The Assemblywomen

‘The Assemblywomen’ was written as a comical comment on the social issues of the time. Aristophanes wrote it during the years of decay following the height of the Greek Golden Age and set in a street in Athens, somewhere between the Pnyx. The play is an overall attempt by the author to entertain the audience as well as to worship Dionysus (as shown by the ending party scene – the exodos). To historians, ‘The Assemblywomen’, is a great source of information on the lives of women in Athens. Information such as appearance, everyday tasks and occupations, religious festivals and the male stereotypical views on the women in Athens will be discussed in this essay.
The play concerns a group of women, the leader of which is Praxagora. She has decided that the women must convince the men to give them control of Athens, because they could rule it better than they have been. The women, in the guise of men, sneak into the assembly and vote the measure, convincing some of the men to vot...