Lysistrata

Lysistrata, a comical playwright, was written by Aristophanes in 412 B.C. This

Athenian playwright, which I seemed to find very amusing being a male, was charismatic

in the sense of what should or would happen if women were to revolt against males.

Aristophanes achieves his goal of liberating anti-war ethics using females as a source of

peace.

The small scene which is in our readings opens where the Commissioner of

Athens begins to degrade females by saying "that's what women are good for: a

complete disaster." This quotation firmly sets the tone for the rest of the play by

introducing the dispute. The very next line is spoken by a man named Man 1 who

proclaims that the females have soaked the men with water and it looks as if they had

pissed their tunics. This makes the men feel like cowards and pansies. A few lines

following some of the Commissioners statements, Lysistrata, the female leader of the

women's revolt is introduced and replies to his efforts of bombarding the door with a

large log. She tells him to put the log down with a great attitude, this shows that

Lysistrata is a firm leader and is heard upon by the men.

At this point, the play begins to become much more humorous as Lysistrata and

the other females begin to use Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt to frighten the

men from arresting them. The females even use vulgarities and threats. I found this to be

quite comical because we all know that Athenian women basically had no rights. Here we

were reading of one woman threatening a militia that she had four battalions of infantry

women ready to attack. Although the women only had as stated in italic print " brooms,

pots and pans." Lysistrata made a statement that the women were sifters of flour, beaters

of eggs and pressers of garlic. This showed that they were not looking to be at war with

the men but wanted to state that as the maintainers of the household they also cared for

what was happening in the Polis.

As the playwright progresses, the Commissioner continues to degrade the

females by telling Lysistrata she would cause a drought in the saloons if they let her in.

The women begin to revolt by words of abstinence. Here the men become rambunctious

because as our readings state that Athenian men loved sex. One of the men make a

reference to Zeus by ask him of all the beasts he has executed why could it not be the

worse of all, women. Here the playwright begins to take a turn as Lysistrata asks the

Commissioner for control of the Treasury, which is very bizarre, she states that the