Different portrayals of women in "Antigone" and "Lysistrata"

The different portrayals of female characters Antigone and Lysistrata illustrate the fundamental nature of the proper Athenian woman. Sophocles' Antigone allows the reader to see that outrage over social injustices does not give women the excuse to rebel against authority, while Aristophanes' Lysistrata reveals that challenging authority in the polis becomes acceptable only when it's faced with destruction through war. Sophocles and Aristophanes use different means to illustrate the same idea; the ideal Athenian woman's …

…a peace, thereby protecting her polis from destruction. Sophocles and Aristophanes made use of their female characters to illustrate to the Athenian public just what the essence of the proper woman is. Through their theatric examples of the ideal woman Sophocles and Aristophanes manage to help their civilizations through times of chaos and provide contemporary readers a window into women's roles in the ancient Athenian world. Works Cited: Aristophanes. Lysistrata. New York: Dover Publications, Oct. 20, 1994.