The roles and social status of women in ancient times are being described by many well-known playwrights and poets. Yet, different works shows different opinions towards “women power”. In this essay, I am going to compare Homer’s Iliad and The Code of Hammurabi along with Sophocles’ Antigone.
To begin with, in the Iliad, a woman 's role depends on her beauty and position in the society, making them look more like a “prop”. For instance, Briseis used to be a respected princess and the wife of Mynes. However, her great beauty made herself became a reward between Achilles and other warriors in the Trojan War—she is no longer a dignified queen but a belonging whose role being manipulated by men. Another example is Helen. She was taken away from
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What is worth mentioning in Sophocles’ play is that he not only showed the weak side of women but also the strong ones. For example, Ismene is the traditional role of women in ancient Greek—coward, fear of men power and feeble. For Ismene, "we must remember we were born women, not meant to strive with men" (Antigone). She even chose to die with Antigone while hearing her sentence, for she was afraid that she would be alone, she could not be able to fight against Creon, this men-dominant society. In contrast, her sister Antigone presents the “women power”. She dares to challenge the arrogant tyrant Creon by expressing her points bravely and furiously, trying to warn him that women do not always have the obligation to do what men command; she dares to protest the balance between duty and law, “…for it was not Zeus made such a law; such is not the Justice of the gods.” (Antigone), making her decisions in an equitable way and promise to find the real justice so as to give respect to her brother, Polyneices’ burial. Even though in the end Creon tries to give Antigone a lesson by putting her to prison, Antigone did not escape, for she understood that her action and pride would bring about these consequences, and she did not regret for doing this. In addition, we can also observe women power by seeing Creon’s words and behaviors. Creon’s hubris as a men affects how he thinks about women, he considered women as secondary creature. Yet, not until his arrogant led to great mistakes did he realized that men and women had the same position—they should be
Men have a lot of pride in Antigone, they believe that women are secondary in society. With men talking down to women; for example, Creon says to Antigone “Pride? In a slave?... Who is the man here…”
Sophocles play “Antigone” introduces a lot of debatable topics such as Human law vs Divine laws, pride, but most importantly the topic of woman’s movement for empowerment. Long before 442 B.C.E, women were belittled because of their gender however, after the birth of “Antigone” it demonstrated a strong outreach towards women and their roles in society ”Antigone, a woman who defines King Creon’s edict without any fear, doubts, or regrets. This courageous woman, the fruit of incest, has fascinated philosophers in the nineteenth century, inspired playwrights in the twentieth century, and intrigued feminist thinkers and activists for decades” (Söderbäck). Birth from a respected bloodline, Antigone doesn’t feel respected at all within her town, especially from her uncle Creon who became entitled as the King after Antigone’s blood
While Hesiod and Ovid often emphasize women's passive roles, the Odyssey and Medea highlight women who actively shape their destinies, either through intelligence, defiance, or manipulation. Expression of Power: The power dynamics between men and women in these texts are multifaceted. In the Theogony, women's power is mostly derived from their relationships with male deities. In contrast, the Odyssey and Medea showcase women who wield power independently, often challenging or circumnavigating male authority.
Creon throughout the whole play shows a discrimination toward women, in the end he ends up undergoing a terrible downfall. In the play, Antigone is the protagonist who most of the sexism is appointed toward. Creon shows a lot of feminism toward Antigone not only because of her criminal action but also that the fact that she is a female. Creon goes on to send Antigone to a cell deep in the middle of the woods because she went against his law. The fact that she was a female and went against a man’s power makes it seem worse than it actually has to be, all she did was pay her respect to her brother because no one would.
In “Gender and the Homeric Epic”, an article by Nancy Felson and Laura M. Slatkin, the gender roles of various characters in The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer, are examined in the constraining and progressive lens Homer takes. The characters of the epic most explicitly analyzed are Odysseus and his wife, Penelope; in this article the authors show the traditional gender roles both adhere to, but also exhibit the ways in which the characters are able to reach across the restraining gender roles, without making this story entirely about gender. Through this article one can see that the constraining nature of gender roles seen in society, is not inherent in the society presented in The Odyssey, which describes an intrinsic fluidity which is seen in a plethora of characters. “Gender and the Homeric Epic” discusses the gender roles conceived throughout Homer’s story through the characters Homer and Penelope. Homer represents the masculine war hero, returning home with what should be glory and happiness.
