Analysis Of Lysistrata And Homer's The Iliad

Many argue that the statuses of the victors in a revolution are always elevated, but in the case of Lysistrata, the status of women remains stable. Lysistrata is a comedy written by Aristophanes. Lysistrata, the main character leads the protest against the Peloponnesian war (around 431-404 BC) by assembling a group of women willing to refuse sexual contact with their partners. The play suggests that Lysistrata wants the war to end so that the husbands could safely return home to stay with their wives. Throughout the course of the play, the idea of listening to propositions made by women is rather absurd, and ignoring them completely was far too common. It was not until the end of the play that Lysistrata’s proposition is finally taken into

“As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity. The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning. So one generation of men will grow while another dies” (6.146-50)

The first book of the Iliad begins with the beginning of Achilles’ rage, the rage that will eventually cause his own people so much grief and is also the force for Homer’s version of the story of the Trojan War. Whereas the taking of Helen is the focus of the larger, traditional story, the feud between Agamemnon and the hero Achilles over a kidnapped girl defines the Iliad. Both feature a conflict over a woman, Helen and Chryses’ daughter, and a need for resolution as well as a breach of social contract: Paris steals the wife of Agamemnon, ruining the bonds of the guest relationship, while Agamemnon denies Chryse his right to ransom and invokes the wrath of the gods in the form of a plague. In both cases, however, it becomes clear that the conflict will not be resolved quickly, but will continue through the very heart of the story. By “singing of Achilles’ rage” from the first line, the narrator is clearly showing the audience that this Trojan war is not the war of Hector or Paris or Helen, but of the proud Achilles and his hero-sized enemy.

Throughout The Iliad, an epic poem written by Homer, there were numerous warriors and other characters that could be looked upon as heroes; some of these heroes included Achilles, Ajax, Diomedes, Hector, and Glaucus. All of these individuals were heroes because of their remarkable mental and physical strength: they were courageous and were better fighters in war than other ordinary men. The trade of battle was a way of life to the Greeks back in Homer’s time. Children were raised to become great servicemen to their country, and warriors lived to fight for and defend their nation with pride and valor. The heroic code was a strict morality that dealt with matters relating to honor and integrity in battle.

The women in Lysistrata are portrayed as strong and confident. This is seen in the form of the main character of the play, Lysistrata; who is the first one to propose the idea of withholding sex as a measure to stop the war. She demonstrates the qualities of a true leader as she has a well-planned strategy to get her way: “if we would compel our husbands to make peace, we must refrain”. At first this idea is instantly rejected by the women, but Lysistrata manages to convince them with her words of wisdom. This indicates how strong and perseverant Lysistrata is, and this is displayed by her idea of giving up sex. This is likely to be appreciated by the contemporary Greek audiences, as sex is described as the “most beautiful thing in the world” and Lysistrata is giving it up.

Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.

Lysistrata, named after the female lead character of the famous play written in the year 411 B.C Greece, is considered to be one of the most amazing pieces of Aristophanes' comedies. The short play written by the Greek scholar, features the primary characters or the hero’s so to speak, as ladies, who utilize their mind power and solidarity with each other to constrain the men of Athens and topple fundamental strategies of the city-state. The story depicts the ladies of Athens collaborating with the ladies of Sparta to compel their spouses to end the Peloponnesian War, by refraining from sex. To make the men consent to their peace settlement, the ladies first decide to capture Acropolis, where Athens' monetary stores were located, to keep men away from further misusing them on war, and then refraining to sleep with them until their demand for peace is

The different portrayals of female characters Antigone and Lysistrata illustrate the fundamental nature of the proper Athenian woman. Sophocles' Antigone allows the reader to see that outrage over social injustices does not give women the excuse to rebel against authority, while Aristophanes' Lysistrata reveals that challenging authority in the polis becomes acceptable only when it's faced with destruction through war. Sophocles and Aristophanes use different means to illustrate the same idea; the ideal Athenian woman's ultimate loyalty lies with her polis. This Greek concept of the proper woman seems so vital when considering Athenian society because both a tragedy and comedy revolve around this concept. The differing roles accorded to

In the excerpt Lysistrata written by Aristophanes, a flock of women gather in order to listen to Lysistrata’s speech of how to stop the war and bring peace back to Greece. “So very dainty because that the salvation of all Greece is actually in the hands of women” (76). In order for peace to be restored the women must work together. Lysistrata makes them feel useful and powerful by these statements, but she also forms doubt in their minds. “But what can women

“Lysistrata” is a tale which is centered around an Athenian woman named Lysistrata and her comrades who have taken control of the Acropolis in Athens. Lysistrata explains to the old men how the women have seized the Acropolis to keep men from using the money to make war and to keep dishonest officials from stealing the money. The opening scene of “Lysistrata” enacts the stereotypical and traditional characterization of women in Greece and also distances Lysistrata from this overused expression, housewife character. The audience is met with a woman, Lysistrata, who is furious with the other women from her country because they have not come to discuss war with her. The basic premise of the play is, Lysistrata coming up with a plan to put an

Despite the lower status of women, the plot of Lysistrata is mainly about all of the women coming together and being powerful enough to stop the men’s war. The women in Lysistrata know that the men love intimacy with them and they use that power by withholding pleasure from their men so as to stop the war, even though the women love sex as well:

In nearly every conflict between man and woman portrayed in Lysistrata, the women emerge victorious. This is especially significant since women can assert themselves and impose their will on man. Traditionally, men are the ones who possess this behavior and force women to be at their ever will. Yet, there are many instances in this play when these roles are opposite occurring, which is further evidence that Aristophanes has switched the characteristics of the genders. One instance from the text is when the men and women choruses are speaking to each other at the Acropolis. “All you fellow citizens, we’ll start to give the city good advice and rightly, since it raised us splendidly… I was born a woman, but don’t hold that against me if I introduce a plan to make our present situation better. For I make contributions to the state—I give birth to men. You miserable old farts, you contribute nothing! (Aristophanes 42-43). Furthermore, this quote portrays the control taken by the women when they take the Acropolis and fend of the chorus of old

After reading Homer’s text, we realize that while it contains fine poetic history it is in fact about the human condition and how it affects people, Achilles primarily. The reality for people in the world of The Iliad is that they live under many gods, and that they can not please all of them; indeed, the gods are at odds with each other and to support one means to upset another. While the ideal condition for the Greeks is to possess sophrosyne, in reality there are too many uncontrollable external pressures to do so. Just as the gods who influence men are not harmonious, therefore, we find this quality also in the explanation of the human condition for Greek cultures.

The main character in the play is Lysistrata who is an Athenian woman who believe that she can end the Peloponnesian War. She devises a plan, but needs the help of the women from Greece and Sparta. At the beginning of the play, Lysistrata is upset because she has called a meeting with the women in the surrounding cities; however, no one was there at the appointed time. Her neighbor, Calonice, tries to get her to calm down by telling her that the women will come shortly. Soon after, small groups of women began to arrive. Among the women are Ismenia from Thebes and a woman from Corinth.

Lysistrata is a comedy written by Aristophanes. Lysistrata, the main character leads the protest against the Peloponnesian war (around 431-404 BC) by assembling a group of women willing to refuse sexual contact with their partners. The play suggests that Lysistrata wants the war to end so that the husbands could safely return home to stay with their wives. Throughout the course of the play, the idea of listening to propositions made by women is rather absurd, and ignoring them completely was far too common. It was not until the end of the play that Lysistrata’s proposition is finally taken into consideration by the Athenians and Spartans. Some may argue that the views of the chauvinistic men improve over the course of the play which ultimately results in the war coming to an end, but in reality, ending the war has no correlation in regards to improving gender inequalities. The status of women continues to remain static consistently throughout the course of the play as they are being objectified from the start to the finish by men. Lysistrata was incapable of bringing any significant improvements to societal imbalances between men and women.