Theme Of Double Duty In Plautus 'PlayCasina'

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.

The female characters portrayed in Aeschylus and Sophocles’ works have considerably different personalities and roles, yet those females all have the common weaknesses of being short-sighted and stubborn. They intensify the conflicts within their families while being inconsiderate of the impacts that they may bring to their nations and societies, which leads to consequences that they are incapable of taking responsibilities for. Clytemnestra and Antigone, two major characters in their respective author’s works, possess different motivations for their deeds in the stories. While Clytemnestra is driven by the desire of revenge to murder her husband Agamemnon, Antigone acts against Creon’s will and strives to properly bury her brother. Despite having different motivations and personalities, Clytemnestra and Antigone both commit

Over the course of time, the roles of men and women have changed dramatically. As women have increasingly gained more social recognition, they have also earned more significant roles in society. This change is clearly reflected in many works of literature, one of the most representative of which is Plautus's 191 B.C. drama Pseudolus, in which we meet the prostitute Phoenicium. Although the motivation behind nearly every action in the play, she is glimpsed only briefly, never speaks directly, and earns little respect from the male characters surrounding her, a situation that roughly parallels a woman's role in Roman society of that

Lysistrata is a play that was set in Athens between 410 and 412 BC. At the time the play was set, women were expected to have no rights in society, and were not allowed/expected to discuss their opinions in matters subjective to men only. Women also had to obey their husbands at all time, and accept any demands made by their husband. The Importance of Being Ernest (TIOBE) was set during the Victorian Era, and at this time, the way women were expected to behave was similar to that of Lysistrata. And men were expected to be committed, and had a strict set of rules to follow when trying to address a woman. However, in Lysistrata, the female characters (mainly Lysistrata and Myrrhine) are seen to break all the rules and norms expected of a

It was seen as irrational to the men that women withheld sex, that their own wives abandon their vice to be heard in a society where there was not a part in democracy for women. Moreover, this situation depicts how serious the women were about having a voice in their government, because a three-decade long war was excessive. Luckily, Lysistrata did not back down from the men and was determined to find a voice amongst the men, in that society, a woman did not belong in the government, because a woman is a housewife and a sex tool. (ADD MORE)

The bad actions of Clytemnestra are immediately seen in a negative way but she, at first, has avenged her daughter’s murder. What the chorus thinks of her is that she is an imposing figure, she is not noble and her information is unreliable. She is kind of underestimated and misjudged. She is presented as the bad woman but it is clear that the aim of Clytemnestra is taking her revenge. Aeschylus’ portrait of Clytemnestra can be seen as negative and positive; on one hand she seeks justice for her daughter, on the other she is completely incurable for the act of murder. She does not hide from her actions, instead she freely admits her murder and embraces the power and authority. It is through the inversion of traditional gender roles, adopting masculine speech, behaviors and activities, that she achieves her revenge for the sacrifice of Iphigenia. On one hand Clytemnestra’s revenge may have been seen as an upsetting act but on the other hand it let people (the audience) reflect on the traditional gender role of women in society. The power of Clytemnestra can be also seen through the chorus speech. It highlights her authority even if the chorus

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

In “The Trojan Women,” there are four enduring women who dominate the play and only two men who say anything at all. Moving us with their rants and dramatic reactions, these women engulf the audience in overwhelming grief and irresistible pride. Euripides emphasizes these four women to help us understand one of his main themes. Hecuba with her pride, Cassandra with her virginity and uncanny wisdom, Andromache with her misery and heartache, and Helen with her powerful, seductive reasoning all represent superior illustrations of feminism throughout the play.

Euripides and Sophocles wrote powerful tragedies that remain influential to this day. The vast majority of work recovered from this time is by male authorship. What remains about women of this time is written through the lens of male authors’ perspective and beliefs about the role of women in Greek culture. The works of these two playwrights frequently characterize women as unstable and dangerous. Agave, Antigone, and Medea are all undoubtedly the driving force behind the tragic action in these plays. It is their choices that lead to the pain and death of the people around them. Through an examination of the evidence from three separate works, Antigone, The Bacchae, and The Medea, the role of women in ancient Greek tragedy becomes clear. The actions of Agave, Antigone, and Medea repeatedly prove their characters instability and danger.

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

In Antigone and Lysistrata the tension between the polis and oikos is reflected in different ways. Antigone prioritizes oikos over polis, while Creon prioritizes polis over oikos. The men in Lysistrata favor fighting for the state over being at home while the women want their husbands with them instead of being at the war. We find ample evidence of different conflicts and similarities in both plays, but the male's prioritizing polis over oikos and the female's prioritizing oikos over polis causes the central tension in Antigone and Lysistrata.

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.

The poetic tone of Aristophanes' Lysistrata differs greatly from the poetic tone of the Greek tragedies we have read in class. However, after analyzing this Greek comedy, it seems to share some of the main characteristics of Euripides' Medea. Within these plays, we meet shrewd, powerful masculine women who use the art of manipulation to get what they want from others and to accomplish their goals. This theme of manipulation is employed through various means and techniques. The women of these plays also seem to contradict the stereotypical woman and have characteristics similar to the Homeric Greek warrior.

Volumnia, unlike the other women in the play such as Virgilia, does not recoil from war and the battlefield. Instead, Volumnia both identifies with the war hero and delights in both his triumphs and his pain. In describing the pride she would gain from her sons' deaths in battle, Volumnia separates herself from the other women in the play who want nothing to do with war, "I had rather eleven die nobly for their country than one voluptuously surfeit out of action." (1.3.20-21). Thus the pride that Coriolanus derives from his own wounds and wounded body is a product of his mother's pride in having a wounded son. Volumnia describes with pride Coriolanus's bloody brow, "Though you were born in Rome!' His bloody brow/ with his mailed hand then wiping" (1.3.31-32). The pride that Volumnia procures from her son's victories and injuries winds up reflecting itself on Coriolanus who describes these victories and wounds with equal pride. By the end of the first act, Volumnia's descriptions of mothering demonstrate the warlike spirit she has channeled into her raising of Coriolanus. The imagery she uses in Act 1 Scene 3 also separates her from the other women in the play. Volumnia speaks of "blood," "swords," and "death," while women like Virgilia speak of "sewing" and "butterflies."