Roles Of Women In Lysistrata And Medea

Improved Essays
In the fiercely masculine world of Greece, only males were educated and allowed to vote. In Sparta women competed in gymnastics, could own land and divorce their husbands. In Aristophanes shows both sides of women, the influential and the subservient, by using two important characters named Lysistrata and Medea. Lysistrata is the ring-leader of the political movement, her character elements are more masculine than some of the other females throughout the story. While Lysistrata breaks from the traditional role of a female in many different ways, but the strange part about it is that she seems a little too masculine compared to the other women she has encountered. For example, when Lysistrata gazes at the Spartan woman and remarks by saying,

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In this chapter, Foley describes the ideas that other ancient Greek has about woman and how wrong those ideas were. He continues explaining that back in ancient Greek, people used to believe that men will always be superior to woman, and that the only role the woman had to fulfill was to take care of the men. Now he contrast those ideas with the role of women in The Odyssey; a clear example he gives is Circe and Calypso. Both of those goddess manage to control Odysseus while he was in their land. Odysseus was attracted by a unique virtue that only woman can have, beauty; it did not matter how strong or how smart Odysseus was, at the end he was captivated by the glorious looking those goddesses had.…

    • 188 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The other important idea about this play when it comes to the women of Greece, is that this play places women in false situations and false social classes of Greek social system. For example, Lysistrata is shown as an inspiring leader for the women of Greece. This was so far from what was considered the norm of Ancient Greece. Women were considered to be the bottom social class in Ancient Greece and women in any type of leadership position would have never happened in Greece during this time. The other part of the play that is very inaccurate is that Lysistrata was called upon by men to the make the treaty to end the Peloponnesian war.…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Heroines in a Patriarchal Society For many years, there has always been an equality gap between males and females. Males being the more revered and desired gender, while females were the more disregarded gender, as they were forced to the mundane house work. Researchers have studied and learned how family dynamics work throughout history, with their research including archaeology, documents, and literature. In the 5th century, this sense of patriarchal dominance was no different in Greece than anywhere else in the world, but two Greek scholars in particular, Sophocles and Euripides, decided that in their writings, they would use female characters to play the protagonist as a way of challenging societal norms. These famous Greek authors use that method with their works, Elektra and Antigone, which not only represent female leads, but also nontraditional female personality traits at the time which offer comparisons between the two plays, but also some contrasts.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Because the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Work and Days are from the same civilization and writing in a similarity ages, even though they are not the same topics, the details which relative to culture, belief and sociality from the three books will not be much different. Frist, the role of women and their status in society. As we all know, except matriarchal society, women did not have much power in the ancient time, this made their social status and the roles will not very good. In the book 1 of the Iliad, Agamemnon says, “Find me then some prize that shall be my own, lest I only among the Argives go without, since that were unfitting; you are all witnesses to this thing, that my prize goes elsewhere. ”(Bauschatz, 4-5)…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women were not involved in politics in the 5th century BCE. It was seen as a man’s job while the women were home to take care of the child. Initially, the role of women in Lysistrata is to be sex objects. This view of women is not only held by the males, but of the women too! “How on earth could we do something like that – sensible and marvelous?…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In general, ancient Greek society perceived women as submissive and weaker than men. Women were not to have their own opinions nor voice opposition to male leaders or their husbands. The Agamemnon challenges the typical role of women with a strong personality in Clytemnestra. She, like Penelope in The Odyssey, assumes control of the land while her husband fights in the Trojan War. This position of power and independence defies the quiet role that society expects females to undertake.…

    • 1318 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Further efforts deemed to put women in that position saw men positioning themselves as heroes even as the former concentrated on domestic chores. Lysistrata discloses the power of women through proto-feminism, despite not considering women as capable of capturing political power. The women confronted the masculine personality to preserve the historical form of life within the Sparta and Athens communities. Even so, the women took individual challenge, as they confronted the male role models and defeated them mentally, physically, and mostly strategically. In addition to sex strike, women took control of the financial reserves in Athens and Acropolis, and barred the masculine characters from squandering them through war.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Females in Ancient Greek society had certain roles, principles and fundamentals they were told to follow, however there were many exceptions to this idea. This was a patriarchal society, the men did everything in all aspects of life. They had their own education, participated in athletics, statues were made of them and their bodies were renounced. Women do however play a significant role in the myths of Ancient Greece. There were always exception in Greek culture, and Atalanta is one of those exceptions she was a woman who participated in sport.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout The Odyssey, Homer enlightens us in the tribulations Odysseus faces as he fights to return home to his loving wife and son. He uses his mind and cunning abilities to outwit the creatures he encounters along the way. As we follow his travels, he faces many different types of women. Including Athena-the protector, Penelope-the loving wife, and Calypso-the devastatingly beautiful goddess-nymph.. These women are all so different, yet all so alike as well.…

    • 1286 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Greek Conceptions of Gender Gender inequality has been the major topic of discussion for many cultures right the way through history. Throughout Greek mythology, women are portrayed pessimistic and troublesome symbols, while men are known for being strong and controlling. Greek mythology has always been thought of as a patriarchal society and there are many reason as to why. Talking about Greek Goddesses we always think of a typical woman who is correlated with women’s roles, for example being a loyal wife, kind and caring towards her children and husband and be the idea women.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome can be compared in many ways, such as their geography, the position of women in society and government. Geography helped influence the development of civilizations by allowing permanent settlements, irrigation for crops, and a constant water supply. This led to the increase in human population, which led to cities which resulted in civilizations. The women of ancient civilizations had few rights and men had power over them. They were considered inferior and many people valued women as a baby producer and taking care of the house and children.…

    • 1245 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Euripides empowers the women of Ancient Greece through the words and actions of Medea. Euripides shows how women were perceived at the time, “We women—oh, I won’t say that we’re bad, but we are what we are. You shouldn’t sink down to our level, trading childish insults” (Medea 909-911). Women are considered child-like, and even the strong Medea expresses this when she pleads for Jason’s forgiveness after she insults Jason’s plan in marrying the royal princess.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play, Lysistrata devises a plan to take control of the government with her fellow women through withholding sexual favors from their men and even has them take an oath (abet, over wine) to stay chase until the war is over. These scenes show Lysistrata exerting her dominance over her fellow women and clearly defines herself as their leader, thus having her take a more masculine position. As they younger women finish their oath, they hear news that the older women have taken over the Acropolis, an important center of commerce and government. With control of the…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The objectification of women was common in Greek literature. Sappho felt very strongly about the demeaning portrayal of women. In “One Girl,” Sappho…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women in the Iliad Throughout “The Iliad” many women figures were written in the text to explain their roles. The women could have been seen as a non important figure. The women such as Helen, Briseis, Andromache, Athena, and many more, are picked up throughout the story helping the men and starting the battles between them. Men were mostly the main characters in the stories, but the women portray it with them helping men, the ones’ who started the battles between one another, and how women were different in other epics.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays