What is the story of Lysistrata?
It is the comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War, as Lysistrata convinces the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands as a means of forcing the men to negotiate a peace.
What does weaving symbolize in Lysistrata’s conversation with the magistrate?
Using “sewing” or “spinning” or “weaving” as a metaphor for “togetherness” has a long and illustrious history. Shucks, even today we talk about “a tightly knit family” or “patching up a relationship” or “a well-woven story.” When we want to talk about cohesiveness, we reach for the needle and thread.
Is Lysistrata a feminist?
Lysistrata was a female turned masculine to keep the other women, controlled by their insatiable vices, in order. While some of her passages may seem uniquely feminist, that does not constitute her as a feminist figure. In fact, the play is rampantly anti-feminist when its context is understood.
What is the climax of Lysistrata?
The climax occurs when the men sue for peace, the goddess of peace appears, and Lysistrata makes a speech.
What is the wool metaphor in Lysistrata?
Lysistrata tells her captive audience member how Greece should be taken care of and repaired. The extended wool metaphor she employs describes Athens as a whole city, as a body of citizens. Lysistrata believes that the whole city must be cleaned and the burs, or bad men, and corruption should be removed.
What does weaving symbolize in Lysistrata?
By Aristophanes. Using “sewing” or “spinning” or “weaving” as a metaphor for “togetherness” has a long and illustrious history.
What does Lysistrata say about war?
Lysistrata tells the Commissioner that war is a concern of women because women have sacrificed greatly for it—women have given their husbands and their sons to the effort. Lysistrata adds that it is now difficult for a woman to find a husband. The women mockingly dress the Commissioner as a woman.
What did Lysistrata do with the older women of Athens?
Lysistrata has also made plans with the older women of Athens (the Chorus of Old Women) to seize the Akropolis later that day. The women from the various regions finally assemble and Lysistrata convinces them to swear an oath that they will withhold sex from their husbands until both sides sign a treaty of peace.
What does Lysistrata say about the need for reconciliation?
While the men are fully distracted by Peace, Lysistrata lectures them on the need for reconciliation between the states of Greece. Lysistrata reasons that because both Athens and Sparta are of a common heritage and because they have previously helped one another and owe a debt to one another, the two sides should not be fighting.
What are the two choruses in Lysistrata?
In Lysistrata there are two choruses—the Chorus of Old Men and the Chorus of Old Women. A Koryphaios leads both choruses. The Chorus of Men is first to appear on stage carrying wood and fire to the gates of the Akropolis.