Women of the Peloponnese

An obscene amount of individuals think that history is only uncovered by cave paintings, secret letters and ancient artifacts. One might be surprised to uncover that a historian can gather much information about an ancient society based on a fictional story or play. Comedic plays in Greece were written purely for entertainment of the people, but allow historians today to see the customs of the ancient Greek society. Fictional plays allow people to see what the Greeks thought as satirical and downright crazy. The Lysistrata by Aristophanes is a Greek comedy about women across the Peloponnese who swear an oath of celibacy until their men quit fighting against each other. Although this play seems like it’s just another fictional Greek play, the way the women in the play are treated and played can tell us many societal norms of Athenian women. The Lysistrata is comical to the Greeks, because women simply did not have a say in any wars and certainly were not smart enough to create a treaty or plan to cease a war. The Lysistrata depicts the Athenian women’s desired and assumed roles in politics, marriage, household and social life.

Women in ancient Greece were expected to be seen and not heard; hence, women were not supposed to hold any places in office or express opinions of political issues. Wives were placed in careful watch by their husbands and any back-handed comment was not tolerated. A woman’s most important life function was to give birth to healthy babies, preferably baby boys. A Spartan or Athenian woman’s role in the household was to make sure it was in order (food was made, children were bathed, etc.). In the Greek comedy Lysistrata, both Athenian and Spartan women decreed that they do not agree with the civil war takin...

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...my neck be straightaway be deservedly wrung.” The previous statement by the Magistrate obviously gives one the idea that men would writhe at the thought of a woman trying to take control of a situation, especially a war.

Women of the Peloponnese were held to lower standards in men. The Lysistrata is a comical play, but gives its readers imagery on how women were treated and expected to behave in ancient Greece. In times before the twentieth century the view of women was much the same as the Greeks, even in what Americans call the “land of the free”, AKA the United States. It may be hard for a feministic person to read, but the way women were valued and controlled in Greece is not all that suprising. The way women are treated today is still relatively new and there are many instances that women are still valued lesser than men and expected to be more domesticated.