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How gender is portrayed in The Odyssey
Socialisation of gender roles
Lysistrata:Characterization
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Aristophanes’ major donations in the progress of theater arts and his standing in the Athenian civic are well acknowledged. His hilarious comedy, Lysistrata, reflects the hatred with war customary in Athens after his unsuccessful journey to Sicily. It remains ready with sexual inference and make available much insight into the suitability of human sexuality, craving, and the war of the sexual category. Although it included all this, it was projected to make a governmentally aware declaration regarding the irrationality of Athenian services violent behavior. Aristophanes was not suggesting that a sex slowdown might be effective means to end the Peloponnesian War. The full picture of the war was more doubtful. Lysistrata’s arrangement to force …show more content…
the husbands of Greece to the peace table could never have been successful. Belongings apprehensions, sexual role roles, and the sexuality of Athenian men stopped Athenian women as of put into the world the required governmental encouragement. Logistically, it would have been quite challenging for Lysistrata to count on the aid of the ladies of Athens in her outline.
Greek society imposed standards of decorum that restricted a woman’s free will of society and required her to be guided by a slave female or an of advanced years relative when in public (Gulick 54). These boundaries were planned first and foremost to bounds a wife or daughter’s dealings with males’ free standing. A women’s household and work for men’s unprejudiced of on the run indecisiveness about the supportiveness of children. At the same time they did allow women conservation system and relatives to meet people freely in each other’s homes. Lysistrata waiting to meet with Kalonike, Myrrhine, and Lampito doesn’t seem to be the best part to comfort with. Still, the bringing together would demand that Lysistrata be of significant means. Only the richest of women could successfully organize couriers across battle lines, initiate a bond with a Spartian woman of important influence, and position for Lampito’s visit to Athens. Meanwhile, as Charles Gulick writes, "every woman of good family was under the guardianship of a man" (Gulick 56). It seems not likely that Lysistrata could be able to such an …show more content…
achievement. In one’s opinion, men wouldn't have that much power over a woman. In 2015, women are not control by their male counterparts, and are not put down so far that they are helpless. Lysistrata seems like someone who knew that there was something wrong with that picture. Yes, since the beginning of time men have always been "superior". It's not such the case anymore. More and more women are standing up for their right to equality. Their right to make equal pay, make equal decisions, have an equal job. Women now, and then have had a right to do whatever they please without the man involved. Wives, in ancient Greece, were usefully selected for the resolve of bring into being legitimate recipients and maintaining control of assets (Gulick 57).
They were typically not the objects of their significant other sexual need. “Bearing children and managing a household were all that would ordinarily have been asked of a wife" (Hooper 254). Athenian men, unlike women, had chances for sex outside marriage that carried no punishments. Besides sex with female slaves, who could not refuse their masters, men could choose between a number of programs of prostitutes and hetaera. "What Athenian men liked about the hetaera was that they excelled at all the things those same men prevented their wives from learning" (Tannahill 101). Though the most important inspiration for the women of Lysistrata to end the war is the return of their other half to their beds, it is actual that the men have been pass over their duties for some time. Tannahill also points to the waves of the increasing status of pederasty and homosexuality (Tannahill 84). What is clear is that a man in Cinesias’ predicament would have several avenues for purchasing the necessary exercise to prevent
painfulness. Rape is what we would call it nowadays. Men cannot go around deciding who they want to have sexual relationships with and force the unwilling to will to them. Women should have been able to have sexual relations with whoever they wanted to. Women today can do whatever, or whomever they please because it's part of the culture. The removal of the Acropolis is an excellent military approach and the more realistic aspect of Lysistrata’s plot. In theory, it was indeed treason and crimes in contrast to the state, as in Socrates’ case, carried the most severe penalties. Though Aristophanes excellently led into the power of the purse and its relationship to the talent to earnings war, an attack on the Acropolis would surely result in much blood bath. Apprehension for the welfare of the state and the financial paybacks of a wealthy, powerful Athens were overriding. These were their wives and mothers. No one would need to reprise Orestes’ recklessness and bring down the insanity of the Furies but man’s common sense of righteousness and sense of self has resulted in worse. Granting many Athenians believed that women were in theory capable of logical and deep-thinking thought, the prohibition of females from the polis and the necessity to keep the mothers of their beneficiaries safe at home kept women unknowing of concerns of state. Uniform Aristotle pronounced that "the female indeed possess [the capability of negotiation], but in a form which remains inconclusive" (Austin 182). Ladies’ views of politically aware businesses were not taken very extremely and the outlook of the administrator was almost certainly characteristic of the Athenian citizen. Women should grace their presence to their carding and uniting. "War’s a man’s affaire." Whereas, in Today's world, woman are a big part in war all over the world. In the United States, as of 2011, there were about 203,000 women in the military. In the Army about 74,000 women, in the Navy there are about 53,000, in the Air Force about 62,000, and in the Marine Corps there are about 14,000 women. That's a lot, especially because a lot of women do not like getting their hands dirty. These women of the US military are just the same as their male counterparts, if not better. Women are essential in the military, because men cannot do it all. As in Ancient Greece, the women were still needed for some jobs. Jobs that the men weren't able to do because they are men.
