Roles Of Women In Oedipus The King, Antigone, And Medea

Women in Ancient Greece were shown to be treated unfairly and less superior to men in homes, as wives, and in society as shown in Sophocles's play Antigone. They were looked down upon and thought of as less intelligent, as if they weren't really needed except for reproducing, doing housework, and taking care of children. Also, women were considered dangerous due to their emotions as they could hurt themselves or someone else. Antigone presents a variety of these ideas of how Women's roles played out in Ancient Greece.

The book is intended for an academic audience that is already familiar with Greek history and mythology. The book is also valuable to those who are interested in women’s studies, and the role of women in ancient cultures. I found the author’s descriptions of women in ancient Greece to be interesting because she integrates portrayals of women in art, mythology and literature from two eras that depict how women lived and were perceived in early Greek civilization. Understanding how women were portrayed in ancient society helps one to understand the progression of women’s roles in society through

"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

Despite being written in a period of time in which women were considered “Third class” citizens, and being considered expendable, the portrayal of women in ancient Greek literature is consistently rebutting societal norms through the roles of intelligent mortal women such Penelope from the Odyssey, or Antigone from the aptly named “Antigone”. These women, whose intelligence and blatant bull-headed stubbornness is displayed rather early in these stories, both rebuke the societal norms explained by the stories, and consistently proves that women are not just ancillary characters literature, and are capable of besting their male cohorts in challenges of wit and loyalty.

Ancient Greek text describes women as the ‘secondary’ characters. Secondary characters are not the focus of the story, but remain in the background. Women supplement the men of their respective stories. They are written as people without personalities. They lack substantive information to develop their characters. They are treated like property, used but not heard. Ancient Greek culture depicts women as loyal wives, mother figures, and objects of desire; however, Greek poets, Homer and Sappho, defy that stereotype by depicting woman as subversion of their typical gender roles.

In this paper I will be discussing how both males and females were portrayed in the book The Odyssey. While reading the story I was not surprised to see that men were treated as being superior to women. First I will discuss the roles of Odysseus and Telemachus as strong male roles throughout the story. Secondly I will discuss the role of Penelope and the goddess Athena. I will provide examples showing how males were seen as superior to women. I will do my best to paint a picture of how a model Greek male and female would of behaved during this time. If there were any instances where either a male or female violated the rules of behavior according to those times, I will discuss the situation that caused them to act differently. Lastly I will

In Oedipus the King by Sophocles the mother Jocasta spent years married to her biological son, and bore his children. The play was written as a Greek tragedy in which the characters have a fatal flaw, and this applies to Jocasta. Right after King Laius and Queen Jocasta have their son Oedipus they receive startling news from the Oracle in which it is predicted that one day their son will rise up to kill his father, then marry and sleep with his mother. In order to avoid this King Laius decided to kill their son, and Jocasta willingly agrees. After years pass by, King Laius gets killed by a passerby, Jocasta is to marry the riddle solver, and life continues as normal. Almost all at once Jocasta’s life shatters, she finds out that her husband was killed by her son, she married her

The major principles and beliefs of Ancient Greece are grasped through their stories, those written by intellectual, philosophical men such as Ovid, Euripides, Homer, Sophocles, and many others. Their captivating tales consisted of tragedy, chaos, deaths, love affairs, and heroic deeds; however, they all had one minor flaw: the degrading attributes they gave to women, like that of infidelity and weakness. Their goals were to define men as heroic, value their strength and hard work, emphasize their status, and to imply a patriarchal society. However, blinded by these over-powering attributes, we easily disregard that women, too, in fact, showed signs of heroism and bravery. Their roles were essential, despite their depictions. Just like today, women were the reason for protection, affection, guiding, rationale, and of course, life.

Historical records show the rights that women had in ancient Greece. They clearly state that women did not have the legal right to vote or own property, two important privileges of citizenship. On the other hand, poetry and prose from the time period are the primary resources today’s scholars study to determine the exact role that women held in society at the time. Two insightful works for this purpose are Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey. Females in The Iliad and The Odyssey display the three main roles that women play in the lives of men: goddess, caretaker, and

Gender inequality plays a large role in Antigone affected women on this time period. Although Greece was at one time a male controlled society, Antigone represents

He ended up in Thebes because he went to the oracle at Delphi just like his

This review attempts to analyze the Greek goddess Athena as well as Greek women whose function in society contrasts with the roles of a goddess. This topic is of relevance to feminist’s who are smashing down barriers on stereotypes of women, this study attempts to shed some light to recognize the roles of Athena and Greek women. Past research has analyzed the differences between Greek women and Athena on how they contrast with responsibilities. What is often ignored is the complexity of both individuals whose world is distinctive in a manner of the environment and upbringing both parties had experienced. Of particular focus in this essay are the issues of which, Greek women endure throughout their daily lives in contrast with the Greek goddess Athena, such as the different social classes between goddesses and mortals, like Athena, Greek women were not looked upon as godly, but as slaves or property to men. To extend my knowledge of this focus I make references to books by Barry B. Powell on Classical Myth (2015), Homers The Essential Odyssey (2007), and Stephen M. Trzaskoma’s Anthology of Classical Myth (2004) which encompass a wide range of of primary and secondary sources.

Amongst Euripides' most famous plays, Medea went against the audience's expectations at his time. Indeed, the main character of the play is Medea, a strong independent female who neglected moral and . She was therefore in all ways different to how women were perceived in Ancient Greece. This essay will explore how Euripides' controversial characters demonstrate that his views were ahead of his time.

Gender roles have persisted throughout all human history. The time of the ancient Greeks was no exception. As shown in the play Antigone, males and females had very different places in society. Men were in charge, and women were submissive to them. Women took care of the men and supplied emotional support and heirs. Questioning or defying their male superiors received disdain because of their place in society. Women were disposable baby-makers because, as Creon says, “there are other fields just as fertile” (585).  The main character, Antigone, both lives up to and defies the role of her gender.