; and both agree with her realizing that the women are not going to give in and be defeated, and there for ending the war with peace to continue the life they enjoyed prior.