This essay examines how Aristophanes' comedy Lysistrata subverts conventional gender roles in ancient Greece by portraying women as assertive, capable, and powerful agents during the Peloponnesian War. Through close reading of key scenes and quotations, the paper argues that the play's satirical gender reversal — from Lysistrata's role as peace negotiator to the women's physical takeover of the Akropolis and their sexual strike against the men — reveals that women held far more social influence in ancient Greek society than they were typically credited with. The analysis draws on interactions between characters such as Myrrhine and Cinesias to illustrate how female power operates across political, physical, and sexual dimensions.
Gender roles in ancient Greece are at the core of Aristophanes' dramatic work Lysistrata. This play takes place during the critical period in which the Peloponnesian War has devastated a significant part of Greece. It is largely satirical in its depiction of gender roles, portraying men and women at odds with one another over a number of matters — most notably the waging of the war itself. In many ways, the conventional roles ascribed to each gender are reversed within Lysistrata. The women, who were largely subservient to the needs and whims of men, are more assertive and proactive, while the men are often foiled by and subjected to the will of the women. Interestingly, the author intersects this satirical portrayal of gender roles with an anti-war sentiment that animates the women and fuels their desires throughout most of the play. By reversing the behaviors and characteristics ascribed to each gender, Aristophanes manages to suggest that women actually played a more substantial role in Greek society and culture than they are frequently given credit for.
The titular character perhaps best illustrates this argument and demonstrates that within this work of literature, the characteristics conventionally attributed to men are given to women. Although she has limited experience in politics and social affairs, Lysistrata successfully organizes large groups of women throughout Greece and achieves what many men failed to do during the course of the Peloponnesian War — namely, end it. Perhaps even more significant is the fact that Lysistrata is able to help negotiate the actual terms of the armistice that ends the fighting. Quite frequently, these responsibilities would require a man's judgment and decision-making skills, yet Lysistrata is able to take decisive action in a manner befitting the best of men. The following quotation, her prelude to issuing the terms of the peace treaty, alludes to this fact:
"I am a woman, but I have a mind / That wasn't so bad to start with, and I got / A first class education listening / To Father and the elders year on year. I shall now do what's right…" (Aristophanes 64–65).
This passage is suggestive of the degree of parity that exists between men and women. In this quotation, Lysistrata acknowledges that despite her gender, she possesses the necessary tools — including her "mind" and a somewhat unconventional "education" — to settle the war and delineate territorial boundaries. Her role in issuing the terms of peace is certainly one typically fulfilled by a man, yet the author suggests that an educated, intelligent woman can perform the same task. Furthermore, this notion is reinforced by the fact that Lysistrata's intellectual prowess was actually honed by men — "Father" and "the elders." By having Lysistrata act as the mediator between different warring factions of Greece, Aristophanes suggests that women are more intelligent and capable than they were generally perceived to be within ancient Greek culture.
In virtually every conflict between a man and a woman — or between groups of men and women — portrayed within this play, the women emerge victorious. This fact is extremely significant because it illustrates that women can not only assert themselves but also enforce their own will, even against men. Traditionally, of course, men are the ones who are assertive and compel women to do their bidding. Yet there are a number of conflicts in this tale in which the opposite occurs, which is further evidence that Aristophanes has switched the characteristics of the genders. One of the most prominent examples of the triumph and assertion of women occurs when the Chorus of Old Women storms the Akropolis, takes control of it, and succeeds in fending off a Chorus of Old Men. When threatened by the Chorus of Old Men, who are armed with flaming torches, the Women's Chorus Leader responds:
"Help, River God!" (The women empty one set of pitchers over the men).
Men's Chorus Leader: Hell!
Women's Chorus Leader: Oh, was that too hot? (The women make use of auxiliary pitchers) (Aristophanes 24).
This passage shows that the women not only assert their own demands and defy the men verbally, but are also able to do so physically. Usually, men are able to physically force women to submit to their will. In the preceding exchange, however, the women are able to make the men submit through the use of physical force. This physical domination alludes to the fact that even in a bodily sense, there are aspects of women that are equal to, if not superior to, those of men. The implication is that women can not only defy men but can actually compel them to comply through their own physical agency.
"Sex strike gives women leverage to end the war"
"Myrrhine manipulates Cinesias, exposing female social power"
"Spartan herald scene reveals total male helplessness"
In summary, there is a deliberate switch in the characteristics and behavior of men and women in this work by Aristophanes. The women are far more assertive and powerful than the men, and are able to dominate the affairs of the latter from the bedroom to the battlefield. The overarching significance of this concept is that it suggests women must have always possessed this power in ancient Greece. They are, after all, able to decide with whom they sleep — a fact which the author appears to allude to throughout his portrayal of gender roles in this work.
Aristophanes. Lysistrata. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2003. Print.
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