The Power Of Women By Aristophanes And Roman Women

Women have played important roles throughout history. They have been responsible for the rise and fall of nations, sustaining families, and have been the focal point of worship in ancient religions. Moving forward in history, women's roles have continually changed. Their status as matriarchs changed as the more advanced ancient civilizations rose. The patriarchal societies of ancient Greece and Rome viewed women differently from some societies of past eras. The study of the economic and political status of women, their rights, and their contributions to both these ancient societies reveals how views change throughout history.

The role of women in ancient Rome is not easily categorized; in some ways they were treated better than women in ancient Greece, but in other matters they were only allowed a very modest degree of rights and privileges. One thing that does seem clear is that as the city-state of Rome evolved from its early days into a more complex society; women were not always limited to secondary roles. In some areas of Roman society, women were allowed more freedoms than in many other ancient civilizations.

Lysistrata, visibly upset that the women have not appeared, turns to her friend Cleonice, who reassures her that everyone will come, but “it’s not easy...for women to leave the house. One is busy pottering about her husband; another is getting the servant up; a third is putting her child asleep or washing the brat or feeding it” (Lysistrata). The exposition to the drama therefore tells us everything we need to know: women are trying and failing to remove themselves from their traditional housekeeping role. This is in part forced upon them by men, but also in part by their own will: throughout the play, the women place themselves in a lesser role and act unable to control themselves.  When Lysistrata explains her plan to Cleonice, Cleonice responds that “salvation hangs on a poor thread” if women are in charge. It is therefore not only men who enforce the anti-feminist view that women cannot “perform so wise and glorious an achievement” as ending the

When comparing power levels and women’s rights, Sparta was a leader in its time. Athens and Sparta, though both Greek city-states were different in the way they operated. More specifically, Sparta was different in the way that they treated their women. Athenian woman were treated quite appallingly compared to the standards of today’s women. The stem of this difference seems to lie in how these two city-states were governed. Sparta, known for its’ militaristic ways, was an oligarchy and Athens, known for its’ philosophers and thinkers, was a democracy. Sparta’s oligarchy was ruled by a counsel of 5 men, on being a lawmaker or giver. The lawgiver’s name was Lycurgus. Lycurgus was

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.

Greek and Roman women lived in a world where strict gender roles were given; where each person was judged in terms of compliance with gender-specific standards of conduct. Generally, men were placed above women in terms of independence, control and overall freedom. Whereas men lived in the world at large, active in public life and free to come and go as they willed, women's lives were sheltered. Most women were assigned the role of a homemaker, where they were anticipated to be good wives and mothers, but not much of anything else. The roles of women are thoroughly discussed in readings such as The Aeneid, Iliad, Sappho poetry, and Semonides' essay.

Imagine being a woman in an ancient society. A society where are considered weak and vulnerable, females aren’t allowed to work outside of the house, have no education, and continuously get disrespected by men. This was the reality for all women in Greece no matter their social class. Ideas like feminism, or equality amongst all genders were not heard of. It goes to show that when in Ancient Greece, men had more power within the government, inside the household, and in society compared to women.

Women in classical Athens could not have had an extremely enjoyable experience, if we rely on literary sources concerning the roles of women within the Greek polis. The so-called Athenian democracy only benefited a fraction of the entire population. At least half of this population was female, yet women seem to have had very little influence and few official civic rights. `The position of women...is a subject which has provoked much controversy.'

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.

Ancient Greek civilization was very strict when it came to society and political views. The men clearly had power over the women. Society in this civilization was simple, men went to work, participated in military training, politics and theatre entertainment. Women on the other hand stayed at home to raise children and manage slaves. They also focused mostly on domestic labor and religion. Men had complete

Throughout history, most societies held women in an inferior status compared to that of men. This was often justified as being the natural result of biological differences between the sexes. In many societies, for example, people believed women to be more emotional and less decisive than men. Women were also viewed to be less intelligent and less creative by nature. However, research shows that women and men have the same range of emotional, intellectual, and creative characteristics. Many sociologists and anthropologists maintain that various cultures taught girls to behave according to negative stereotypes (images) of femininity, thus keeping alive the idea that women are naturally inferior.

Since the beginning of time, women have always been looked down upon mentally. During the time period of The Odyssey and Lysistrata, women were known as less powerful gender. They have never had much say about what goes on around them. Some women were recognized as a sex symbol. In The Odyssey, some women were goddesses that just wanted sex and other women had to stay at home to help raise their kids and do all of the feminine work. Compared to The Odyssey, in Lysistrata, women denied sex against their men to get what they want. In addition, they did not have many political rights and a say so on what goes on in their country. In comparing both of these stories, women show similarities toward each other.

This portrays how she was seen as someone with power and authority, but let us not forget in the Greek culture women are not allowed to

Aristophanes and Agathon were peers in Ancient Greece. Aristophanes was the master of comedy, and Agathon was the master of tragedy. They traveled in the same circles and are present in the same works. In looking through the comic lens at Agathon in Aristophanes’ Women at the Thesmophoria, the reader is presented with a portrayal of an effeminate man with a flair for the dramatic and a queenly attitude. Aristophanes’ Agathon is a comic character to be laughed at, a man that is more female than male. In looking at this view of Agathon, Greek views of homoeroticism are brought up and Agathon’s reputation and character in the world of Ancient Greece is brought into question. How much of

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: