How we cite our quotes: Line
Quote #7
Lysistrata: "Before now, and for quite some time, we maintained our decorum and suffered in silence whatever you men did, because you wouldn't let us make a sound. But you weren't exactly all we could ask for. No, we knew only too well what you were up to, and many a time we'd hear in our homes about the bad decision you'd made on some great issue of state. Then, masking the pain in our hearts, we'd put on a smile and ask you, 'How did the Assembly go today? Any decision about a rider to the peace treaty?' And my husband would say, 'What's that to you? Shut up!' And I'd shut up."
First Old Woman: "I wouldn't have shut up!"
Magistrate: "If you hadn't shut up, you'd have got a beating!" (507-516)
These lines shed light on the power dynamic that existed in ancient Athenian homes. Not only do the men think they are in charge, but they maintain their dominance with threats of violence. Under these circumstances, the women put up with a lot more trouble than they should. And yet, as we can also see from these lines—especially the First Old Women's—women sometimes stood their ground against their husbands. Fight The Man, Old Woman.
Quote #8
Lysistrata: "Hey you! What's your hurry?"
First Wife: "I want to go home. I've got some Milesian woolens in the house, and the moths are chomping them all up."
Lysistrata: "Moths indeed! Get back inside."
First Wife: "By the Two Goddesses, I'll be right back; just let me spread them on the bed!"
Lysistrata: "Don't you spread anything, or go anywhere."
First Wife: "So I'm supposed to let my woolens be wasted?"
Lysistrata: "If that's what it takes."
Second Wife rushes from the Acropolis.
Second Wife: "Oh my god, my god, my flax! I forgot to shuck it when I left the house!"
Lysistrata: "Here's another one off to shuck her flax. March right back here."
Second Wife: "By our Lady of Light, I'll be back in a flash; just let me do a little shucking."
Lysistrata: "No! No shucking! If you start doing it, some other wife will want to do the same." (728-741)
Okay, so it's super-obvious there are some sexual double-entendres here. The women clearly don't really want to go do domestic chores—those are just code words for various forms of hanky-panky. That said, even if the women aren't telling the truth about what they want to do, their lies still tell us something about them. That's because their lies reveal the types of activities the women normally do around the home; this gives us a window into their day-to-day existence.
Quote #9
Cinesias: "Myrrhinikins, dearest, why are you doing this? Come down here!"
Myrrhine: "I'm positively not going down there!"
Cinesias: "You won't come down when I ask you, Myrrhine?"
Myrrhine: "You're asking me, but you don't really want me."
Cinesias: "Me not want you? Why, I'm in agony without you!"
Myrrhine: "Goodbye."
Cinesias: "No, wait! At least listen to the baby. Come on you, yell for mommy!"
Baby: "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
Cinesias: "Hey, what's wrong with you? Don't you feel sorry for the baby, unwashed and unsuckled for six days already?"
Myrrhine: "Him I feel sorry for; too bad his father doesn't care about him."
Cinesias: "Come down here, you screwy woman, and see to your child."
Myrrhine: "How momentous is motherhood! I have to go down there." (872-884)
Remember how the Magistrate was saying how women have it easy? Well, maybe if he had to spend a few days in his wife's shoes, he'd think differently. Just ask Cinesias, Myrrhine's husband. In these lines, we see how completely beleaguered the poor guy is after Myrrhine goes on a sex-strike and holes up with Lysistrata and the other women in the Acropolis. At the end of this exchange, it looks like Myrrhine has given in to her sense of domestic duty and is going down to take care of their baby. Do you think this reflects her true emotions? Or is this just part of her process of teasing Cinesias—as if she were saying, sure, I'll take care of the baby, but still no sex for you?