In ancient Greece, women were virtually invisible to those outside the home and their reputation was best when there was “the least possible talk about you among men, whether in praise or blame” (Thucydides 1.45.2). There was a Greek Proverb that said “a woman knew two great moments of her life: her marriage and her death” (Powell, 40). In ancient Greek culture, women were normally seen as objects for marriage and childbearing and in literature were often depicted with an uncontrollable sexual appetite causing them to lie and scheme. The Pandora myth affirms the gender dynamics of ancient Greek culture. This is shown by the way Hesiod describes Pandora, his attitude toward women, and his opinion about women’s roles and work.…
The cities of Athens and Sparta were both advanced for their time, but differed in their idea of appropriate women’s roles. While Spartan women were relatively important to the social and political spheres, women in Athens were considered nothing more than breeding machines to produce men for the society’s powerful army. Aside from the fact that both groups of women were married for the sole purpose of bearing children, there are hardly any similarities between the treatment of women in Sparta and Athens.…
As the Lysistrata stated, “All our husbands think we are such clever villains.” (Lysistrata, 141). Although this is stated before their plan, I think it also can be seen after the plan is hatched. The men definitely thought this due to the women chose to create outfits that showed off all their best assets, which would attract their men and make them adhere to their demands to come home from battle and quit fighting. Furthermore, the ladies learn to work together for a unified solution: to have their men home. In the story of Lysistrata, the women organize private meetings about the men to help to figure out what one should do in a situation like their own. Together the women organize and cultivate their ideas to eventually receive what they were aiming for: their men back. To conclude, Aristophanes gives the reader a glimpse of what the gender roles were like in ancient Greek civilization. Showing the women being…
Now Aristophanes wrote two plays called the Ecclesiazusae and The Cloud. In these plays, he also uses the Socrates character where he tries to make Socrates look foolish in his ideas of a just political state. In the Ecclesiazusae (woman in assembly), it tells a story a story about women…
Recently I had the opportunity to attend to a Greek comedy called the lysistrata at Whatcom Community College. The show really connected to similar themes in our curicculum of IDS 161. In the opening scene of Lysistrata, it enacts the stereotypical and traditional characterization of women in Greece and also distances Lysistrata from this clichéd, housewife character. Lysistrata is not only angered because the women won't prioritize war and the peace of their country, but she is ashamed that the women won't stand up to the stereotypes and names that their husband's give them. Lysistrata tells Kleonike, "I'm positively ashamed to be a woman", and Kleonike proudly admits, "That's us!" As the play procedes and lysistrata puts her mind to work, she requests that the women use their attractiveness to make the males want them sexually, Lysistrata encourages the women to play to their stereotype and exploit the sexual, idealized female. Like a man, with her plan for a sex strike in mind, Lysistrata examines women for their sexual potential.Therefore, women not only begin to see each other with male…
A big part of democracy is the freedom of speech and at this point in time of history, women stand in the shadows of their husbands especially when political discussions arise. In Lysistrata the main character, Lysistrata is all for democracy and the defense of democracy. The Greek culture was very focused on war and a lot of the economy was focused solely on producing resources for the war, all the revenue it would receive from the war and many even many of the Greek gods were related to war. Soldiers would pray to their gods during, before, and after and a victory was a gift from the gods and a loss was a punishment from the gods. War seemed to be the only thing that had any intention of the husbands and men of Greece, and Lysistrata along with her colleagues had enough of that. Although Aristophanes was secretly undermining the minds of high officials in Greece, he got away with it by incorporating his ideas for change with short…
In Women At The Thesmophoria Aristophanes Mockery Of Effeminate Men And Of Foreigners Is As Harsh As His Mockery Of Women…
Athens terrible war with Sparta has been going on for years and Lysistrata, a middle-class housewife from Athens, organized a meeting with women from Athens and other cities, including Sparta, that the women should all refuse to have sex with their husbands until their husbands end the ridiculous war. After convincing the women, Lysistrata also explains that she's sent women to occupy the Acropolis, the government center of Athens, therefor hoping to gain control of the treasury, and be able to cut off the money supply for the war. The women swear an oath that they will follow Lysistratas’ plan, and the women join together at the Acropolis. The Chorus of Men met them there from Athenian, chorus referring to “a group” in the play who advise one another, they have come with fire to smoke the women out of the Acropolis; however, the Chorus of Women shows up carrying buckets of water. After the Women's Leader drenches the Men's Leader, the group of men leave embarrassed, showing the first bit of power that the woman obtained over the men. Lysistrata then emerges from the Acropolis to complain that she is worried that the women are all going against the oath, and trying to have sex with their husbands. This is a huge conflict because the women need to stick together, and fight together against the men if they wanted any change. An…
“Men are free to roam outside, but the women must stay inside.” (Unknown Athenian), this was true for most of human history, and Ancient Athens was no different. However in Ancient Sparta it was much different from the rest of Greece, and for that matter a majority of civilizations. Usually when people think of Athens they think of the Golden Age of Athens (480-322 B.C.) and think that men and women are prospering throughout Attica and it was more like the Roaring 20s of the 20th Century. And when people think of Sparta they see a society hell bent of taking over Athens and crush anyone who stands in their way. In either case nobody really takes much time to ask what were the women doing during this time period…
In most Greek mythology there is a general hostility towards the female sex, which relays that most poets and writers themselves were sexist. Throughout Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, women are portrayed in a very subservient manner, placing them far below men and are almost despised. However, in more than one instance, manipulation, women’s true power, is shown. They are constantly described as beautiful temptresses, which could be thought of as the weakness of many men. When Theogony and Works and Days are looked at as a whole it is obvious that Hesiod’s opinion of women, most likely shared by the Greeks themselves, is that they are inferior and subordinate to men.…
In many literary works from the times of the ancient Greeks, women have played a relatively minor role. This is particularly due to how women where viewed during this time period and in this particular culture. In the stories the Odyssey and Orpheus and Eurydice the female characters are examples of how women were expected to behave during the time period.…
Greek men’s power, influence, and potential were typically derived from their abilities and family lineage. However, women were also required to have male approval-- which often translated to being beautiful in addition to the aforementioned prerequisites. Thus, Greek women would fight tooth and nail with anyone who challenged their beauty or appearance. For instance, the entire Trojan…
Although ancient Greece was a male-dominate society, Sophocles' work Antigone, portrays women as being strong and capable of making wise decisions. In this tragedy, Sophocles uses three main characters who are women to represent different models of female behavior. Traditionally women are characterized as weak and subordinate as Ismene is portrayed in this way. But Sophocles uses the character of Antigone to allow women to present realistic viewpoints about their character.…
“We women are the most unfortunate creatures” (Euripides 695). This worn-out grievance has poured through the vocal chords of all women since the first pains of childbirth, but more importantly the atrocious day men began to pervert the customs of marriage. Prominence and provocation clothe the declaration as Medea, a forlorn woman abandoned by her husband, explains the status and circumstances women of ancient Greece were subject to desolately endure. Scholars are blinded by the era of great philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, but the institutions and governments built by these “great men” denied the admittance of women into their institutions and therefore closed the door to potentially incredibly intelligent minds. All women, even those leading satisfactory lives, were subject to the unfair laws and barriers men created. Although women have been cast into the depths of submission through out the course of history, Medea daringly broke the ideal perception of weak and ignorant women in the Greek tragedy, Medea, where she made an aggressive speech by mournfully proclaiming,…
Women in Athens were different than Spartan women. But how is this so? Women in Athens were disrespected as a person and served only a few purposes to the community. Athen’s city-state suggested that women were either slaves, prostitutes, or straight up slobs.…