Comparing Female Characters in Euripides' Medea and Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Antigone

Sophocles’ Theban tragedy, Oedipus the King, is not sexist. The prominent play portrays both men and women justly. The events presented by Sophocles exemplifies a level of admiration and respect for women that was not ordinary in ancient Greece. This is predominantly achieved through the dialogue of Jocasta and Oedipus, illustrating a corresponding relationship. In addition, the behavior of Jocasta, analysis of other literature, as well as the bad fortune of the male characters reaffirm that the Oedipus the King is not sexist.

Misogyny pervades the picture Aeschylus, Aristophanes, and Sophocles paint of Athenian society. In their literature, however, female characters catalyze plot by challenging this picture. Such characters--from Sophocles’ Antigone to Aristophanes’ Lysistrata--face grim consequences for acting independently. Clytemnestra and Cassandra from Aeschylus’s Agamemnon exemplify this archetype of autonomy and destruction. When they confront injustice, male characters perceive them as vindictive and hysterical. This paper will compare the standards of justice Aeschylus’s society imposes on men and women. I will argue that Clytemnestra and Cassandra are protectors of divine justice who reject subservience and thereby transcend the sexism of their society.

"When you say Man," said Oedipus, "you include women too. Everyone knows that." She said, "That's what you think." These lines, from the ending of Muriel Rukheyser's poem "On Oedipus the King, Myth," comment on the significance of women both in the play and in society. Though the character of Oedipus suggests that women are equal, the issue of the true role of women is brought up in the poem, and is raised in Sophocles' play.

The duty of women portrayed in Greek society is a major subject in Euripides Medea. In old Greek society, ladies are delicate and compliant as per men, and their social position is viewed as exceptionally mediocre. Feminism is the hypothesis of men being viewed different in contrast to women and the male predominance over ladies in the public eye. Women's lives are spoken to by the parts they either pick or have forced on them. This is obvious in the play Medea by Euripides through the characters of Medea and the medical attendant. During the day and age which Medea is set ladies have exceptionally restricted social power and no political power by any stretch of the imagination, despite the fact that a ladies' maternal and residential power was regarded in the protection of the home, "Our lives rely upon how his lordship feels." The constrained power these ladies were given is diverse to present day society yet parts are as yet forced on ladies to acclimate and be a devoted spouse. Ladies have dependably been dis engaged because of their sex in present day and antiquated circumstances alike. In Corinth they are required to run the family unit and fit in with social desires of an obedient spouse. Medea, being an eternal and relative from the divine beings has a specific power in insight and guileful keenness. Being an outsider, Medea's wayward nonsensical conduct was normal in this play as she was not conceived in Greece and was viewed as an exotic foreigner. She goes over to the group of onlookers as an intense female character regarding viciousness. Some of Medea's responses and decisions have all the earmarks of being made a huge deal about as creators for the most part influence characters to appear to be overwhelming; this makes a superior comprehension of the content and the issues which are produced through the characters. Medea's ill-conceived marriage and the double-crossing of Jason drive Medea to outrageous vengeance. Medea acts with her immortal self and confer coldhearted demonstrations of murder instead of legitimize the results of her actions. Medea see's this choice as her lone resort as she has been exiled and has no place to go, "stripped of her place." To make sensitivity for Medea, Euripides

Retribution is a monster of appetite, eternally bloodthirsty and never filled. Rage, resentment and envy does not change the heart of others. A massive success is the best revenge for a woman. It is the only way to get back at someone for a pain they have caused. In Euripides’ Medea and Ovid’s’ Metamorphoses, Medea and Juno exhibit vengeance to defend their dignity.

Centuries of traditions has enabled men and women to define gender roles in society. Although some critics declare gender roles do not exist today, others believe they do. In society, men and women are defined by gender roles throughout their activities and emotions. A doctor is typically portrayed by a male while women rear the children and cook for the men. However, although still in existence, today these roles are less obvious but tend to have similar meaning when compared to the past. In ancient Greece, women suffered great hardships. Currently, females work, vote, and run for office. In comparison to ancient Greece, these activities are a phenomenal leap from being under the direct supervision of a male husband.

