The immature males of the Iliad and Lysistrata Both Homer's Iliad and Aristophanes' Lysistrata explore the nature and character of men. In their respective depictions of male characters, both works reveal a fundamental flaw in that nature. This underlying flaw, immaturity, results in a variety of childhood behaviors that are not only inappropriate but potentially quite dangerous and destructive. Dependence on women, inability to exercise self-control and resorting to violence as an easy solution to any problem or perceived threat are typical traits of boys. Readers of the Iliad and Lysistrata are confronted with adult men who consistently exhibit exactly these behaviors and witness the negative consequences for society. Throughout the Iliad Achilles operates as a mischievous child with the body and strength of a man. He is stubborn and unreasonable, grumpy and resentful when he doesn't get his way, and, much like a schoolyard bully, he uses his unusual strength to intimidate anyone who might challenge him. When Achilles loses a battle of wills with Agamemnon in the first book and cannot take revenge, he retreats in frustration and self-pity; before long, he throws a tantrum. "Mother!" he cries: "You gave me life,... so at least Olympian Zeus, thundering on high, should give me honor - but now he gives me nothing" (I, 416-419). Achilles subsequently relies on his mother, Thetis, several times for her advice and divine assistance. Rather than attempt to be resourceful in the face of frustration, he simply acts helplessly and lets Thetis solve his problem for him. "But you, mother, if you have any power, protect your son!" implores the powerful and invincible Achilles (I, 467, 468). When his armor is... in the center of the card... Robert. "The Iliad". The Norton anthology of world masterpieces. Maynard Mack, general editor--6th ed.WW Norton and Company, NY 1992. 98-208.Gulick, Charles Burton. Modern traits in the life of ancient Greece. New York: Cooper Square. 1963.Henderson, Jeffrey, Aristophanes' Lysistrata, 1987Holst-Warhaft, G., Dangerous Voices: Women's Laments and Greek Literature, Routledge, 1992.Hooper, Finley. Greek Realities: Life and Thought in Ancient Greece. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. 1978. Keuls, E. C., The Reign of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens, New York, 1985 (Berkeley reprint, 1993). Miller, J. Hillis. "Narrative". Critical terms for literary study. Lentricchia, Frank and Thomas McLaughlin, edited by the University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 1990. 66-79.Tannahill, Reay. Sex in history. London: Scarborough House. 1992.