The theme of sexual relations between a man and a woman has been an integral part of imaginative literature. Since sexual intercourse is a ticklish question, the attitude towards literary works with sexual content has been diverse and contradicting. Kahane and Cavender mentioned books with sexual content as a favorite target of censorship (342). They stated that such books as Lysistrata, Decameron, and Canterbury Tales had been banned in the USA and “kept away from the public eye” (Hall and Wrigley 86) for a long period of time due to their sexual content. However, it is necessary to analyze the works with evident sexual content in order to get at the function of sex in them. A very shallow opinion is to consider such classical works as Lysistrata as a play that focuses on lust and primitive desires. One more erroneous point of view treats Lysistrata’s sexual content as a means of creation of purely humorous effect. Lysistrata’s explicit sexual content performs numerous functions, describing a relationship between men and women, illustrating power, justifying the importance of love, feelings, and peaceful life without war.
It is necessary to tackle the background of the creation and the function of ancient Greek comedy on the whole. Younger states that the majority of Greek plays had certain sexual content (130). However, he describes Lysistrata as a play with “significant sexual content” because it abounds in numerous sexual jokes and all male characters wear phalloi (Younger 130). The zest of the play is that the dramatist manages to satisfy the lustful audience and preserves such important themes as politics, war, and peace, making them run smoothly on the seemingly shallow background of women who refuse to have sexual intercourse with men.
The sexual content of the play is connected with the Peloponnesian war. A military interaction was indecisive, as Sparta could not defeat Athens at sea and Athens could not defeat Sparta on land (Aristophanes and Sommerstein xvi). Aristophanes offers his own way to make peace. The character of war is described in a light manner, with the use of sexual context. Van Steen describes Lysistata as “Aristophanes’ least politicized works because it contains … more sexual humor” (77). Still, the harmony of the military theme and sexual theme makes the first one even more prominent.
The role of women and omnipotent female sexuality is the primary theme of the comedy. Female power is the synonym for female sexuality. Thus, the author wants to show that physical power is not the only power that can conquer all nations. The play’s aim is not only to amuse a reader and make him/her laugh at sexually thirsty warriors. Aristophanes wants to show that men are unable to resolve their conflicts and they need assistance: “in the women’s hands is the salvation of the whole Greece” (Aristophanes and Ruden 3). Here, sexual power is used in a broad sense. To a certain extent, it symbolizes political influence during any war. The negotiations on the matter of sexual truce are nothing less than real truce talks. Thus, with the help of sexual content and sexual truce talks the dramatist shows the importance of all types of power besides physical power. Since love is an integral part of sexual relations, Aristophanes depicts love and sex as the highest types of power.
The sexual content of the play is also significant from the point of view of women’s place in ancient Greek society during the war. Between the humorous lines of Lysistrata, an attentive and thoughtful reader can see the pain, loneliness, and misery that Greek women have to face. Lysistrata asks the women if they “miss the men, The fathers of [their] children, all this time” (Aristophanes and Ruden 8). She states that almost every family has a husband and a father abroad. It is too difficult for women to endure these tortures. Lampito says that she would “hike clear up the Mount Taygetus to see If peace is flashin’ somewhere way far off” (Aristophanes and Ruden 9). Calonice says that the women will do anything to stop the war, “even if it costs [their] lives”, but she quickly changes her point of view when hearing about continence, she says: “Let the war go on” (Aristophanes and Ruden 9). Thus, the declaration of a sexual boycott or a sex strike is the final measure. The women resort to these drastic measures because their cup is filled, they cannot wait passively any longer. Thus, the sexual boycott is an evident sign of utter tension in the souls of Greek women, it shows their hopelessness.
Sexual relations are natural and necessary for normal human society; they give people the opportunity to give birth to children and to achieve physical and emotional harmony. The decision to deprive men of physical contact is an ordeal for women as well, Calonice says that she would “walk through fire” instead of continence (Aristophanes and Ruden 10). The women’s decision shows seriousness and hopelessness of the situation, it is not their desire to torture and mock their men, it is a final cry for help and peace. The scene where womenswear not to have sex with their men (Aristophanes and Ruden 15) is full of humor but it cannot hide that the women are swearing unwillingly. A vow is a serious thing, they are not sure it is possible to live in chastity. Sexual content here helps to convey deep emotions.
The character of Lysistrata also deserves attention since she is the “prime agent of sexuality” (Van Steen 78). In her character, sexuality is a sign of power. The woman is depicted as an intelligent and brave woman, a woman of decision. She says at the beginning of the play that she has “gone through [one idea] exhaustively; [she has] worked it over, chewed it late at night” (Aristophanes and Ruden 3). She cannot stay calm when she sees that her land and people are separated by war, she has to take immediate action. Her quick wit is the driving force. Still, what can a common woman do to stop male confrontation? Lysistrata’s intelligence resorts to sexuality, it becomes her sword; it is her weapon, her tactics, and her military art combined. Loraux et al. call Lysistrata “positive and uncontested heroine” (148) and emphasize her wit and her brilliant theory of the power of sex. It means that sexuality is the key to mutual understanding between men and women that turns societal and gender roles of Athens upside down (Tetlow 141). Lysistrata is the peacemaker, the tactician, the holder of sexuality, the real treasure of Athens.
At the end of the play, husbands and wives are singing a hymn to peace and love (Tetlow 141). The final words before the curtain falls are: “Call Artemis and the twin… And Zeus … And all the spirits as witnesses Forever mindful of gentle Peace, Whom the goddess Cypris gave us” (Aristophanes and Ruden 72). Cypris is Aphrodite, the goddess of love and physical pleasure, she has granted Pease to humans. Due to the power of sex, the warriors who are eager to shed blood like water, become peaceful and realize that the power of love is more peasant than physical power. The finale of the play proves Lysistarta’s idea that love and force never go hand in hand (Aristphanes and Hope 15).
Drawing a conclusion, it is possible to state that sexuality as the main theme of Lysistrata performs a complex role, being the basis of the whole play. Sexual content is necessary to describe the social and political situation in Ancient Greece. Sexual content draws parallels describing different types of power. Sexuality is described as the main weapon of the heroine. Physical harmony, love, and feelings are able to save the world; this is what Aristophanes wants us to understand. Sexual content makes the main message of Lisystrata evident: “make love, not war” (Deats et al. 2).
Works Cited
Aristophanes and Winifred Ayres Hope. Lysistrata. New York: Samuel French, 1915. Web.
Aristophanes and Sarah Ruden. Lysistrata. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2003.
Aristophanes and Alan H. Sommerstein. Lysistrata and Other Plays. London: Penguin Classics, 2002.
Deats, Sara Munson, Lenker, Lagetta Tallent, and Merry G. Perry. War and Words: Horror and Heroism in the Literature of Warfare. USA: Lexington, 2004.
Hall, Edith, and Amanda Wrigley. Aristophanes in Performance, 421 BS-AD 2007: Peace, Birds and Frogs. Great Britain: MHRA.
Kahane, Howard and Nancy Cavender. Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2006.
Levine, Nicole, Zeitlin, Froma I., and Caroline Levine. The Children of Athena: Athenian Ideas about Citizenship and the division between the sexes. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.
Tetlow, Elizabeth Meier. Women, Crime, and Punishment in Ancient Law and Society: Ancient Greece. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005.
Van Steen, Gonda Aline Hector. Venom in Verse: Aristophanes in Modern Greece. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Younger, John Grimes. Sex in Ancient World from A to Z. New York: Routledge, 2005.