Lysistrata by Aristophanes and Women

¶ … Lysistrata by Aristophanes and "Women Demonstrate against the Oppian Law" by Livy. Specifically, it will discuss how Lysistrata and other women had the power to demand change in law and public policy. These pieces were written during times of strife and war in Greece and Rome. "Lysistrata" takes place during the Peloponnesian War, between 431 to 404 B.C.E., while "Women Demonstrate" was written in 195 B.C.E., just after the Second Punic War. "Lysistrata" never happened, but the Roman women's protest actually did occur. Both works indicate the power of women to sway their husbands and demand changes in the law.

In, "Women Demonstrate against the Oppian Law," the author shows why Roman women were so dissatisfied with the law. The Oppian Law was a law directed primarily at women, and it did not allow them to buy certain luxury items and limited the gold they could own - the surplus had to go to the state. In addition, they could not wear certain types of dress or ride in a carriage. Understandably, after the Punic War ended, the women wanted the law repealed. It was unfairly geared toward Roman women and placed many stipulations on how they lived and even how they dressed. However, it took twenty more years to finally repeal the law. Many men supported repealing the law, while others saw no need to do away with it. Finally, the women rebelled. Livy writes, "The matrons, whom neither counsel nor shame nor their husbands' orders could keep at home, blockaded every street in the city and every entrance to the Forum" (Livy 178). The women converged on the Forum to urge their men to repeal the law. Some men opposed them, while others wholly supported their demands. Two orators speak, one against the women, and one in favor of their demands. The orator in favor is much more eloquent in his argument, and much more sympathetic to the women, as well.

It is clear Livy is biased against the women and their demands. He uses words such as "husbands' orders," "dared," and "running around in public" to show his contempt and bias toward the women and their demands. Women has little place in Roman society, and this essay indicates that very clearly. Men were supposed to control their women, and they were not to be seen in public unless it was absolutely necessary. The fact that men told women how to dress and what they could own indicates just how strict they were with their women, and it is no wonder they rebelled. They were treated so poorly, it is a wonder they had not rebelled long before the Oppian Law was passed.

Livy is clearly on the side of the men, and his bias shows throughout the essay. When he writes, "As soon as they begin to be your equals, they will have become your superiors'" (Livy 179), he means it, and it is clear he finds that too terrible to contemplate. Luckily, some men are more rational and support the women and their demands, and the law was repealed. It was unfair, the women knew it, and would not stand for it any longer. Men who agreed with them had level heads and understood their women's demands were fair and rational. That so many people opposed the repeal shows, however, how poorly men viewed women and their women's concerns.

Lysistrata" is not based on real events, it is a comedy, and so the situations are more laughable and absurd. The story is simple. To end the Peloponnesian War, the women of Athens decide to give their husbands an ultimatum. They will not have sex with their husbands, or any man, until the men hurry up and end the war. In this excerpt, they meet with a Commissioner to tell him their demands. They are outrageous in the way they make their demands, but they make their point with the Commissioner. They argue effectively and with humor, while the Commissioner just manages to look buffoonish and incapable. The women clearly have the upper hand in this debate, and are much smarter than the men they argue with and subdue. The excerpt does not say if they win their battle, but it is difficult to imagine the men putting up with no sex for very long. "Lysistrata" is funny, but it makes a point. Women have brains, too, and want to be included in important decisions by the government. Pushing women aside, as the men of Athens and Rome did, can only lead to trouble in the end, as these two works clearly indicate.

If Aristophanes is biased, it seems he favors the women's demands for peace. He makes the Commissioner look ridiculous by having the women turn him into a woman, and he makes the women much more quick-witted and funny. It seems he designed the play to highlight women and their powers, while Livy showed real history with a decidedly male-oriented bias. He presents both arguments in his essay, but he uses words that indicate he thinks the women should stay where they are and stop running around outside their homes, making demands and causing trouble. In addition, Livy does not give any of the women a voice, they still stay in the background while the men debate, and because of this, the women's demands are all fought for by men. Thus, Livy is more biased against women that Aristophanes and it shows in his essay quite clearly.

Comparing the women of Athens and Rome indicates that the women of Athens enjoyed a better position in society than Roman women did. It is clear they were opinionated and wanted a role in government. They also were tired of being treated as second-class citizens, just as Roman women were. However, they had more power, because they speak out and say some outrageous things to the men, such as calling one a "miserable misfit" and accusing them of "fumbling the City away in the Senate" (Aristophanes 175). They already have more power than the Roman women, who do not get a voice in the essay at all.

The women of Athens also seem more organized than those of Rome. They meet in secret to form a plan, and their plan is well organized and simple. In addition, the women of Athens are not demanding any personal changes, instead, they demand "safety and Peace in Greece" (Aristophanes 175), which is a much loftier goal than being allowed to wear purple and ride in a carriage. The women of Rome were more selfish in their demands, even if they were right to want them, while the women of Athens wanted things that would make a lasting difference in everyone's lives - even the men. Finally, the Roman women do not speak for themselves; they allow men to debate the issue, which illustrates how little power they have in society. They may have power at home, of sorts, but in society they are worthless, and cannot even speak for their own demands.