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In Greek History, one of the most devastating wars were the Peloponnesian Wars, a conflict between Athens and Sparta. During these troubled times, a Greek author named Aristophanes wrote one of Greece’s most famous plays: Lysistrata. It is about a young woman named Lysistrata who gets all the women of Greece to stop the war by denying sex to their husbands. As time goes by, the men begin to desire sex more, as their wives refuse them. Following Lysistrata’s instructions, the men of Athens and Sparta agree to peace. One aspect of the play is its potential to be a form of political protest. Lysistrata is a good form of political protest due to the women’s role to save Greece, the men’s roles as weaklings, and the play’s ability to address some of the women’s issues back then, calling for change in politics in respect to women's rights.
Aristophanes portrays women to be rational to resolve their situation, based on their roles as housewives. The women take over the Athenian Acropolis in order to prevent the men from getting any money for the war. When the Magistrate demands to know why the women should control the finances of the war, Lysistrata says, “Isn’t it true we [women] take care of all the household money?” (563)
Lysistrata claims that because household wives control the money in their homes, they are adequate to control the money used for the war. Aristophanes could argue that they can make rational decisions, as Lysistrata also says:
“It’s like a bunch of yarn. When it gets tangled, we take it and pass it through the spindle back and forth - that’s how we will end the war, if people let us try, by sending out ambassadors here and there, back and forth.” (574-578)
Lysistrata compares untangling a string of yarn to the use of ambassadors to achieve peace. Aristophanes’ portrayal of women as reliable due to their household duties, makes this play a good form of political protest, possibly stating that women could handle certain situations better than men.
Aristophanes portrays men as weak due to their insistence that war is the only way to settle agreements and that women are to solely perform household duties. When Lysistrata meets with the Magistrate, guards are ordered to grab her and tie her down. An old woman threatens to beat the guards up, and the stage directions say “(the armed guard is so terrified he shits)” (493). Aristophanes could have meant that even though the guards are not only terrified, but armed, makes their appearance seem weak. These men who are trained to die, are scared of a woman, a revolutionary idea in Ancient Greece. Aristophanes’ portrayal of men reflect their appearance as weak, which can be used as form of protest because it criticizes men as inadequate to perform some jobs.
Aristophanes also addresses some struggles women had in Ancient Greece. During her conversation with the Magistrate, Lysistrata explains the pains for women during the wars. She says:
“And then, when we should be having a good time, enjoying our youth, we have to sleep alone because our men are in the army. Setting us aside, it distresses me that young unmarried girls are growing old alone in their own homes.” (709-715)
Lysistrata explains that the war burdens the women, due to being separated from their husbands who are away. Lysistrata also points out that while the men are away, young girls lose their opportunity to get married, as she says, “If they don't seize their chance, no one wants to marry them. (719-720). She explains that the war deprives many young women a chance to marry, because once they turn older, no one will marry them. Aristophanes’ play explains the struggles for women when men are at war, making his play a form of political protest because it announces the problems to get public attention.
Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is a valid form of political protest through his portrayal of women as rational, his portrayal of men as weak, and his publication of the struggles that women go through during times of war. Because the women use their household skills to control the city’s money and to resolve the war, Aristophanes possibly implies that women can be better to complete a task. Because the armed men are so scared of the women, Aristophanes possibly argues that sometimes men are weak to complete a challenge. Because the women struggle with issues during times of war, Aristophanes allows the public to draw attention to these problems. Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is still very popular today, as its crude humor and radical ideas constantly make us think about our world, centuries after its release.
Work Cited:
Aristophanes. “Lysistrata” Vancouver Island University. Transl. Ian Johnston.
413 BC. pp. 1-59
