Free Essays on Lysistrata

In the Greek society, the ideal of comedy was formed from the cognitive idea of â€Å"this couldn’t happen.† This form was used in the play, Lysistrata, to illustrate this point. Such pessimistic ideas were the sexual content, women as leaders, and a female controlled society. The idea of sexual control to end a war was far fetched. That by women abstaining from sexual intercourse with their men and denying any such relationships with them that the war between Athenians and Persians would be ceased. This war would have happened with or without the women anyways and would continue till a victor arose from battle. This is shown true by the length of the war and by the treaties that were continuously rejected by Greece. The ideal that was conjured by Lysistrata was one of great ludicrously thought for the social rules of the Greece. Women during this time period played the part of the housewife. Cooking for the men, caring for the children, and attending to the household duties was their main objectives. Women would not have dared such a bold overthrow of social roles. Secondly, Lysistrata in a role of power, commanding the women as if she were a general of an army is the next abstract in the comedy. As mentioned before, during this time period, women would stay at home and deal with the issues that involved the household and not the outside world. The women were viewed as property of the men and the men were law or â€Å"king of their domain† not to be questioned by anyone within their household. Lysistrata taking this role as a commander is not characteristic of women during this era. To convince other women to go against their men and lovers in hopes of ending a war, to ban all men from the acropolis, to plead to the magistrate and still live after that, and finally, bring idealism of democracy to the government. These actions all done by women of this era are simple ridiculous. Next is the females’ controlling the acropo... Free Essays on Lysistrata Free Essays on Lysistrata In the Greek society, the ideal of comedy was formed from the cognitive idea of â€Å"this couldn’t happen.† This form was used in the play, Lysistrata, to illustrate this point. Such pessimistic ideas were the sexual content, women as leaders, and a female controlled society. The idea of sexual control to end a war was far fetched. That by women abstaining from sexual intercourse with their men and denying any such relationships with them that the war between Athenians and Persians would be ceased. This war would have happened with or without the women anyways and would continue till a victor arose from battle. This is shown true by the length of the war and by the treaties that were continuously rejected by Greece. The ideal that was conjured by Lysistrata was one of great ludicrously thought for the social rules of the Greece. Women during this time period played the part of the housewife. Cooking for the men, caring for the children, and attending to the household duties was their main objectives. Women would not have dared such a bold overthrow of social roles. Secondly, Lysistrata in a role of power, commanding the women as if she were a general of an army is the next abstract in the comedy. As mentioned before, during this time period, women would stay at home and deal with the issues that involved the household and not the outside world. The women were viewed as property of the men and the men were law or â€Å"king of their domain† not to be questioned by anyone within their household. Lysistrata taking this role as a commander is not characteristic of women during this era. To convince other women to go against their men and lovers in hopes of ending a war, to ban all men from the acropolis, to plead to the magistrate and still live after that, and finally, bring idealism of democracy to the government. These actions all done by women of this era are simple ridiculous. Next is the females’ controlling the acropo... Free Essays on Lysistrata After reading Lysistrata, it is very obvious that it is a â€Å"Brillo pad comedy† aimed at reforming Greek society. Aristophanes is not trying to completely topple the existing structure, but he does use Lysistrata to illustrate its flaws, mainly that of the wars it waged. He even provides very explicit instructions on how to â€Å"cleanse† the problems of society. Although Lysistrata may seem to have a feminist overtone, I believe that this was only a way for Aristophanes to voice his complaints without being too revolutionary. The cast of women in the play never really show any feminist ideals. It is Lysistrata who is the only one with any resolution and she is summoned by the chorus with the words, â€Å"All hail, O manliest woman of all!† (Lines 1213-1214) This shows that she is only seen as powerful because she is man-like. The non-feminist structure of the play is amplified by the fickleness of the other women, Lysistrata: â€Å"At last it seems that I am no longer capable of keeping them from men. They are deserting me.† (813) The women seem as though they have no minds of there own and look upon there sex as almost worthless in the beginning of the play, Kalonike: â€Å"†¦ [depends] on the women? In that case poor Greece has next to nothing to depend on.† (31) Lastly, the play was not meant to be fem inistic because the women’s only source of power is their sexuality. They must depend on the men to want sex for their plan to work. Aristophanes was using the women and using the dialog of Lysistrata to get his point across. The Grecian wars were pointless and should be stopped. He was trying to scrub Greek society and leave it free of war. By having the women be the voice of peace in the play, Aristophanes was appealing to people without actually coming out and saying his views. The women were not seen as rational; therefore, they could be more radical in their opinions. It kept Aristophanes free from heat.... Free Essays on Lysistrata Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is the classic tale of the war of the sexes. The women in the play are portrayed as independent and wanting the war between Sparta and Athens to end. The men are portrayed as belligerent, war-crazy men who seldom used logic. Aristophanes uses his dialogue to enlighten the reader as to the social relevance of women. From the very beginning of Lysistrata the author’s agenda is lucent. In scene one the Commissioner describes the women as degenerates because in ancient Greece the women are not supposed to voice their opinion. Any women that rose above the social bounds are considered to be stupid or a degenerate. The Commissioner saw women as a nuisance and simplifies them to the domestic duties which they perform by calling their protest against the war, â€Å"a racket of little drums, what a yapping for Adonis on every house top.† With the mention of Adonis, the ideal man, the Commissioner goes even further to suggest women are tied to men. The Commissioners reference to the women being on every house top refers to the women being only good for taking care of the house and being good house wives. This is what the women of ancient Greece were considered good for. During this time period this type of behavior was unheard of by women. The women were never considered a citizen in ancient Greece. The men always voiced their opinion for their wives and made all the important decisions in the household. For the Commissioner to have a village of women voicing their views throughout the village is a complete mockery. The commissioner proceeds to recall a speech that he remembered but before explaining this speech he quickly referred to it as â€Å"out of order, as usual.† This quick reference is a pun intended to quickly express his views on how women behave all the time. He proceeds to suggest women’s opinions as illogical by comparing them to, â€Å"that fool Demostratos†, a sophist. During this... Free Essays on Lysistrata Written during the war, a time of chaos and crisis in Greece, Aristophanes’ play Lysistrata was an attempt to lighten the atmosphere of the country, and provide humor for the people. In my opinion, the comedy was produced for entertainment value, exaggerating and making fun of the actions of both genders. This piece emphasizes the way women use their sexuality and femininity to get their way, while, at the same time, exemplifying the aggressive, stubbornness of men. In the opening scene, when Lysistrata is explaining her plan to the other women, Aristophanes shows the way females use their femininity and sexuality to gain power. They are going to â€Å"sit around all prettied up in flowers and scandalous saffron-yellow gowns, groomed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I do not think that Lysistrata was, in any way, a threat to the hierarchy of the government because at that time, females were looked upon as merely sex objects, with no political power. This play is written more about the difference in gender and social roles, rather than the political issues. Aristophanes focused much more on the interaction between the men and women, rather than political or government views. Another interesting idea throughout the piece was the words Aristophanes used to describe each gender. The words used when talking about the males were masculine, physical words, while he describes the women as attractive and more passive. For example, the male’s lines include words such as â€Å"rescued†, trudge†, â€Å"noise†, and â€Å"drive these crowbars.† The women describe themselves with words such as â€Å"skins well creamed†, â€Å"transparent negligee†, â€Å"smooth†, and â€Å"perfume†. One question I found myself wondering throughout the play is â€Å"who is in control, or who has the upper-hand†? Although it looks like the males are more powerful and physically fit, the women used what they had to get what they wanted. I think the females were actually in cont...