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Samantha Williamson

Dr. Cook

HUM1020

6 August 2021

Final Paper

The Sistine Ceiling and the play “Lysistrata” are comparably two works of art that

express dissimilar portrayals of women. The play “Lysistrata” incorporates a satirical and crude

sense of humor which renders women as mischievous and vain, yet brilliant and heroic.

However, throughout the Sistine Ceiling, Michelangelo delineated women as masculine figures

drawn in the image of God. This contrast is the most fascinating because it acknowledges the

historical context of societal standards and gender norms. Thus, also creating a unique view for

the audience to understand how women in the same time period were distinguished pretty

differently.

To begin, the “Lysistrata” is a play that heavily embodies two interpretations: the one

where women are manipulative creatures, vain in spirit, and the one where women are the

heroes, brave and tremendous. Aristophane brings about the first representation by emphasizing

the lack of political power the women of Athens had. His incorporation of crude jokes, cynical

dialogue, and mocking behaviorisms displayed the double standard women were facing during

that time. Although Aristophane was spreading light on the matter, it could be argued that he did

not endorse fair treatment for women. Instead, it seemed as if he congested his play with insults

and tear downs towards females, insinuating a laughing stock of women who believed they could

obtain authority. Lysistrata herself is caught degrading the women by saying, “Those are the very
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things which I assume will save us — short dresses, perfumes, slippers, make up, and clothing

men can see through.”, and “What a debased race we women are! It's no wonder men write

tragedies about us. We're good for nothing but screwing Poseidon in the bathtub.” Her vulgar

words strengthen the viewpoint that women were seen as worth nothing but pleasure and allowed

the audience to believe she approved of that. Lysistrata continues to tell the ladies, “Now, ladies,

if we want to force the men to have a peace, well then, we must give up . . .”, referring to sex.

This quote informs the audience of the manipulative power Aristophanes equipped his female

characters with. This sets the stage for the portrayal of women as deceiving animals that exploit

sex as a manner of swindling what they want. The second angle Aristophane plays on is based on

the ideals that the women of Athens were progressively looking for solutions to end the war and

were innovative to withhold sex from their husbands. This ends well for wives as they become

the heroins of the play, ensuring that women could be just as powerful as their husbands. The

Spartan Ambassador says, “We're willing, but the part that's sticking out we want that handed

back.” , insinuating such a beautiful connection between the manipulative power of sex and the

intuitiveness of the women of Athens. The play concludes with peace and a hymn to the gods of

ancient Greece, applauding the wives of their work in building a solution that put a halt to a

brutal war.

In contrast, the Sistine Ceiling is a painting that emphasized women as men. To explain

further, not many women were illustrated in the painting to begin with and the ones who were,

had broad arms, muscular legs, and thick necks. All these characteristics being ones that were

generally seen as masculine or present on the male body. The thought process behind this

masculinity is because the representation of the human body was in the image of God and God

was presented as man. Therefore, the Sistine Ceiling being a biblical storyline, Michelangelo
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embellished all the portraits as masculine in the name of God. For example, this is visible in the

Sibyls slide (right picture) that the main portrait is a female but her square neck and incredibly

strong arms would indicate otherwise. The defining feminist characteristic is her hair and the

slight indentation of breasts. In the next slide, the audience is able to visualize that the woman

has plumb limps and wide eyes which are commonly seen as a feminine physique. However, she

still has the masculine appearance, such as large hands and broad shoulders, that Michelangelo

painted all his characters with.

The way that Aristophanes characterized women is important because it alludes to the

history behind the story. During that time, women were not typically in roles that ascertained

they would be asserted with any form of power. The women were married to their husbands to

bear children and to fill the void of loneliness that was present in their lives. This is often why

the first representation Aristophanes offers is most likely the most accurate, given the time

period. However, as history began to become more modern and radical, he could have been

before his time in opening the proposal that women were created equal to men and smart enough

to obtain political power.

Michelangelo's account of women is essential because it gave the audience insight to the

idea that all of society was created in the image of God. In this day and age, the gender features

have changed quite a bit and it is easier to identify a male from a female. This was not the case

back then, and the belief system was that since God was a man, all humans should look manly

because that is how God was illustrated. This was taken literally as that is not exactly how the

Bible could be interpreted now. Being created in the image of God meant being holy and able to

receive justice. The reason behind this is to denote the allegorical connection between God and

the human race. Ultimately this provided a pathway for society to accept God and recognize the
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special qualities he has manifested within them. Nonetheless, Michelangelo also knew that in the

time period androgyny was not only appealing, but also godly. Androgyny is the representation

and blend of both female and male intricacies which was seen as holy because according to the

Bible, in heaven individuals will not marry but rather be like angels. Generally speaking, angels

are not depicted as any certain gender which relates back to the reason why Michelangelo would

have painted his females masculine with no concern for the feminine gender. Overall, the history

of the Sistine Ceilings interpretation of women is highly affiliated with biblical teachings and

seeing that it was in a church, it was a relevant concept.

In final consideration, both the “Lysistrata” play and the Sistine Ceiling have contrasting

yet fascinating depictions of women. The “Lysistrata” culminates the darkness and sinful ways

of societal standards along with forging a positive attitude towards the women’s patriotic act. On

the contrary, the Sistine Ceiling offered a more pleasant interpretation of women, being seen as

holy and in the image of God, which is the evidence for their masculine silhouettes. The play that

Aristophanes developed opened the communication about the presentation towards women,

which engaged audiences to think about the former feminine context. However, the Sistine

Ceiling supplied the viewers with a biblical storyline, primarily known during the time, to

encourage thoughts as to why women were illustrated so manly. This being said, the Sistine

Ceiling brought about ideas related to the relationships between God and the human beings

depicted throughout the painting. Overall, both of these art pieces are important in sprouting a

mindset that further develops the creativity in the individuals who view and understand the

works. Michelangelo and Aristophane used their standing to bring to life two exemplary works

of art that intrigue and allow society to resonate with the meanings behind the words and brush

strokes.