Preview

Sex and Politics in Lysistrata

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1205 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sex and Politics in Lysistrata
Sex and Politics in Lysistrata Aristophanes, whom is a comedic writer, wrote Lysistrata during the Greek civil war. This unstoppable combat was between Athenians and Spartans, whom believed that the only way to prove anything was through war. The theme of Lysistrata revolves around gender, sex, and also politics. Its reasons for development were that if men were not able to fix the problems occurring, women would then take the initiative and do so. The women then came together and decided to withhold sexual pleasure from their husbands in order to expedite a negotiation to end the war. On the contrary to their principal motive, this act made by the women then resulted in a confrontation between the sexes interfering with the political and also social aspect of their lives. Lysistrata’s plan is to save and unite Greece and to do so, all the women invade Acropolis. Through the invasion they also seize control over the states treasury. The women state that since they manage their households’ money, they will also manage Acropolis’ money making sure that the men cannot fund their warfare until a peace treaty has been signed. The government in Greece has always been composed by the older men called the Greek Leaders. These men in my opinion, not only for being aged but also for holding such high political position, without a doubt should always be respected but that wasn’t necessarily the case in Lysistrata. Their political authority was lampooned in the play in more than one occasion. Women did acts such as soaking men with cold water and dressing them up. After Stratyllis finished having a confrontation with the Men’s Leader, she yelled, “Water, do your duty!,” as women then threw water over the men. Knowing that answer, Stratyllis then asks the men with a mocking concern if the water was too hot when in reality it was very cold. The men then plead to be let go off which is an example of how their political authority became a tease to the women knowing that in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the play, Lysistrata, the women of Athens learn of Lysistrata’s plan to withhold sex in an effort to bring her husband back from war. The Athenian women decide to unite and implement Lysistrata’s plan in an effort to regain their own husbands and sons. In Aristophanes’ work he demonstrates his view of women as being cunning and resourceful beings yet at the same time comedic without even trying: The women make meeting to conspire plans, the women make themselves luscious to attract the males of the community, and the women work together as one to achieve a common goal. The Athenian women are seen by the males of the Greek society as stay at home mothers: cooking, cleaning, and offering sex. The stay at home mother is not considered to possess the…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Now Aristophanes wrote two plays called the Ecclesiazusae and The Cloud. In these plays, he also uses the Socrates character where he tries to make Socrates look foolish in his ideas of a just political state. In the Ecclesiazusae (woman in assembly), it tells a story a story about women…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, in Lysistrata the male characters do not play a significant role, and rarely appear. But in the scenes that involves the male characters, they are either seen discussing political issues, or desperate for sex. For example: the scene of Myrrhine’s seduction. Cinesias is seen as desperate for sex as he is “stiff with desire”. The word stiff is used to describe Cinesias’s penis, which shows his sexual desires and how desperate he is for sex. This also shows that he is unable to control his sexual temptations, while Myrrhine is able to; further revealing that men were weak. The quote: “won’t you please come?” proves this as Cinesias is shown pleading for sex.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A big part of democracy is the freedom of speech and at this point in time of history, women stand in the shadows of their husbands especially when political discussions arise. In Lysistrata the main character, Lysistrata is all for democracy and the defense of democracy. The Greek culture was very focused on war and a lot of the economy was focused solely on producing resources for the war, all the revenue it would receive from the war and many even many of the Greek gods were related to war. Soldiers would pray to their gods during, before, and after and a victory was a gift from the gods and a loss was a punishment from the gods. War seemed to be the only thing that had any intention of the husbands and men of Greece, and Lysistrata along with her colleagues had enough of that. Although Aristophanes was secretly undermining the minds of high officials in Greece, he got away with it by incorporating his ideas for change with short…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In The Iliad

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Iliad of Homer, showed women as being items of exchange for the men who had possessed them. They are shown in their social roles as mothers and wives. He states stereotypical characterizations of them. The reader understands that women are being treated as prizes, and that the male hero has to win or he'd have to resist fulfilling his heroic destiny. The characters of Hera and Athena, who are among the immortals, they are certainly strong women. Hera is the wife of Zeus and queen of the Olympians. She tricked her husband so that she is able to play with in the affairs of the Trojan War. The goddess of wisdom, and war, Athena attacked Ares two different occasions and still had to have him flee to Mount Olympus in defeat.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lysistrata's Divergence

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page

    Lysistrata is a comedic play written by Aristophanes, the ancient Greek playwright who is well known for his political satire. Lysistrata, was first performed in 411 BCE a time when women were rarely seen and certainly had no political voice. Aristophanes gives life to women in his humorous portrayal of a Lysistrata’s extraordinary mission to end the 20 year long Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata right from the start is a noticeable atypical woman as she is rallying women in the town market place which in that time was never seen. Lysistrata is distinctly different, and separate from, the other women, as she challenges the male authorities throughout and creates civil disobedience.…

