Lysistrata, a play written by Aristophanes in 410 BC is a comedic battle of the sexes as the women of Athens decide to take it upon themselves to end the Peloponnesian War. Lead by the titular character Lysistrata, women from both sides of the war agree to abstain from having sexual relations with their husbands to have the men cease fighting. In the end men from both sides, in obvious and extreme sexual frustration, agree to end the war and return home with their wives. Although Lysistrata is a comedic play, it was written in a time of deep-conflict and offers an insight on how the long war affected both sexes. Women in Athens were not included in the democracy, and had no say on any political matters, thus it was a humorous and safe choice
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When the women gather to Lysistrata’s home they all exclaim what they would do to secure peace. Lampito swears she “… would climb to the top of Mount Taygetus” (3). Other women join in and exclaim similar feats they would attempt to secure peace, one women going so far as to claim she would have herself split in two to bring home her husband (3). This is another way Aristophanes inserts his weariness of the long war, albeit in a lighter tone. When Lysistrata declares they must “refrain from the male altogether....” (4) the women falter and exclaim the would rather “go through fire” (4) then be robbed of “the sweetest thing in the world..” (4). Eventually they agree to abstain from sexual relations with their husbands, although this is apparently the one thing they cannot live without. It is because of their desire to see their husbands return to them that they decide to follow Lysistrata’s plan. While the younger women agree to keep themselves away from their husbands, Lysistrata has the old women of Athens seize the Acropolis and cut off the funds for the war (5). The old women actually fight the old men who try and force them out, going against the men who feed and care for them (7). The women go to extreme lengths to end the war by turning away from their husbands physically and
When the women gather to Lysistrata’s home they all exclaim what they would do to secure peace. Lampito swears she “… would climb to the top of Mount Taygetus” (3). Other women join in and exclaim similar feats they would attempt to secure peace, one women going so far as to claim she would have herself split in two to bring home her husband (3). This is another way Aristophanes inserts his weariness of the long war, albeit in a lighter tone. When Lysistrata declares they must “refrain from the male altogether....” (4) the women falter and exclaim the would rather “go through fire” (4) then be robbed of “the sweetest thing in the world..” (4). Eventually they agree to abstain from sexual relations with their husbands, although this is apparently the one thing they cannot live without. It is because of their desire to see their husbands return to them that they decide to follow Lysistrata’s plan. While the younger women agree to keep themselves away from their husbands, Lysistrata has the old women of Athens seize the Acropolis and cut off the funds for the war (5). The old women actually fight the old men who try and force them out, going against the men who feed and care for them (7). The women go to extreme lengths to end the war by turning away from their husbands physically and