Appalachian State University
Department of Theatre & Dance presents
Themes in the play
Sex
The withholding of sex is the main strategy used by the women of Lysistrata. The patriarchal ancient Greek society would have found the idea of a female sex strike ridiculous because of their belief that women were incapable of sexual restraint and because of the ease with which a man could find a sexual partner other than his wife. The belief in male dominance was so ingrained in Greek culture that it found expression in politics, medicine, and art, ranging from anti-female laws to the public display of phallic symbols. It was also a common Greek theatrical practice (one that has been incorporated into this production) to use exaggerated phalluses for comic effect. The following resource discusses the role of sex in ancient Greek society in more depth.
In her book, The Reign of the Phallus* (available in ebook form by clicking on the title), Eva Keuls addresses Ancient Greece as a society rich with penis obsession, and “phallic rule.” Through a multi-angular lens, Keuls refers to art, historical politics, law, culture, and mythological stories, to validate that not only were the Ancient Greeks grossly fascinated with male reproductive organs, they used this obsession against women, and justified their actions in every aspect of their culture. Keuls presents her point with step-by-step evidence. (Annotation courtesy of Callie Rawlins)
Balance
The events of Lysistrata are set into motion because the absence of men causes an imbalance in Athens. The play deals with issues of balance between male and female, young and old, and order and chaos. The incorporation of Asian martial arts and Peking Opera staging techniques also allow this production to explore the balance between Eastern and Western influences. To read more about issues of balance in Lysistrata, see the resources below.
In his article, "Aristophanes and the Pleasures of Anarchy,"* Douglas J. Stewart argues that Aristophanes' plays presented an anarchical philosophy. He argues that what makes Lysistrata anarchical is not the fact that it protests war but the fact that it presents sex as the central balancing force of civilization. The relevant pages are pp. 203-207.
In his essay "Means and Means: A Comparative Reading of Aristotle's Ethics and the Zhongyong" in the book Early China / Ancient Greece (pp. 187-203), Andrew Plaks compares Aristotle's "doctrine of the mean" (a philosophical concept related to balance) to concepts articulated in the Confucian treatise Zhongyong. Part of the essay is available through Google books in the link above and the full essay is available in the book in Belk library.
Women in Ancient Athens
Lysistrata deals with the issues surrounding the Peloponnesian War from the point of view of the Athenian women. As with the idea that women could refrain from sex, the idea that women could organize a successful campaign for peace would have been ridiculous to the audience for which Aristophanes was writing. Women in ancient Athens were typically confined to the home and took no part in public life except during religious ceremonies. A woman was always under the guardianship of a male relative (her father, husband, or son), and probably had little contact with women outside of her household. The resources below provide more information about the lives of ancient Greek women and their roles in society.
In her article “Designing Women: Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and the ‘Hetairization’ of the Greek Wife,”* Sarah Culpepper Stroup discusses Aristophanes’ use of imagery to equate the citizen wives in Lysistrata with the hetairai, or courtesans, of the time. She argues that, because proper Greek wives would never engage in a public display of sexuality, Aristophanes uses the image of the hetairai to help bring the private sexual negotiations of the wives into the public sphere.
In “The Women of Greece in Wartime,”* David Schaps cites instances of Greek women helping to defend their cities against attack (194-196). He also talks about what happened to women when their cities were defeated (202-206).
In his article, "The Female Intruder: Women in Fifth-Century Drama,"* Michael Shaw discusses the deconstruction of masculine and feminine qualities in Lysistrata on pp. 264-65. Note: Shaw repeatedly uses the work oikos, which means household or family.
In response to the Shaw article referenced immediately above, in “The ‘Female Intruder’ Reconsidered: Women in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and Ecclesiazusae,”* Helene P. Foley discusses the domestication of public space by the women in Lysistrata (7-8). She also notes that Lysistrata may have been seen as a personification of the goddess Athena and outlines some of their similarities (9-10).
In his 1955 article, "The Status of Women in Athens,"* Charles Seltman argues that women had a higher status in Athenian society than many researchers suggest.
“Salvation and Female Heroics in the Parados of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata"* by Christopher A. Faraone compares aspects of Greek salvation stories with aspects of the first entrance of the semi-chorus of old women. These similarities may have signified to Greek audiences that the women were acting as saviors of Athens.
One book that offers a wealth of information on Athenian women is Women in Ancient Greece by Sue Blundell (available at Belk Library). The chapters entitled “Women’s bodies” (98), “Women in Athenian law and society” (113), and “The lives of women in Classical Athens” (130) provide a detailed look at many aspects of the lives of Athenian women including marriage, sex, childbirth, their roles and responsibilities both within the domestic sphere and as citizens, and how they were viewed by men. The chapter “Women and the philosophers” (181) summarizes the differing ideas held by Plato and Aristotle about the role of women in an ideal society. Plato’s philosophy advocates equal participation of women in high political offices within an elite ruling class (though, at the same time, it devalues women’s traditional roles and emphasizes the natural superiority of men). Aristotle’s philosophy discusses the belief that women are fundamentally different from (and, in many ways, inferior to) men in their physiological, psychological, and social characteristics and the need for these separate contributions to build an ideal community.
The book Women in the Classical World: Image and Text (available at Belk Library), has chapters entitled, "Spartan women : women in a warrior society" and "Women in classical Athens : heroines and housewives."
In the book Hippocrates' Woman: Reading the Female Body in Ancient Greece* (available in ebook form by clicking on the title), Helen King sets out to address Hippocratic medicine, specifically gynaecology, in the cultural context in which it was performed, and how later writers and practitioners of medicine used this gynaecology as a springboard for their own ideas and actions. One important thing that she bases a lot of her argument on is how gender inequality affects gender inequality in medicine and vice versa. Through this book, one can gain insight into not only how a woman was seen from a cultural and medical standpoint in Ancient Greece, but also how some of these ideas have created and inspired a legacy that still exists with us today. (Annotation courtesy of Callie Rawlins)
Pierre Brule’s book Women of Ancient Greece (available at Belk Library) has a section called “Women and men: genders or sexes?” (96) containing information about the belief that a woman’s uterus was actually an animal that could become restless and move around her body causing a number of ailments including hysteria and suffocation. Women, therefore, were not only less capable of restraint than men, they actually needed sexual intercourse to remain healthy.
*Note that, except on a campus computer, you may have to enter your Banner ID to access some resources
