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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 10 page research paper that examines the heroines of several ancient Greek plays. Modern students of ancient Greek culture tend to see the reality of women's lives during this period as being one of suppression and patriarchal domination. Interestingly, however, this perspective differs considerably from the viewpoint expressed by ancient Greek playwrights such as Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. Each of these men created plays in which female characters are strong, intelligent, controlling and powerful, which suggests that women were perceived in a way that contrasted with their official social role. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khgrkswm.rtf
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Interestingly, however, this perspective differs considerably from the viewpoint expressed by ancient Greek playwrights such as Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. Each of these men created plays in which female characters
are strong, intelligent, controlling and powerful, which suggests that women were perceived in a way that contrasted with their official social role. Aristophanes Aristophanes comedy "Lysistrata" portrays Athenian women
as resourceful, intellectual, and thoroughly capable of holding their own against the will of male authority. As the play begins, Athens has been involved in the Second Peloponnesian War for
quite awhile and the women are dissatisfied with never having their husbands at home. Lysistrata, an Athenian wife and mother, devises a plan to bring a halt to the long
war. When she tells her plan to her friend Cleonice, her friend responds by defining the traditional role of women of the upper classes in Greek society. She says
that women cannot perform such a "wise and glorious achievement," as they are meant to live exclusively in the household, "clad in diaphanous garments of yellow silk...decked out with flowers"
(Atistophanes). As this suggests, women of the upper classes were seen as decorative and restricted to the domestic sphere. Lysistrata responds that these factors, i.e., scents, flowers, beautiful gowns, are
the "sheet-anchors," i.e., the weapons that will be their salvation (Aristophanes). Lysistrata gathers together women from all of the warring city-states, including Sparta, and tells them of her plan,
which is to use their feminine wiles and sexual attraction as a lure to end the conflict. Specifically, she persuades them to vow not to have sex with their husbands
or lovers until the men agree to end the war. At first the women are horrified by her suggestion, with the sole exception of a Spartan woman, Lampito, who agrees
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