Oeconomicus and Lysistrata

A detailed Summary of Oeconomicus and Lysistrata

The 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, a

One of the main male characters of the play says, "... I'm the Commissioner for Public Safety. I've got men to pay. I need the money and look what happens. The women have shut me out of the public treasury"(page 70). This line in the play shows not the power of the Greek man, but rather the strength of the Greek woman. The Commissioner can't even get to his treasury to pay his men, because the women have taken it over. In this work, as apposed to the first work talked about, the women are the ruling power over the men. In the play Lysistrata, a prominent female character, says, "Not to let us advise against your idiocy was bad enough, but then again we'd actually hear you out in public saying things like, 'Who can we draft? There's not a man left in the country'"(page 72). She goes on to say, "The women must see to the fighting"(page 72). Lysistrata is saying that the men are not mentally fit to do the fighting, they are getting every man in Greece killed. This is mainly due to there fighting more that one war at once. Lysistrata is saying women a smarter than men and just as strong, so the men n

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Approximate Word count = 749
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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