How much control do women have over their emotions in the Aeneid? In his poem, Virgil frequently shows women in situations where irrational thoughts lead to harmful choices. Specifically, Virgil presents women as being easily influenced by their emotions. Consequently, these characters make decisions that harm both themselves and those around them. Throughout Aeneas’s journey, divinities such as Juno and Venus are seen taking advantage of the emotions of different women, influencing these characters to act in ways that ignore important priorities. Not only does Virgil present women as completely vulnerable to their emotions, but he also shows the problems that arise when these women engage in decisions where they put their own feelings

Sophocles, a famous and renowned Greek dramatist, is the playwright to both the play Oedipus the King and Antigone. Along with Antigone and Oedipus Sophocles had also wrote Electra and Fete. Sophocles wrote many Greek tragedies which are plays in which the main character in the play suffers a tragedy due to some flaw of theirs. An example would be how Oedipus (thinking he is defying a prophecy) murders his father and weds his mother. His flaw was him trying to defy fate if he had not just stayed where he was he would’ve been fine. His works are referred to and taught all over the world in many schools along with colleges; this should give light to how will written his plays are and how

The different portrayals of female characters Antigone and Lysistrata illustrate the fundamental nature of the proper Athenian woman. Sophocles' Antigone allows the reader to see that outrage over social injustices does not give women the excuse to rebel against authority, while Aristophanes' Lysistrata reveals that challenging authority in the polis becomes acceptable only when it's faced with destruction through war. Sophocles and Aristophanes use different means to illustrate the same idea; the ideal Athenian woman's ultimate loyalty lies with her polis. This Greek concept of the proper woman seems so vital when considering Athenian society because both a tragedy and comedy revolve around this concept. The differing roles accorded to

Charlotte Bronte once said, “Women are supposed to be very calm generally, but women feel just as men feel. They need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do. They suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow minded in their more privileged fellow creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags”. In the play Medea, Euripides diverged from the traditional role of Greek women through Medea’s characteristics and response to her plight. In delineating the role of women, Medea was unlike any other Greek character. Medea was portrayed

Antigone by Sophocles and Medea by Euripides are two plays whose main characters are their namesakes. Antigone is a play based on Antigone’s response to the death of her brothers and Medea is a play based on Medea’s response to her husband Jason leaving her to marry the daughter of a king. Both Antigone and Medea are women fighting against oppression by directly disobeying the law. However, they use different tactics in their battles, and they have different reasons for fighting. In the end, both make their point by bringing down the royal households. These women effectively fight oppression in their own ways.

In Thebes, a plague is infecting the people. They ask King Oedipus for help, since he saved them from the Sphynx. He sent Creon to Oracle of Delphi to get help from Apollo. Creon comes back and says Thebes must find and punish former King Liaus’ murderer. So, Oedipus starts seeking information of the murder. Oedipus welcomes Tiresias, but Tiresias regrets coming. Finally, Tiresias tells Oedipus that he “is the wound”- King Liaus’ murderer. Oedipus responds by accusing Tiresias and Creon of treason, and defends himself. Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife, stands up for Creon, so Oedipus agrees to banish him, even though he wanted to kill him instead. Oedipus complains to Jocasta about Creon. She tries to calm him by telling him that prophesies and oracles can be wrong.

Euripides’ Medea is different from most Greek plays due to the characterization of Medea, who offers a paradox between men and women, and more specifically, Medea and Greek women. The playwright himself opposes traditional Greek mythology through his progressive anti-war, pro women and anti religious ideas. The play is based in a male dominated society, allowing Jason and Creon to casually yet brutally throw Medea aside. Women, in Greek culture, lack authority amongst the men who believe they solely belong in the motherly role.

In Medea, Euripides challenges the taboo of writing and speaking up for the women of ancient Greece which resulted in the unpopularity of Euripides’ work. He wrote about a female character who is socially mistreated and that performs barbaric actions that are usually seen from victims of unfair abuse. Medea is the female character who can be perceived to have gone mad due to extreme suffering later resulting in a surprising element of Greek tragedy that turned heads during this time period. Euripides creates a scene of revenge that shocks the audience to reveal the oppression of women in the ancient Greek patriarchal society. Instead of defining himself as a protofeminist, Euripides expresses his ideas by using a shocking scene in his tragedy

Patriarchy and the subsequent oppression of women as inferior beings when compared to men, even periodically considered as property, has been ubiquitous through the rivers of time. The greatest playwrights of Greece, a trio of men that comprised of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides, are not excluded from reinforcing this as a societal norm. However, Euripides, known for the authorship of Medea, contradicted the criterion of what Greeks largely propagandize through their literature by creating a tragedy that centered around a powerful and influential woman. While it can be argued that Euripides was a misogynist, his sympathy towards Medea’s plight through his supporting characters speak volumes of Euripides’ values