In her essay on, “Athenian Women,” Sarah Ruden points out that Aristophanes in Lysistrata portray women as supportive of Athenian institutions and eager to save them. But she cautions, “To do this now they must flout law, religion, and every notion of public decency – and this is definitely no reflection on women’s attitudes, but mere satirical farce and fantasy” (Ruden 107). An important element of “satirical farce” in this spirit would be a heavy use of repetition to make people laugh at the weakness being satirized. One example would not be enough, and the audience might not be amused by less than three or four examples. So in important episodes that fill out the action of the play, we have 4 examples of women beating guards,
Lysistrata is portrayed as a typical commander of war that gives orders and does not take part in the war. While being the mastermind behind the sex strike, she is able to separate her self from the other women in her ability to resist her attraction for men. The women are used as pawns by this cunning and powerful, Lysistrata, who is victorious in establishing peace in Greece.
The women in The Odyssey are a fair representation of women in ancient Greek culture. In his work, Homer brings forth women of different prestige. First there are the goddesses, then Penelope, and lastly the servant girls. Each of the three factions forms an important part of The Odyssey and helps us look into what women were like in ancient Greece.
Within Lysistrata, the pouring of water on the men to douse their sexual urges parallels the dampening of their husbands' passions to which the women have sworn. The Magistrate's allusions refer to the lustful invitations to adultery, which men offer. Amongst all t...
In a modern day production of Lysistrata, a director’s role would involve the overseeing of the whole play making course and ensuring that all the cast members realize the vision of the production. This role covers all the steps of production from the interpretation of the script to the final performance. This means that the director has a say over a range of disciplines and has to have artistic vision. Lysistrata was produced in 411 B.C., at a time when Athens and Sparta had just concluded a two-decade long war and the general population was in despair. Comedies such as these were used then to communicate instructions to the people (mbc.edu). This essay will focus on the scene where Lysistrata has gathered all the women to convinces the to withhold sex from their husbands until they sign a peace treaty.
In the Iliad we saw women as items of exchange and as markers of status for the men who possessed them (Chryseis and
Medea and Lysistrata are two Greek literatures that depict the power which women are driven to achieve in an aim to defy gender inequality. In The Medea, Medea is battling against her husband Jason whom she hates. On the other hand, in Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the protagonist Lysistrata plotted to convince and organize the female gender to protest against the stubbornness of men. In terms of defining the purpose of these two literatures, it is apparent that Euripedes and Aristophanes created characters that demonstrate resistance against the domination of men in the society.
According to research, the role of women in classical Greece was extremely limited. Men and women were segregated all over in the Greek society, even in the home (Source 9). Women were secluded in their homes to the point of not being able to leave their own quarters except on special religious occasions or as necessity dictated (Source 10). All women were tightly controlled and confined to the home to insure that their husbands were provided legitimate male heirs. Beyond this, women had no true value (Source 6). Clearly, male domination in Greek society was like enslavement to women. A marriage contract dated 92 B.C. can be located in Women's Life in Greece & Rome by Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant which defines unacceptable behavior within the union of marriage. The document requires that both husband and wife be chaste within the context of the household, but although nothing prevents ...
In the Greek society women were treated very differently than they are today. Women in ancient Greece were not allowed to own property, participate in politics, and they were under control of the man in their lives. The goddess Aphrodite did not adhere to these social norms and thus the reason the earthly women must comply with the societal structure that was set before them. Aphrodite did not have a father figure according to Hesiod, and therefore did not have a man in her life to tell her what to do. She was a serial adulteress and has many children with many men other than her husband. She was not the only goddess from the ancient Greek myths to cause doubt in the minds of men. Gaia and the Titan Rhea rise up against their husbands in order to protect their children. Pandora, another woman in the Greek myths, shows that all evil comes from woman. Aphrodite, Gaia, Rhea, and Pandora cause the ancient Greek men to be suspicious of women because of her mischievous and wild behavior.