Antigone is seen as a feminist for her actions against Creon but her actions are a bit extreme. While referring to Antigone, Creon thinks her hate for the anarchy is ruining the good name of the City he is trying to restore. “What evils are not wrought by Anarchy! She ruins States, and overthrows the home, She dissipates and routs the embattled host; While discipline preserves the ordered ranks.” Antigones suicide is her regaining control, they go back and forth between each other even to her death.
Just as in King’s time where African-Americans struggle with gaining any say or power just because of the color of their skin, Antigone and other women in their own time battle social customs that assume women are the weaker gender compared to men. These men hold all the political offices, and therefore create the laws. Despite being a member of a royal family, Antigone has no real power over
Meanwhile, Penelope is in Ithaka busy dealing with the suitors who vie for her hand in marriage, tending to her loom, and directing her serving maids at work. In Homer’s epic poem, women, and goddesses are treated differently than men and gods when it comes to their freedom, expectations, and image. One common occurrence in this epic poem is unequal freedom for women,
In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time. Penelope’s character displays how some women are able to exceed society’s standards and show strength and cleverness when it is necessary.
Women are the foundation of life and help make it much easier than it has to be. The epic poem “the odyssey” by homer is about Odysseus travels during his time lost at sea after the trojan war and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus problems with the suitors trying to seduce Penelope to take Odysseus's land power. The epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer explores the role of women and reveals that the role of women is just as important as a man's role in any story. Also, that without their help life would be much harder than it already is. Despite what people may argue women like Penelope, Athena and Circe make life much easier and play important roles in stories like the odyssey.
In the Greek culture portrayed by the Tragedians, Men all must take responsibility for their actions as a given, to uphold their honor and to take actions that would benefit the society as a whole. Both authors of the plays Hippolytus (Euripides) and Antigone (Sophocles) show that women do indeed take responsibility for their actions just as men, however the actions of women, have a tenancy to have reasoning or motives that are emotion-based or traditional. Be there two systems of laws, those created by the gods and those created by man, both Tragedians show that women, as well as men, should act with the self-sense and responsibility to uphold the laws of the divine and maintain their morality. Sophocles allows for a portrayal of women that
Introduction The purpose of this essay is to investigate the women’s role in Classical Greece society and literature (5th/4th century b.C.). Therefore, I decided to discuss and analyse one of the most controversial comedies of that time, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. This text shows how women, sick of their submissive and powerless position in the political scenario of Athens and Sparta, come on the scene and, through a smart stratagem, achieve their expected result.
Known as an epic war poem, The Iliad delves into topics concerning masculinity, heroism, and bravery. Women play a modest but important role that forms the structure of the plot. Helen’s character aids in expanding Menelaus and Paris’ characters. Homer does not delve into the lives of women like he does with the men, speaking to the notion of inferiority between the sexes. Homer displays women as tangible items through male interactions with one another.
Women in the past were not allowed to vote, to speak, work or do anything that men were doing. This kind of life for women was made even more difficult because they were also victims of physical and emotional abuse in their families. When the time came for women to get married, parents didn’t choose someone their daughter might love, but rather their families forced them to marry someone who came from a rich and powerful family, never mind if he was decades older than their daughter. In this society, however, there always were the so-called “black sheep” of the family; women who stood up to this injustice and demanded they be heard. Antigone, in the drama of Sophocles, is a great example of a heroine who became a
Antigone proves herself to be a strong-willed, determined woman who pushes to do things that she believes is just. The key word is “woman”. Since this drama takes place in ancient Greece and was written by a Greek writer, Antigone is exceedingly limited in terms of her rights and how she is viewed by the other citizens of Thebes. This exact reason is why her gender plays a tremendous role in the drama Antigone. Being a woman makes her seem to be more of a fool to the men, in some terms, since she tries to betray the king’s orders.