Oeconomicus and Lysistrata
Oeconomicus and LysistrataThe following discussion will concern the works, Oeconomicus and Lysistrata, by Xenophon and Aristophanes. These two works will contrast the perception of the power of men as related to women in Greek society from 412 to 354 BC.
In the work Oeconomicus the author uses a conversation between Socrates and his friend Ischomachus to discuss a wife�s role in the household. From this conversation a number of general statements telling the power of men and women in Greek society can be formed. The first idea displayed about Greek men and women is that men are the ruling power over women in the Greek society. Therefore men are always correct in there thinking. This is drawn from a statement made by Socrates wife, �How can I possibly help you? What power have I? Nay all depends on you�(page 69). In this society men were believed to have, God given, superior bodies and minds than that of the women�s bodies and minds. This made men more suited for outdoor task such as farming or fighting. This idea is taken from the statement, �For he (God) made mans body and mind more capable of enduring cold and heat, and journeys and campaigns; and therefore imposed on him the outdoor task�(page 69). ��knowing that he who deals with the outdoor tasks will have to be their defender against any wrong-doer, he meted out to him again a larger share of courage�(page 69). The wife is saying with this remark that Greek men are naturally braver that the women are.
In Greek society, according to this work, It is mans place, given to him by God, to be courageous, correct, attend the outside work, and be the master of woman.
The second work shows a very different and less powerful view of men and a more prominent view of females in Greek society. Lysistrata is a play that was written to show the authors distaste of the Peloponnesian War. Aristophanes seems to think that the men of Greece are fighting the war not like courageous and smart men but more like idiots, and women could fight the war more effectively. In the play...
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