Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Scapegoat



Scapegoat This is the word that we use to label someone or something that we relieve all of our sins on and exile. In Lysistrata the females do this to the counselor. They dress him up like a woman and then dress him up like the dead.
scape·goat (skāp'gōt') n.
One that is made to bear the blame of others.
Bible. A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat, symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent into the wilderness.

Aristophanes was making fun of the phalocentricness (is that a word) of the Greek community. The men thought of themselves so highly and they thought that they were so high and mighty that he couldn't help but make fun of it. That is what the women do when they dress up and humilate the counselor. It's fun stuff! And no one should feel bad for the scape goat. It's not right?!!


Dead Day

This is when women have power for a period of time. It may be a day or a few hours or a few weeks. When there is a dead day no punishment is incurred no matter what these women do. They can humiliate men and act inappropriate and nothing will happen to them.


Bacchants

These were the women who danced for Dionysus, the god of wine. These women were letting go of all repression. It was a celebration that took place once a year. All the women got drunk and danced on the mountain.


Dionysus and Elvis

These men have the common interest that they aren't interested in smart people. They are interested in people who want to do what is natural. Dionysus is pictured as a pretty man. He is meant to look ambiguous... is he a man or woman? Elvis was a pretty man too. Dionysus' purpose is to drive people out of their minds literally. He will make you think too much if you refuse to go "party" with him. Dionysus means the "liberator". He makes chaos equal to enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is an out of body experience.

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