Characters In Lysistrata

The Women of Lysistrata

This presentation aims to be a brief dossier on the characters of Calonice, Myrrhine and Lampito, outlining both their individual aspects in the play and their connected views

THE WOMEN

CALONICE

Calonice is a close friend of Lysistrata's, and her neighbour. She is the first woman to meet with Lysistrata when she calls everyone together

Calonice is portrayed as a "typical" woman. She clearly thinks of sex all the time, and makes blatantly sexual comments and innuendos at every opportunity. She also thinks that women aren't capable of making the impact Lysistrata thinks they can, stating "Greece hasn't much hope" if it is left to the women to sort it out. She explicitly states that all women do is "sit at home looking pretty", showing a typical male view of women. She is also shown to like alcohol, as it is her who suggests an alcoholic "sacrifice"

When the foreign women come to meet Lysistrata, Calonice begins an 'examination' of those women, commenting on their features and making blatant innuendos about "carefully plucked herbage" and "noble lines" on the women's bodies

Despite being set against a sex-strike, and initially unwilling to go through with the plan, she supports her friend and is enthusiastic to be the first to make the oath once Lampito has given her support for Lysistrata

MYRRHINE

Myrrhine is an Athenian woman, and is the only woman seen to actively reject her husband's sexual advances

Myrrhine aids Calonice is her examination of the women who come to Lysistrata to hear her plan, and makes some innuendos, but when it comes down to making the oath she almost buckles under the pressure, and gets embarrassed by talking about sex explicitly

Myrrhine is very up for getting peace, going so far as to say she would cut herself in two "like a flatfish" to get peace, but instantly rejects the idea to renounce sex, saying there is "nothing like it" and that she would rather "walk through fire". This shows the typical views of women, that they are sex obsessed. Even once Lampito agrees to the plan, she tries to question Lysistrata about the viability of the idea, but once she is persuaded she is the first to take the oath

While it seemed that Myrrhine was the weakest of the women and was the one who wanted sex the most, she is the only one whose resolve is visibly tested in the play. Her husband, Cinesias, visits her at the temple, and she is unable to resist the crying of her child as he tempts her down to him. This shows how manipulative and desperate the men have gotten, and how well the plan is working. Despite seemingly going along with Cinesias' wishes, she resists him and runs back into the temple. This serves as a demonstration to the women who had previously tried to escape to their husbands, and we see no more attempts from women to leave and break the oath after this point

LAMPITO

As the only speaking female that is not from Athens, Lampito gives the views of the other side of the war. This is key, as it shows that both sides feel the same about the situation they are in, as she does not see her husband often either

Lampito was the first of the women to agree to Lysistrata's planned sex-strike, and the fact that the rest of the women follow suit shows that she is respected, despite being a foreigner. She, as was stereotypically thought, would find it hard "tae sleep alone, withoot the Big Red One for company", but was willing to give up sex for peace

Lampito is descirbed as "the only real woman", but from her description she is butch, and would have been played by a man anyway

Lampito's accent is a very important part of the play. In this translation she is given a Scottish accent, which shows that she is not the same as the other women, but Scottish would imply she part of a greater whole, as Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. This is reflected by Lysistrata's comments on Greece as a whole, a concept that wasn't in place at the time, and, in terms of the war, it shows that both sides are the same, and in the same situation

Lampito gives an Athenian view of Spartan women; They were seen as being big and butch, and well exercised as seen by her "heel-to-bum jumps" and "rippling muscles". Lampito is also the only woman to complain about Calonice's hands-on examination of her figure

Lampito is clearly known in Sparta as a trouble maker, and leader among women, as the Spartan Herald who comes to Athens believes that it was she who started the sex-strike, and encouraged all the women of Sparta to agree to the same oath that she swore with Lysistrata. Lampito has clearly done her work well, as the men of Sparta are doing "verra badly"

Connections between the women

Despite being from different backgrounds, all three women are shown to be friends, and respect one another's points of view

All three women show some sort of stereotyping. Calonice is very sexual and likes alcohol, Myrrhine would do anything but give up sex, and Lampito is a typical foreigner

All three women make sexual remarks, and happily welcome the idea of an alcoholic sacrifice. They also are all eager for peace, if only so that their husbands and lovers will come home to them

All three women are against the idea of giving up sex, but all three decide to go through with the plan anyway, as they are desperate for peace

The fact that all the women are so similar shows that both Athenians and Spartans are the same, and have the same weaknesses. This is reflected later in the play by the delegates from Sparata and Athens being in thesame situation, and none of them knowing what they are really fighting about