Comparing Euripides The Play Medea And Aristophanes

Of Barbarians and Citizens Euripides and Aristophanes have very different views of women in their works. Euripides tends to characterize them as misunderstood, strong people while Aristophanes shows women as comical and forgivable. This difference in perception of women by the audience may stem from the titles given to the women in the stories. Medea in Euripides’ play is a barbarian; Lysistrata in Aristophanes’ play is a citizen. Both plays with the protagonists’ namesakes show how the titles cause a difference in perception. Medea and Lysistrata both contain women of extreme power and independence. However, even though they both perform hero-like acts, they are viewed very differently in society; Medea as a barbarian and Lysistrata as a citizen. Such a difference creates a different light for the characters to be cast in and for their actions to be viewed differently. Medea in Euripides’ play displays her power and independence in her various actions and in her language. Her power can be seen primarily in her language. She uses mostly heroic language, one instance being her lack of apology for entering a room. â€Å"Women of Corinth, I have stepped outside / so you will not condemn me.† (Euripides lns 212-213) She also uses the masculine form of verbs. Once such instance is when she is addressing Jason, using the masculine form of â€Å"to marry†, more accurately translated as â€Å"to take for a wife†. This demeans Jason and brings him down to seem at the status of a second-class