Women 's roles in the Iliad and Odyssey the seem to differ from the roles of men. Women were depicted as possessions to the men. Athena seems to stand out the most when it comes to both of these books Athena is the goddess of wisdom and war. Not only was Athena the goddess of wisdom and war, she played the role of the protector. Athena is one of the main female characters that truly show out throughout the Iliad and the Odyssey. An ancient history website states that “Athena was a major protagonist in Homer’s account of the Trojan War in the Illiad where she supports the Achaeans and their heroes, especially Achilles, to whom she gives encouragement and wise counsel." Athena beings to first show in the Illiad when Agamemnon threatens to go to Achille’s
... convey deeper themes of life and death, the struggles between power and class structure and also the societal differences between men and women. Aristophanes uses humor to hook his audience into his play, and then undermines the surface humor with much bigger thematic issues. If this play had simply been about women withholding sex for other reasons such as wanting more money for shopping or other frivolous ideas it would not then be considered a satiric comedy. Satire requires more than physical humor. An issue must be raised such as the life and death theme that is seen in the war in Lysistrata, and a solution must then be made. Aristophanes created the women in the beginning to be bickering, unintelligent, and self-centered people. But in the end it was their idea and compromise that ended the war.
In Greek classics, it is common knowledge that in that era women and men were considered unequal. Men were superior, and in most cases women were not even fit for citizenship. It is in this atmosphere and time period that Aristophanes wrote Lysistrata. The play itself is supposed to be a comedy, although the actions of the women do not seem amusing. Instead, the women’s actions, especially the main character Lysistrata, seem incredibly brave. Lysistrata rounds up her “troop” of all the women in Athens and a Spartan woman. They take charge of the acropolis and refuse to settle for anything less than a peace treaty to end the war. The only problem with this is, in ending the war, they will be bringing back the men from their duty and end up in the same social caste system as they were from the beginning. Aristophanes seems to make the point that – the only power women hold is their sexuality (Rex Par. 7). The Athenian women can withdraw from their husbands for however long they like, they still end up givi...
“Lysistrata” is a tale which is centered around an Athenian woman named Lysistrata and her comrades who have taken control of the Acropolis in Athens. Lysistrata explains to the old men how the women have seized the Acropolis to keep men from using the money to make war and to keep dishonest officials from stealing the money. The opening scene of “Lysistrata” enacts the stereotypical and traditional characterization of women in Greece and also distances Lysistrata from this overused expression, housewife character. The audience is met with a woman, Lysistrata, who is furious with the other women from her country because they have not come to discuss war with her. The basic premise of the play is, Lysistrata coming up with a plan to put an end to the Peloponnesian War which is currently being fought by the men. After rounding up the women, she encourages them to withhold sex until the men agree to stop fighting. The women are difficult to convince, although eventually they agree to the plan. Lysistrata also tells the women if they are beaten, they may give in, since sex which results from violence will not please the men. Finally, all the women join Lysistrata in taking an oath to withhold sex from their mates. As a result of the women refraining from pleasing their husbands until they stop fighting the war, the play revolves around a battle of the sexes. The battle between the women and men is the literal conflict of the play. The war being fought between the men is a figurative used to lure the reader to the actual conflict of the play which is the battle between men and women.
First, Lysistrata is clearly identifiable as a leader for Athenian women. In the beginning of the play, Lysistrata secretly organizes a meeting between all the women of Greece to discuss a strategy to end the Peloponnesian War "if the women will meet here - the Spartans, the Boeotians, and we Athenians - then all together we will save Greece" (Page 468, 40-42). During the meeting, which Lysistrata leads, Lysistrata suggests to the women of Greece to withhold sex from their husbands. The women are hesitant and some refuse "I won't do it! Let the war go on" states Myrrhine, an Athenian woman (Page 470, 132). However, with Lysistrata' encouragement, the women swear an oath to withhold sex from their husbands until a treaty of peace is signed. Also, throughout the play, Lysistrata continuously directs, instructs and coaches the women of Athens on how to behave. Furthermore, the men call upon Lysistrata to make the treaty between Sparta and Athens "Only Lysistrata can arrange things for us; shall we summon her?" (Page 494, 1...
"So please go home and tend to your own tasks, / the distaff and the loom, and keep the women / working hard as well" (6.585-587). From this we see Hector's view of women, which is a theme that is echoed throughout the rest of the Iliad. Women are mentioned relatively few times in the Iliad in comparison with the books devoted solely to the men. Nevertheless, there is clear evidence that the role of women in this society was that of a servile follower.