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The roles of women in ancient greece
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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.
“The Odyssey,” written by Greek poet Homer is an epic tale depicting the brutally enduring quest home of the Greek hero, Odysseus. Within this heroic story, women play a very large and pivotal role in Odysseus’s trip home from the Trojan War. In his attempt to get back to his wife, Penelope, Odysseus’s progress is constantly hindered by the intervention of women who will do anything in order to either convince the heroic figure to stay with them or have him killed. The intentions of the women in the epic are all very different but one of the most prominent roles lies in the seductresses and the alluring women who will deeply influence Odysseus. Most importantly, Penelope plays a large role in portraying the importance of women’s roles in the story.
Aristophanes Lysistrata and Homer’s Odyssey both show how women can thrive in their society and fight for what they believe in, even if that goes against the gender roles portrayed in Greek Civilization. In Aristophanes Lysistrata, the author portrays how one woman can fight for what she believes in and make a difference in society. Lysistrata ultimately wanted to end the Peloponnesian War, she knew the only way to do so was to take advantage of the Men. Men were dying day after day because of this war and Lysistrata had enough, she wanted to end it. Lysistrata decided to take a stand; she voiced her plan to
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.
The Odyssey by Homer showcases the varying roles and treatment of women across different times and places, throughout the poem, highlighting limitations in their agency and power. Generating a comparison to modern society and Homeric worlds for women in ancient Greek communities and the 21st century. Homer’s depiction of Penelope, Athena and Calypso formulate the clear cultural dismissal of women’s voices and rights. Homer establishes the relationship between women and men to be diminishing and that of a power game, practically between powerful woman characters and the protagonist, Odysseus. The epic poem formulates ideologies in ancient culture and forces the audience to conduct thought and opinion on his insight on the role of women.
To me, the play seemed to be about reparations for women who have been kept out of politics for a long time. It was also humorous because Aristophanes wrote it to entertain people, however, for me, this humorous aspect made me feel worse. The play is supposed to exemplify how women can hold power as equals with men, yet, this concept is turned into a joke in order to make it easier for the audience to swallow. I can understand that perhaps it is a good way to introduce particularly radical ideas: introducing something through art so that it can be influential without being an outright proposal. I can sympathize with the type of change that Aristophanes might have been trying to invoke, however, it still does not feel right to
The Odyssey, written by Homer, introduces the idea of gender roles in ancient Greek society by telling the tale of a great hero who encountered many women on his journey. While gender roles in Ancient Greek society were more pronounced, similarities are still present in today's world and issues are ongoing. Despite the indispensable role women play in the story, they still remain undervalued. Preserving the patriarchal ideals of Ancient Greek society. The success of Odysseus's journey can be merely credited to his individual efforts, but rather heavily based on the predominant roles women played in the story who made crucial contributions, but were never given credit.
The union of both sexes is a notable metaphor in both “Symposium” and “Lysistrata”; however, the nature of the love between the sexes draws a distinction between both works. In Symposium, Aristophanes described how both sexes were so powerful when united; and when they were separated, human beings still strived to be united once more by any means. On the other hand, in Lysistrata the characters were already married and united; however, women found their true strength when they started a psychological war on their men. Even though both works drew the readers’ attention to the need for love, Symposium emphasizes the union of sexes in a way that the characters in Lysistrata will never reach; where love is not only about sex and physical attraction, but it’s also about a healthy relationship occupied with affection and caring.
To accomplish this analyzation I have structured this paper into an intro paragraph, four body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. The first body paragraph explains how Penelope’s forced marriage with Odysseus supports the patriarchy. The second paragraph analyzes Penelope’s character, and how the story diminishes her character to make men seem more powerful. The third paragraph dives into the relationship with the suitors and Penelope. I analyze how Penelope uses her situation to her advantage, and how that undermines the patriarchy.
Explaining why the women are being treated unfairly and the outcomes that can happen to women in the Greek society. How men are portrayed in Greek society. Explaining why men have different expectations than women and the political aspects of the male gender role in Greek society. The effects of the non-traditional roles the men and women played in the Medea play. Also, discuss the
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.
During the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, women were restricted to domestic life in a male-dominated society. Egypt’s capital, Alexandria, formally passed into Roman rule in 80BC , and was the greatest of the Roman provincial capitals, with a population of 300,000. In comparison, the Italian city of Pompeii had a population of only 20,000. To examine the role of women in Roman society, I will need to investigate the literature that survived from the period. This essay will compare and contrast the role of women in Alexandria and Pompeii.
The treatment of women has been a topic all throughout history. Women would be treated as lesser beings compared to men. Back in 430 b.c when Oedipus Rex took place, women were not treated equally by men in power. An example of this is when King Laius died, Jocasta did not become the ruler. She had to wait for someone to marry her to have a new ruler.
Oedipus the King: A Feminist Criticism Gender plays a fundamental role in the lives of people, and forever remains an indelible divisor throughout all societies (Gregory 216). When it comes to patriarchal societies, gender becomes a sensitive issue, with the feminine sex always in a constant battle to gain equal privileges as their masculine counterparts. In the ancient Greek tragedy “Oedipus Rex”, the playwright assertively upholds the patriarchal bias that was characteristic of Athens’s Golden age (Smith and Ferstman 33). Clearly, the play Oedipus Rex is built on a candidly staunch masculine outline, but in a way, the outcome of events is not as obvious as an ordinary chauvinistic play would make it. Thus, in unravelling the controversial
Greek theatre was formed back in 500 BC by the Greek civilisation that used performing, miming and dancing as ways and means to tell stories, imitate others and for their rituals. They were two forms of plays that were showcased in the City of Dionysia; tragedy and satyr. The City of Dionysia was the festival celebrating the God Dionysus. Throughout this essay I will be describing the characteristics of Greek tragedy while using Sophocles’ ‘ Oedipus the King’ as a reference.
