Aristophanes' View There has been much discussion about Aristophanes' views and politics. Some argue that it is almost impossible to determine any serious views that Aristophanes may have tried to express through his works. While many others would argue that the points made in the Parabasis and through the various comic styles are the key to what Aristophanes thought and believed. With so little evidence from Aristophanes himself, it is difficult to make a case either way. Taking into account the social climate of the time and the main goals of the plays, I will examine the Thesmophoriazuses and whether Aristophanes was attempting to express serious topics through various styles of humor. To determine whether Aristophanes was making a serious argument, it helps to look at the background and context in which his works were written. In the Greek theater the audience was made up exclusively of men. the only women were the ones on stage, and even then they were only allowed to play silent parts like slaves. Throughout the work, women are a common theme, at the time Thesmophoriazusae was written (411 BC), attitudes towards them were very similar to those of many others. society. Women were inferior to men in almost all areas of society. They were the property of men. Whether it was their husbands or their fathers, they couldn't vote, they couldn't hold office, and they couldn't own any property. However in some parts of Athenian society they were considered almost equal to men, religion being a prime example of this. In religious matters women were sometimes essential, in burials and in rituals of civic sacrifice. In contrast to this, Pericles' citizenship law (451 BC) elevated their status to that of the most valuable possessions. The law stated that only the Athenian wife could produce a legitimate male heir. It became the only thing that could allow her to carry on her husband's family name. It became a constant fear for husbands that their wives would become adulteresses and bear a child, as the child would grow up and have a legitimate claim to the family's property. Women became much more protected by their husbands than they had ever been before. A wife with an Athenian mother and father became highly prized. This was obviously more of a problem for a rich husband than for a poor husband, as they had more to lose. However, due to the inability to afford help around the house, women of poor husbands had more freedom, as they had to go out and fetch the necessities of life.