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Men are free to roam outside, but the women must stay inside.” (Unknown Athenian), this was true for most of human history, and Ancient Athens was no different. However in Ancient Sparta it was much different from the rest of Greece, and for that matter a majority of civilizations. Usually when people think of Athens they think of the Golden Age of Athens (480-322 B.C.) and think that men and women are prospering throughout Attica and it was more like the Roaring 20s of the 20th Century. And when people think of Sparta they see a society hell bent of taking over Athens and crush anyone who stands in their way. In either case nobody really takes much time to ask what were the women doing during this time period…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Woman is the most shameless beast of all the beasts that be" (Aristophanes). This is a direct correlation of how a woman was thought of in Ancient Greece. In its simplest terms, the Lysistrata is a tale that centers around an Athenian woman named Lysistrata and her comrades who have taken control of the Acropolis in Athens. They are protesting against the endless wars that men are fighting and refuse their husbands sex unless they cease their battles. This revolutionary due to the views of women at the time and how little dominance women had. The woman faced a lot of tyranny in order to weep the benefit of peace. This play by Aristophanes is a comedy and exaggerated in order to show the power of sexual desires that Lysistrata manipulates,…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The literature of this sort of masculine society, of which the Iliad and Odyssey are examples, aptly illustrates these social conventions. The themes of these works are subjects which are of interest to men; warfare, hunting, the problems of the warrior and ruler, and so forth. That which would concern women, such as domestic affairs, is not involved in this literature, or is dealt with only casually. Keeping in mind this important attribute of epic poetry, which is the direct result of its social and intellectual environment, one cannot help noting the great difference between the Odyssey and all other epic poems. No other literary work of this period, or of a similar cultural background, gives such a prominent position to women. No reader of the Odyssey can help having vivid memories of the poem’s outstanding female characters. There are many women in the Odyssey and all of them contribute in mean-ingful ways to the development of the action. Furthermore, they are treated seriously and with respect by the poet, as if there were no difference between his attitude toward them and his feelings toward the chieftains for whom his epic was composed. Among the memorable women in the poem are Nausicaa, the innocent young maiden; Arete, the wise and benevolent queen and mother; Circe and Calypso, the sultry and mysterious temptresses; Penelope, the ideal of marital devotion and fidelity; Helen, the respectable middle-class matron…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Antigone

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Although ancient Greece was a male-dominate society, Sophocles' work Antigone, portrays women as being strong and capable of making wise decisions. In this tragedy, Sophocles uses three main characters who are women to represent different models of female behavior. Traditionally women are characterized as weak and subordinate as Ismene is portrayed in this way. But Sophocles uses the character of Antigone to allow women to present realistic viewpoints about their character.…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The common view in ancient societies was often that this was a world of men; that women were inferior. There is often debate on the role of women in society, but in reality, women play an important role in any type of society, whether it be good or bad. Women in ancient Greece, China, and the Roman Empire were able to exercise influence into their culture despite the discrimination toward them. Although each society was different, women shared similar influences in their power, and restrictions in the aspect of marriage. Although most of these ancient cultures viewed women similarly, of these three locations, the women in the Roman Empire had it best.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Iliad and The Odyssey are tales written by Homer centered on the drama of the Trojan War. First poem deals with the time during the end of the war, while the latter, which occurs roughly ten years later, explains the disastrous journey of Odysseus fighting his way back home. The character of women in the Odyssey is to exhibit the many and diverse roles that women play in the lives of men. These functions vary from characters such as the goddess ' that help them to the nymphs who trick them. Women in the Iliad exhibit their significance in the lives of the ancient Greeks because they are so prominent in a world so dominated with military relations.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The treatment and stigma towards women is constantly evolving. It varies from country to country, and it changing even today. As war driven cultures started to take over, freedom and respect for women decreased in ancient societies. Their freedom, rights, and societal status were ever changing in history. For this paper, the focus will be on the Ancient Minoa, Classical Athens, and the Roman Empire.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Her primary props are the young women of Athens, who she convinces to start a sex strike protesting the war as a male absurdity. The younger women's flighty, childlike behavior reinforces common stereotypes about them and makes it hard for Lysistrata to organize them into a cohesive body. In fact, when Lysistrata first tells the women that they have the power to save Greece, they doubt her, showing their internalization of Greek gender roles (Aristophanes 31). The women have no faith in their ability to initiate such a sweeping political change, so Lysistrata masterminds a solution to the war rooted in a domain where women have intimate knowledge and experience: the realm of seduction. She thus instills confidence in the women, empowering them to rise up under her leadership. Lysistrata continually keeps the women at a distance, ordering and coaching them, but never physically joining them in their demonstration against the war. Unlike Medea, Lysistrata remains apart from the action she plans. She energizes the women with her collectedness, encouraging them to continually draw strength from her guidance. As Cinesias approaches the Acropolis, for example, Lysistrata imparts her final advice to his wife, Myrrhine: "Tantalize him. Lead him on. Say no, say yes. You can do anything—except what you swore over the cup not to do" (Aristophanes 840). She then watches Myrrhine from the Acropolis to ensure that she honors her vow and doesn't succumb to Cinesias' sexual advances. From her high vantage point, Lysistrata continues to pull Myrrhine's strings, employing her as a sexual object to seduce Cinesias into supporting a ceasefire. In contrast to Medea, who derives power mainly from her sons, Lysistrata positions herself as the supplier of the women's power and…

    • 2511 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To start with the basic roles women would have held in ancient societies in order to establish the superiority women held, an examination into the roles women had in households is necessary. Women in Ancient Greece would take care of the household. Women were believed to be forced to live completely within the household, rarely coming out except in the company of their husbands. Men wouldn’t allow the women to leave their homes. Women were basically like prisoners to their own homes. Even wealthy women were only supposed to stay at home and take care of the household, they had no public life. In numerous Greek homes, the top floors were the space of the women in the household. Women were not allowed to enter the room where their spouses had…

    • 149 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays