Lysistrata Analysis Essay

Lysistrata is where women united and stand together for a common cause to do what is takes to achieve the desirable peace and stability; who wouldn’t to support that?. The scene where the women become subversive, or to undermine established authority, is with their pails of water is seen as a massive demonstration and protest to get their point made. The modern term for that today would be lobbying, the women are lobbying for peace in the matter of violence and sex striking. Lobbying is a way to show different perceptions of something, no matter how radical it might be, which is why I brought this term up. People who identify as lobbyist also intentionally create violent protests to get their positions noticed, which also happens in the play, Lysistrata. The women create a violent atmosphere when they are trading shots back and forth with the men. They taunt them, and even turn physical to express their points of view. The women beat off the police officers, stating how they are filled with passion. Now you can’t have a protest without passion behind it, and this even relates to the protests we see in our everyday

Studies concerning the lives of women in classical Athens have sparked much controversy because, despite the apparent fascination with femininity manifested in art and drama, we have no evidence voicing the opinions of the actual women themselves. This presents a

The character of Lysistrata in both Aristophanes’ comedy of the same name and Spike Lee’s 2015 film Chi-Raq is a uniquely powerful female character who, through sheer willpower and intelligence, forges peace between two diametrically opposed forces that have devastated their respective communities. Both stories offer an interesting journey of seeking peace in the midst of desperation. Aristophanes writes of a woman trying to bring an end to the destructive Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta while Lee’s version of Lysistrata aims to bring peace between two gangs whose fights routinely spill into Chicago’s streets, killing many innocent people in the crossfire. In fact, despite the radical difference in setting, both versions of the story share a numerous amount of similarities in terms of plot and theme. However, I will argue that Spike Lee’s tale is, like Aristophanes’, trying to instill a message about the need for peace, but also telling a story of self-development with regard to Lysistrata herself. The Ancient Greek version of Lysistrata was nearly mythic, commanding the respect of her peers almost without question. By contrast, modern-day Chicago Lysistrata has to grow into the role of leader, gradually waking up to the severity of the chaos of her home then making the effort to push for accord. Making this version of the heroine more human allows Spike Lee to create a model for ordinary people in this era to take charge and put an end to senseless suffering in

Ultimately, she chooses to use manipulation and temptation to her advantage to sway the minds of men. “If we sat there at home in our make-up, and came into their rooms wearing our lawn shifts and nothing else and plucked down below delta-style, and our husbands got all horny…but we kept away and didn’t come to them—they’d make peace fast enough I know for sure” (Aristophanes 80) Lysistrata urges that the women avoid sex by any means, even if they must fight against physical force by their husbands (Aristophanes). By using this tactic of a sex strike applied all over mainland Greece, Lysistrata remains confident that women can persuade men to keep peace as opposed to war. Therefore, evidence suggests in Aristophanes’ play that women such as Lysistrata derives power and authority over men through sex and temptation. Women can only attempt to persuade them due to the fact that men hold too much power to be outright forced to anything.

The Lysistrata of Aristophanes Aristophanes was a satirist who produced Lysistrata around 413 BC when the news of Athen’s warships had been destroyed near Sicily. For twenty-one years, while Athens was engaged in war, he relentlessly and wittliy attacked the war, the ideals of the war, the war party and the war spirit. This risked his acceptance and his Athenian citizenship. Lysistrata is probably the oldest comedy which has retained a place in modern theatre. It primarily deals with two themes, war and the power of sexuality.. Lysistrata (an invented name meaning, She Who Puts an End to War) has summoned the women of Athens to meet her at the foot of Acropolis. She puts before them the easy invitation that they must never lie again with

