Aristophanes and Homoeroticism: Admiration or Scorn? :: Aristophanes Homoeroticism Papers

In reading the comedies of Aristophanes, juvenile readers are able to catch a rich glimpse of the gender norms and expectations of his time. Visions of power-hungry, crafty women and bumbling, foolish men click his plays and reveal ancient Greek views and stereotypes regarding potent and female roles. One of the more complicated concepts to grasp, however, is Aristophanes true sentiment regarding homosexual love and practice. The aim of this paper is to par Aristophanes presentation of homoeroticism in The Women at the Thesmophoria to that of his speech in Platos Symposium and attempt to clarify the playwrights stance on the matter. In these devil works, Aristophanes offers a mix of mocking and approval sentiments oh homosexual men and the practice of homosexuality itself. As he is a comedian, Aristophanes immerses his characters in satire in company to gain laughs from the audience by feel carefully at the texts, we dope see he does not actually see homoeroticism as an inst allation to be derided and ridiculed. To begin, an examination of The Women at the Thesmophoria can provide valuable insights into the prevailing cultures notion of homosexual relations. Just before Euripides and the Kinsman reached Agathons house, they discussed the poet soon Euripides T here is an Agathon Kinsman You mean the suntanned one, arduous guy? Euripides No, a different one. Youve never seen him? Kinsman The one with the full beard? Euripides Youve never seen him? Kinsman By Zeus, never, as farthest as I can recall. Euripides Well, you must have fucked him, though you might not know it (38-45).This exchange, which foreshadowed the entrance of Agathon, provides us with a clear idea of how a man ought to look tan, strong, and bearded. The joke here is that Agathon was by no means a masculine man, as proven by Euripides last comment, which solidifies Agathons gentleness by stating he prefers a resistless sex ual position. While the statement may apparently show disdain for homosexual acts in general, it actually emphasizes the insufficiency of manliness only in pickings the passive homosexual position.Aristophanes and Homoeroticism Admiration or Scorn? Aristophanes Homoeroticism PapersIn reading the comedies of Aristophanes, modern readers are able to catch a rich glimpse of the gender norms and expectations of his time. Visions of power-hungry, crafty women and bumbling, foolish men pervade his plays and reveal ancient Greek views and stereotypes regarding male and female roles. One of the more complicated concepts to grasp, however, is Aristophanes true sentiment regarding homosexual love and practice. The aim of this paper is to compare Aristophanes presentation of homoeroticism in The Women at the Thesmophoria to that of his speech in Platos Symposium and attempt to clarify the playwrights stance on the matter. In these two works, Aristophanes offers a mix of mocking and approvi ng sentiments oh homosexual men and the practice of homosexuality itself. As he is a comedian, Aristophanes immerses his characters in satire in order to gain laughs from the audience by looking carefully at the texts, we can see he does not actually see homoeroticism as an institution to be derided and ridiculed. To begin, an examination of The Women at the Thesmophoria can provide valuable insights into the prevailing cultures notion of homosexual relations. Just before Euripides and the Kinsman reached Agathons house, they discussed the poet briefly Euripides There is an Agathon Kinsman You mean the suntanned one, strong guy? Euripides No, a different one. Youve never seen him? Kinsman The one with the full beard? Euripides Youve never seen him? Kinsman By Zeus, never, as far as I can recall. Euripides Well, you must have fucked him, though you might not know it (38-45).This exchange, which foreshadowed the entrance of Agathon, provides us with a clear idea of how a man ought to look tan, strong, and bearded. The joke here is that Agathon was by no means a masculine man, as proven by Euripides last comment, which solidifies Agathons effeminacy by stating he prefers a passive sexual position. While the statement may apparently show disdain for homosexual acts in general, it actually emphasizes the lack of manliness only in taking the passive homosexual position.