Aristophanes and the Feminist Message of Lysistrata

In the time of Aristophanes, women were “universally legal minors; citizen woman participated at best indirectly in the political and intellectual life of the city” (Slater). Rarely did they emerge from their secluded quarters, except for marriages, funerals, and some civic festivals. It is quite ironic that during a time where woman’s lives were almost entirely directed by political circumstances and strict social norms, traditional Greek drama encompasses the life of woman and is intensely female centered, more so than any other western literature. In the play Lysistrata, Aristophanes essentially swaps the gender roles in Ancient Greek society and uses it as a tool of humor, as well as to provoke universal thought about gender roles.

It is important to note that in Ancient Greek society the images of men and women were determined by their relation to Oikos. Shaw explains the Greek concept of Oikos as “a home in the fullest sense and more. It was a self-contained universe, shut off from the outside world, whose primary functions were to produce the necessaries of life, care for its aged, raise the next generation, and care for its dead ancestors” (Shaw). Given that the everyday function of the average Greek woman was primarily inside the home, we can conclude that the wife’s attributes were those demanded by the Oikos, these being: industry, motherly love, and the ability to create harmony. Michael Shaw notes that there were certain negative traits as well: being that she “will not normally be known in public, because this implies that something is wrong inside the house which is driving her outside” (Shaw). Shaw also explains that she will be obedient due to the fact that they majority of decisions involve the outside world in...

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