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Alcestis, Heracles, And Iphigenia's Treatment Of Women

967 Words4 Pages

Women play an important role in Roman myths, and the stories told about them help offer insight into the lives of the Roman people at the time. Looking at Euripides Alcestis, Heracles, and Iphigenia at Aulis, as well as Homers Iliad the reader can examine the treatment of women and what that says about patriarchal and matriarchal roles of the time. These four stories have one main theme in common, women being used as a means of punishing the men around them. In these stories the reader sees both gods and men take away the women that they hold dear, to punish the men. This treatment can help to explain how women are valued in Roman society, and suggest that women are treated as expendable extensions of their patriarch. The story of Iphigeneia doesn’t paint a friendly picture for how women were valued in Roman society. Iphigenia’s life is …show more content…

Apollo offers the gift of a longer life to Admetus, on the one condition that Admetus finds someone for Death to take in his place. Admetus is unable to convince either of his old parents to die on his behalf, and so he turns to his wife and the mother of his children, Alcestis. Alcestis agrees to sacrifice her life so that her husband can live a longer one, leaving their children motherless. Alcestis sacrifices herself for her husband and acknowledges that this is a very important gift that he should not take lightly, “…it’s not possible to pay me back what I deserve (for nothing is worth more than a life) ...” (318-320). This sacrifice of Alcestis shows that in Roman society a good Roman wife will sacrifice everything for her husband, his needs come before hers. Alcestis’ sacrifice wasn’t saving her husband from an untimely demise or an unjust punishment from the gods; this sacrifice was purely because Admetus wanted to live longer than naturally

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For many decades the issue on men and the way they treat their wife’s can be thought of as an interesting topic. Something in particular is the story of “Euphiletus, A Husband Speaks in His Own Defense”, and “North Slope of the Areopagus” which symbolizes the way Ancient Athenian men acted towards their wife. To add, in a way, how much women can have a major impact on men’s lives. Taking place around 400 B.C.E, the ancient Athenian murder trial rationalizes around the speculations of marriage, the roles women took part in ancient Greece, and the fears a husband faces after failing to closely monitor his wife.

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This paper will discuss the well-published work of, Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken, 1975. Print. Sarah B. Pomeroy uses this book to educate others about the role women have played throughout ancient history. Pomeroy uses a timeline to go through each role, starting with mythological women, who were called Goddesses.

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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,

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The Homeric Hymns portray Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis and Hestia as strong females who uphold their own beliefs; challenging the “typical” gender stereotypes of the time period. Women in antiquity were expected to follow and uphold certain societal rules, most of these rules emphasized the gender stereotypes that women were perceived as being. The use of the goddesses powers challenge these societal rules and ideas about women. Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, and Hestia are portrayed in the Homeric Hymns in contrast to ancient stereotypical roles of women being confined to the household; as a result this contrast emphasizes that women can showcase strength, intelligence, and power within society. A women’s life in antiquity was constricted by

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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.

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Anna Funderburk Ms. Thompson 1st Block AP English October 27, 2014 Short Story Analysis of Sweat Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston is clearly a feminist tale. Opening with Delia working hard washing clothes to provide for herself and her freeloading husband, Hurston tells the story of a strong, black woman trapped within the confines of traditional household roles and a corrupt marriage. Delia is finally set free after her husband, Sykes, is dealt a dose of his own medicine and is bitten by a rattlesnake he let loose in their house in hopes to be rid of Delia.

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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.

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