Comparing Sappho And The Definition Of Greek Womanhood

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.

Throughout history, art has been a reflection of society, an indication to culture and a way to analyze historical context. Art is a gateway to understanding how people think, feel, and act in the context the art was created in. Athenian theater remains popular in modern times; it is not only timeless in its message but it can be useful in analyzing the way in which people lived during the time. Oedipus and Lysistrata, both Greek dramas, prove an example of this: they provide a reflection on the views of women at the time. The playwrights, Sophocles and Aristophanes, were both highly popularized at the time, deeply culturally ingrained into society and therefore highly reliable when it comes to cultural observation. The role of women in Ancient Athens was that of subservience and limitation. Respectable women held no job, instead bound housework and childcare. While higher class women often had

In essence, society’s notion of female inferiority is reflected through the misogynistic views and actions towards women, as shown in the Greek society The Odyssey. These views, such as expectations of chastity towards women, continue on today. By recognizing sexist actions in literature, similar current actions can be acknowledged and

For this informative report I will attempt to point out the roles women and how they are viewed in ancient Greece. I will then show how these views are present in Homer’s "The Odyssey." How are women, goddess or mortal, conveyed in "The Odyssey?"

Throughout Sophocles’ Antigone and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar the use of women within the tragedies displays and enforces the omniscient patriarchal society characterized in the plays. In Antigone the main character is a headstrong and courageous teenager who is always at the forefront of the conflict, whereas In Julius Caesar, women play no significant role throughout the tragedy, though ultimately all women in both works are subjected to and ignored by the more “dominant” sex.

The conventionally accepted roles of both males and females in ancient Grecian society were well defined and manifested. Women were considered the weaker of the sexes and, thus, were expected to remain in the home and perform their domestic duties, while the men were to be rulers and bread-winners. The woman’s voice was not heard on any issues affecting the society as her opinions were thought unworthy of consideration. She was required merely to reproduce, to execute her domestic duties well and to submit incontestably to the authority of the men. In essence the Greeks valued their women almost as little as a common slave was valued.

In ancient Greece, it was crucial that men proved their masculinity in order to uphold their worth and earn them a place in social establishments. An important aspect of human life is a man’s masculine identity and how it plays a role in society. However with this idea of masculinity came limitations that were not to be crossed. Ancient Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, both function to provide their own view on masculinity in society through the reverse sex similes. In the Iliad the crucial role of Achilles as a warrior and his association with maternal protection, as represented through it’s reverse sex maternal similes, ultimately proves problematic. This intrinsic part of man to fight on the battlefield to win timê and kleos is ultimately

In ancient Greece, women were not treated fairly. Sophocles describes this by creating characters: Creon, Antigone, and Ismene, who have different outlooks on women and their roles. Sophocles uses arguments against one another to explain why women were not treated respectfully. He created characters that are are different, yet clearly show why women’s roles are important. This information proves that characters have different views on women’s role- Creon’s misogyny causes him to act compliment, Haemon wants to agree with Creon, and Ismene wants peace for women because she likes to be rational.

As a child, I was fascinated by Greek mythology and history, and I made it my business in elementary school to read as much as possible about the subject, including the outstanding stories and the pantheon of gods presented. I thought of them as fantastic, supernatural tales with fitful gods and brave heroes, and I never stopped to consider that the mythologies could be representative of the cultural views and habits of the Greeks, specifically regarding gender roles. One such representaton is Virgil's epic Aeneid, which contains depictions of women in positions of power, and also characterizes these women as irrational, emotional to the point of hysteria, and consequently, unfit rulers.

Studies concerning the lives of women in classical Athens have sparked much controversy because, despite the apparent fascination with femininity manifested in art and drama, we have no evidence voicing the opinions of the actual women themselves. This presents a

The title of Sarah B. Pomeroy's book on women in antiquity is a summary of the main categories of females in the literary imagination and the societies of ancient Greece and Rome, over a period of fifteen hundred years. Beginning with goddesses, Pomery retells some Greek myths, outlining the social functions of female Olympians – the goddesses are archetypical images of human females, as envisioned by males. Desirable characteristics among a number of females rather than their concentration in one being are appropriate to a patriarchal society. Demosthenes states in the fourth century B.C. this ideal among mortal men, "We have mistresses for our enjoyment, concubines to serve our person and wives for the bearing of legitimate children (Pomery 1995)." Pomery’s goal in writing this book was to detail and outline the true significance of women in all other their roles in antiquity.

The role of women in Greek literature has demoralized them and showing them in a maligned light. The women are portrayed as frail, cruel, insensitive, or as seductresses. These characteristics have been integrated into today’s society and [have] built the standards and defined the moral outlook of women. However, in Greek mythology, powerful and strong women are not as well celebrated, such as Athena. Homer’s The Odyssey construes the positive and negative role of women through the epic poem. The women in the poem are depicted through the contrasting actions of Penelope and the maids, in addition with the opposite personalities between the goddess Athena and the nymph Calypso.

The role of women in ancient Greek life was insignificant compared to that of Greek men. A woman's job was to take care of the children and to cook and clean unless she had servants or slaves that would do it for her. Yet, in Greek mythology, women were often written as major characters. Well-known Greek plays contain many well-written, complex, female characters. Female individuals in Greek mythology were often seen as very powerful and fierce and were depicted by “her wits, her beauty, or her bad deeds.”

Readers of the three Greek plays, Oedipus the King, Antigone, and Medea, can easily gather an abundance of information about the different cultural details within the Greek society at that time. One of the major cultural values that can be picked up from these three plays, is the roles of women in this society. The roles of women can be observed through a comparison between them and their male counterparts.