Lysistrata and the Peloponesian War Many comedies of this time period explore issues that were of importance to those people. Lysistrata is no different. It explores issues relevant to the time period in which it was written. Aristophanes uses the Peloponnesian War to illustrate the differences between the men and women of the time period. As Lysistrata begins, the women are gathering for their meeting with Lysistrata. They gripe and complain about how late the others are for the meeting, while
Throughout ancient and medieval history, female power has rarely had a significant impact on the course of events. The lack of ability to hold public office or higher level religious positions was a result of women to be seen as the subordinate sex. Women in both Aristophanes’s Lysistrata and Farid Un-Din Attar’s The Conference of the Birds defy their structural roles as wives, mothers, and homemakers by making significant impacts in both genders’ lives and even the course of history. Female characters
This statement reinforces the essential idea that women only took action because of the foolishness men displayed.24 In the scene where the Chorus of Women25 blocked the doors of the acropolis with bolts and bars, the Chorus of Old Men approached the Acropolis and violently threatened the women, exclaiming that they would burn them to death and beat them, “I, having rear’d a pile, Would set thy friends on fire”.26 The insults and violent threats show how the old men immediately used aggression instead
The Knights serves as Aristophanes’ comedic revenge on the Athenian demagogue, Cleon, who brought Aristophanes up on charges of treason and not truly being an Athenian citizen. The Knights focuses on a fictional representation of Cleon, Paphlagon, which ironically bares resemblance to the Asian territory of Paphlagonia, subtly throwing the charges of being a foreigner back in Cleon’s face. The play tells of how Cleon (in this play depicted as a slave to the oligarch, Demos) rose to power through
Rhetoric was a major factor in the development and maintenance of the Athenian government and was used by many in order to gain power and ascend in politics. The ascendance of the great demagogues in Athens during the time of the Peloponnesian war was heavily influenced by their rhetoric and ability to effectively guide the Athenian democracy. The democratic government was composed of two groups: “public speakers […], those who made proposals and publicly argued for or against political projects
informs the audience about the fact that their leaders are completely corrupted. This is done frequently throughout the play through the use of the humour device of ridiculing of an individual, in this case, Cleon is that individual. Using comedy to his advantage, Aristophanes continuously mocks Cleon in the play. In fact, at one point he even calls him a ‘whale-creature’ to describe his physical appearance. i.e. “And this disgusting whale-creature had pair of scales and it was weighing out bits of fat
influenced by an Athenian speech tradition of sophism or persuasive speech. Thucydides chooses Cleon and Deodotus to represent the opposite sides of the debate. Cleon, who argues for putting Mytileneans to death, is described as the most violent man in Athens. Deodotus argues against putting Mityleneans to death and uses rhetoric to persuade Athenians for a more rational and responsible decision. Cleon begins his argument by attacking the democracy for being indecisive and thus incapable of governing
Plato's Book I of The Republics presents three fundamental views on justice which are exemplified in Thucydides' On Justice, Power and Human Nature. Justice is illustrated as speaking the paying one's debts, helping one's friends and harming one's enemies, and the advantage of the stronger. In both their works, Plato and Thucydides write of the view that justice is honoring one's debts. In The Republics, Cephalus asserts that justice is "the truth and giving back what a man has taken from another
The Athenian playwright, Aristophanes, has been considered to be one of the greatest writers of comedy in literary history. His plays have been used as sources for political and social history, as well as works of literature and drama.1 Throughout Aristophanes’ writings, he made particular use of politics, war, societal figures and women as main themes. When considering other historians of fifth century Athens and their accounts of society during that time, one can begin to fully recognize Aristophanes’
According to Thucydides, Cleon was most violent person in Athens. He began his discussion through questioning the worth of democracy. He argued that a democracy is totally incapable to govern the other people. He exemplified their changing minds about Mytilenians during the time
presenting their opinions out of honest opinion for the well-being of Athens or self-interest. Out of the four speakers two (Nicias and Diodotus) honestly cared for the future of Athens and did not act on the slightest bit for their self-interest. Cleon also cared about the well-being of Athens but merely gave out the immoral and haste answer to a problem that obviously needed more thought to it. Alcibiades stands alone on this one, being the only one to have acted out of self-interest who only spoke
colony of Mytilene attempted to rebel against Athenian rule but when they failed their fate rested on the outcome of the debate between Diodotus and Cleon. Thucydides refers to Cleon as the “most violent man in Athens” and he demonstrates how he earned that name when he suggests that the Athenians kill every man of fighting age and enslave the rest. Cleon then says, “Give these people the punishment they deserve… show them that the penalty for rebellion is death” (Thucydides, p. 70-71) because he believes
multitude of humour devices in his play Wasps to get this message across. Such as, Neologism. As mentioned earlier, Aristophanes hated Cleon and everything that he stood for, so it was only fitting for him to name two of his main characters after him. One is named Philocleon, which means a lover of Cleon, while the other, his son, is named Bdelycleon, which means a hater of Cleon. Throughout, the play, Philocleon is called many names. However, one of the names that sticks is “trialophile.” A
Biography of Aristophanes *No Works Cited Aristophanes is considered by most scholars to be the foremost Greek playwright and poet of the old “Attic” style of comedy. He was born in 447 BC, in the deme of Cydathenaeum. He was known to be the son of Philippos, and he enjoyed the benefits of an aristocratic life and education. Little is known about the personal life of Aristophanes, but it was known that he served as a councilor early in the fourth century. He sired three sons, Philippos, Araos,
For over 30 years, two of the world's greatest military forces of their time battled over supremacy of Greece. The elite navy of Athens and the powerful armies of Sparta and her allies dueled in an epic battle to determine the direction in which Greece was heading. Through the stories of Thuycides, we have the world's first eye witness account of a war from a great historian who lived through it. From this account we can analyze the war which can be interpreted as the first battle against imperialism
Thucydides’ written history of the Mytilenian Debate and the Melian Dialogue reflects the reality of a period where morality is dependent on the exercise of power and those who possess it. The main theme running through the course of these two debates is that those with the power to act as they wish inherently have the power to dictate morality. The arguments that decide the fate of the Mytilene are made not strictly on the basis of morality but on how their power allows them to exercise the moral
Cleon Skousen’s The 5000 Year Leap described the twenty-eight fundamental principles which established the Constitution. It argued that application of these principles is absolutely necessary for successful function and advancement of the American government and people; it emphasized the importance of morality and virtue in a society of free people. An analysis of The 5000 Year Leap ultimately disproved Skousen’s claim that the fundamental principles which established the Constitution are responsible
Humor, as defined in the Oxford dictionary, is “the quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech.” Nowadays, humor has taken a dimension that is beyond entertainment; it became a tool to convey political messages –in the form of political satire- providing a product that is smoother to understand, and getting people to think more critically in the public political sphere. In a world where global problems are still prevailing, few might suggest that humor or
When a false claim becomes a truth in the eyes of society, there must be a change in the individual to decide what they believe based on not only the facts, but also on a new perspective. Stanley calls this cognitive empathy “the ability to imagine being someone in the situation of another, that underlines the capacity to give the perspectives of [their] fellow citizens equal weight” (102). In order to function in a society with a diverse set of ideologies and understandings of political life, one
sex very casual. Herbert disappeared shortly after the birth of Lou and he mother gave her to her mother, Shirley Lucille Jackson, to look after her and raise her. Early reports of Lou’s first marriage with Cleon Morgan Cox II, or Red, said that Lou was a horrible mother, to her two son Cleon and George. Shortly after Lou’s divorce with Red is around the same time that she met Howard’s dad, Rodney. Within the next year, 1955, Rodney prosed to Lou and they all moved in together under one house. With