Sex And Politics In Aristophanes's Play Lysistrata

In the Aristophanes’ play Lysistrata, is satire that not only links sex and politics in ancient Greece, but also shows the faults of the Athenian democracy and the relationship between men and women. In straight forward terms the play Lysistrata shows the struggle to come to a solution to ultimately end the disastrous Peloponnesian War. More Specifically the need to understand why the women were so essential to end the Peloponnesian War is vital in the play. Thus, the author constructs a vision into understanding political and gender issues of the period.
One of highlights in the play Lysistrata is how Greek political authority is lampooned and along with that are the faults of Athenian democracy. In the opening lines of the Lysistrata we encounter …show more content…
Such a blemishless complexion—so clean, so out-of-doors! And look at that figure—the pink of perfection!” Lysyistra seems to be thinking like a man by sizing up the women and looking at their breast and what not. However, what is an interesting fact is how the use of gods even play a role in the relations between men and women. For example there is a scene in which Lysyistrata has told the women the master plan and then she basically calls for the gods of persuasion and even call upon the goddess Aphrodite. The use of gods in the play is smart because it shows that women are resisting there sexual desires ultimately to end the war rather than the men who are at one point walking around with erections because they were sexually frustrated. Thus, the relations between men and women in Greek (Athenian) society is clearly driven by sex and masculinity. Aristophanes attitude toward the plight of women can be characterized as one of understanding rather sympathy because you can tell that for the women all they want is a voice and who better than Lysistrata to give them that voice and be heard and show that women too can have …show more content…
Perhaps the author is saying that war is the main point and that war just leads to destruction and men can’t end it. As a result it’s to up to the women to basically keep society in balance. The author wants to show that women suffer in war just as much as men do. But all city states are just to driven by greed and pride. In my view personally I feel as if the author did succeed in getting across his main points. What makes the play Lysistrata so interesting is that while it is a comedy, the reader can see and picture how it would’ve have been in that time. The author shows the gender relations between the men and women, and displays the corruption in the politics at the time. In which it can be relatable in current times where some can say men still have more power than