Lysistrata asks the women of Greece to join her in an effort to end the Peloponnesian War. The younger women will tempt their man with sexy clothes and suggestive speaking only to then deny them sex. The older women, Chorus of Older Women, are to seize the Acropolis, where all the money of the city-state resides. A Spartan Herald approaches the Acropolis and describes the desperate situation of his countrymen and pleads for a treaty. Delegations from both states then meet at the Acropolis to discuss peace. Lysistrata reasons that because both Athens and Sparta are of a common heritage and because they have previously helped one another and owe a debt to one another, the two sides should not be fighting. The Spartan and Athenian leaders decide

     Amidst the tone of war around us, and speak of possible defeat, the festival of Dionysos will be held the fall of this great year, 411 BCE. Many ideas of entertainment have been suggested, most of which plays from various credible playwrights. One that has caught my eye in many ways is a work by Aristophanes. It is titled Lysistrata, and is a comedy based on our current status of war. Now considering our present situation, this may seem like a ludicrous idea. The wrong choice of words in a public address can result in a revolt, let alone a play that will be seen by many more citizens than will a public speaking. Why choose such an idea? Well, there are many reasons, and I intend to explain them to you.

Lysistrata wants to ask the women to not have sex with their husbands until they make peace and create a treaty. Lysistrata also had the older women of Athens to seize the Acropolis. The women from the various cities assemble and Lysistrata convinces them to swear an oath that they will not have sex with their husbands until the treaty of peace is made. The women use a bottle of wine, which I think is crazy, to the Gods. They hear the sounds of the older women taking over Acropolis, the fortress that holds the money and property of Athens.

They prohibit sex until the war is over. After a certain period of time, the women grow weak with unsatisfied sexual instinct or sexual drive and say they need to get home “to their chores”. Lysistrata assures the other women it will not be long; their husbands are in worse shape than they are. The ‘Reconciliation’ is the climax of the story. Lysistrata, an idealistic Athenian woman who reasons and persuades the women simply refuse to aid the men’s sexual satisfaction so that together they can stop the war as well as

The social annotation of the women in war is justified in a communicated way instead of physical fighting in the war. In Lysistrata, the women did not have any power, when the women finally have power they still were not able to regain equal status roles like the men. The play justifies that even when women can make a change and have power, and are respected by men they still do not have the same value and worth in society as men. The play shows the extent of how the men have to behave in order to receive some form of political power for their

At the end of the play Lysistrata reprimands the chorus due to their continuing arguing. She reminds the chorus of men that a truce has been declared and that they should not fight over unimportant things. The men before had wanted to continue the argument against the women and the chorus of women. When Lysistrata tells them to not fight about unimportant things, they agreed because the Spartan Envoy agreed. Once the chorus men agreed, Lysistrata invited all the men and women into the temple to be purified and all join together. Lysistrata successfully joined both the chorus of men and the chorus of women to finally work together, resulting in their plan to be achieved.

Lysistrata is an extremely powerful and influential woman in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. She is the fearless

Lysistrata, written by Aristophanes, takes place during a time period when men dominate. This play brings up the battle of the sexes in a humorous way. In the play Lysistrata brings women from areas like Greece and Sparta that were involved in the Peloponnesian war to talk about her plan to end the war. Lysistrata’s plan was for all the women from the different lands to with hold sex with their lovers until the men decide to sign a peace treaty.

The carnival experience of “women on top,” for example, gives women a clearer picture of the real power to which they are entitled. The power the women of Lysistrata are entitled to is one of the civic, which is male dominated. Lysistrata announces that she will act as manager of the public funds and will cease financing military operations on the grounds that the war is unnecessary:

The female ambition to overcome their lack of agency is illustrated in Lysistrata, as the women monopolize the men by rallying their collective domestic power, in this case, in the form of “conjugal strike.” The basis for this plot stems from the pragmatic notion that “even under the strictest patriarchies resourceful women can wield considerable power within their own families and exert influence on their husbands even on public matters…” (Henderson 27). The concept that women are each the ruler of an individual “polis” is illustrated as Lysistrata argues with the Magistrate. She explains that the wives will manage the money, to which he replies with skepticism: