Similarities Between The Iliad And Lysistrata

Picture a hero. It doesn’t matter whether the hero is fictional like Superman, legendary like Hercules, or realistic like a Doctor. All that matters is that one pictures a hero, whatever that means to them. Now take a moment and think about what makes them a hero. Are they brave, hardworking, selfless, intelligent, or so much more? Finally, take a moment and think about their gender. At least half of the Earth’s population are women and yet it’s likely the reader pictured a male hero. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, in fact it makes sense. Most of the prominent male heroes seen in the media, including literature are men. This is not a new trend, from the first example of a hero, Gilgamesh, and onto today, men are more often cast
The Iliad takes place on the battle field during The Trojan War, while Lysistrata takes place in the cities during The Peloponnesian War. Achilles, the hero of The Iliad is shown from the very first line to be hotheaded and prideful. Despite being the Greek Champion, as well as the favorite of the Goddess Athena, Achilles never shows a distinct interest in the political nature of the battle. He is only interested in glory. When he feels like he will not receive glory as well as when he feels slighted by King Agamemnon, he leaves the army. “In the end, everybody comes out the same. Coward and hero get the same reward…They all have their prizes, everyone but me—“ (Puchner, The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume A 264). All Achilles wants is glory and to be praised for his power on the battlefield. While he does return, it is only to seek revenge for the death of his friend against Hector and receive the glory that comes from the task. Meanwhile, in Lysistrata the women, none of which are warriors, take it upon themselves to end the war, because they know full well that war affects everyone. These women have lost love ones in a war, not even for a just cause. “You see barbarian armies threatening, But you destroy the towns and lives of Greeks”(857). To end the war the women, both Athenian and Spartan deny men sex until a peace treaty has been signed and take the Akropolis, which
While it might be hard for some to see these women as heroes because of the vulgar and comedic nature of their plan, ultimately they are a group of women who have lost husbands, sons, friends, and family to a war and and willing to do whatever it takes to create peace for their country once more. They are just ordinary women, who actively choose to heroic. While Achilles a solider fighting the the war who is the strongest of Greeks and favorite of a powerful goddess, cares so little for his country or the cause for which he is fighting. So much so, that the moment he feels slighted and won’t receive the glory he feels entitled to leaves. Yes he comes back, but out of still selfish desires revenge and of course glory. Does this make Achilles less of a hero, no. However, the strong motivation of the women of Lysistrata makes it easier to see them as heroes. They stand up for what they believe in, cleverly coming up with a plan that will lead to their desired results, even when it would be so easy to just give up or do nothing. They actively decide to become heroes, not for themselves, but for