Lysistrat Gender Roles In Ancient Greece

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In ancient Greece, there were clear differences regarding the manner in which men and women should behave. Males were expected to be the dominant sex, ruling over the land and people without any input from females. They were the sole breadwinners for the families and were to be given the utmost respect at all times. In contrast, women were to remain in the shadow of their husbands, not speak up or retaliate in any way, and complete household chores such as cleaning and caring for the children. In fact, they could not sleep in the same room as the men and were rarely allowed to leave the home. If they were to stray from these specific roles, they would face serious consequences and have even more of their little freedom taken away by the males. …show more content…

The title character first shows her dominance and desire to escape the gender roles society placed on her by developing her plan to abstain from sex to boycott the war. She expresses no fear and is willing to do whatever was necessary to get the males home, undoubtedly breaking away from the typical female mold. However, she notes that when the other women eventually show up to their meeting, they are very apprehensive and she states, “you bite your lips, and shake your heads, eh? Why these pale, sad looks? Why these tears?” (Aristophanes 7). They do not feel it was appropriate for them to be taking such a drastic action against their husbands, who most likely only married them to give birth to the children and carry on the family name. In fact, Lysistrata even goes as far as to say, “I blush for our sex. Men will have it we are tricky and sly” (Aristophanes 1). This shows that she feels the women act even more subservient than the men expect them to be and she wishes to not be defined by her gender. Generally, women do not get involved in the wars whatsoever, so she is showing her masculinity by attempting to make both sides

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