ipl-logo

Women In Agamemnon Research Paper

673 Words3 Pages

Importance of women in Agamemnon

Women in Agamemnon are marginalized, excluded and silenced. On the other hand, we have to emphasize that women have a very important role, so much as to go to a war over one, an apt example of that would surely be – "Helen the Destroyer." (pg.36)
Another reason, which is certainly worth mentioning is that women have always been the greatest sacrifices in Greek mythology. The Oresteia was certainly not an exclusion, as Agamemnon sailed to victory "on the blood of a virgin." (pg. 16) - sacrificing his own daughter Iphigenia. This is a very interesting trend as the Gods always wanted the most precious thing to sacrifice before achieving victory or to complete a quest. So we can certainly assume that women had …show more content…

When a woman tries to speak out, assume leadership or have her own idea, she is dismissed as having "a man 's heart in a woman 's body..." (pg. 5). Or even when greeting her husband, she is laid-off: "Your eulogies are like my absence, too long, too much..." The Greeks are unable to get over these views – "…a woman who fears nothing – is she a woman…" (pg. 47) and cannot believe that a woman would be capable of being a good leader, or even give a speech. Being called a woman was an insult for a man as he was assigned these qualities: "Aegysthus you are a woman..." "While the King fought…" you "…polluted his wife..." and "…when he came back you made yourself scarce." (pg. 82)
In addition to that, when we figure out that Clytemnestra was right she defends herself by saying "I was laughed at." (pg. 32) even though being right, nevertheless she is immediately shut down by herald who defies her, the queen: "Are such words necessary? A Queen boasting so strangely…" (pg. 33). We can see that even the queen was disrespected just because of her …show more content…

An interesting thing surely is, that women in Greek society are judged when guilty by different standards than men. "Wound for wound, you shall pay." (pg. 72) resolves the chorus the situation after Clytemnestra is found guilty of killing Agamemnon. An interesting thing is that the chorus didn 't "…judge Agamemnon…" after he "butchered" Clytemnestra 's "daughter – like somebody else 's goat." (pg. 71), which is pointed out by the Queen – "this man here was the criminal to be punished… It never occurred to you. Why not?" (pg. 71). That is assuredly due to the fact that he was a man, and as such the laws do not apply

Show More
Related

Women In The Odyssey

796 Words | 4 Pages

The defense questioned the witness on their views of the characters in the poem such as Odysseus and Telemachus. The Odyssey answered stating that the characters in the poem are not the poem itself. What a character has done does not account for the beliefs and views of the poem. This statement disproves the first part of the charges saying The Odyssey is is guilty of the degradation of women. It is not the poem that degrade women, but the characters in the poem that degrade, objectify, and misrepresent women.

Read More

Analysis Of Whores, Wives, And Slaves By Sarah B. Pomeroy

1899 Words | 8 Pages

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.

Read More

Continuities Between 1450 And 1700 Women

663 Words | 3 Pages

Baldassare Castiglione wrote about how a woman's sole purpose is to amuse and entertain men (3). Castiglione’s ideas reflect the patronizing attitude towards men that was seen throughout the era. This book is a reliable source because it is aimed at women seeking to become the proper lady as it gives advice on how to achieve that status, while showing historical truth because the author genuinely wants all women to behave in this manner. John Knox attacked women in positions of power by saying that they are cruel, weak, and insulting to God (5). This idea is not an uncommon one as female leaders were continually mocked throughout history.

Read More

Women's Role In The Odyssey Essay

522 Words | 3 Pages

By Zeus’s actions, it is evident that although Odysseus was held prisoner, women lacked this power and leverage in society compared to men and were subject to this treatment due to this gender

Read More

Comparing Women In Aristophanes Lysistrata And Homer's Odyssey

1005 Words | 5 Pages

Her grace, power, and overall determination gained the respect from all the women. Close to the beginning of the poem Lysistrata states "But if the women gather together here—the Boeotian women, the Peloponnesian women, and ourselves—together we'll be able to rescue Greece." (I. 39). She uses the word rescue to show how detrimental this war is and Lysistrata knew if everyone came together the war would end. She knew what the war was all about and ultimately she knew it was wrong.

Read More

Essay On Mortal Women In The Odyssey

739 Words | 3 Pages

The treatment of women has always been different in different societies, cultures, and time periods. In the Odyssey, the treatment of the female gods is different than the treatment of mortal women because the gods are a powerful being, but the mortal women are property and owned by their husbands. If a women marries a man who she has more money then, they will live in her house, but he will be in charge of everything, including herself. In book 21 and book 3 show the power of the mortal women compared to the power of the goddesses. In the Odyssey, the mortal women are treated and used differently from the way that the goddesses are worshiped because of the gender and societal roles that each group of women are assigned.

Read More

Agamemnon's Pride In The Crucible '

297 Words | 2 Pages

I have a sense of right and wrong, what's more—heaven's proudest gift,” and scared what the gods may think if he accepts these actions his wife is doing to him. The larger work of this passage includes Clytemnestra murdering her husband and not denying her actions. That she takes responsibility for it and it

Read More

The Portrayal Of Women In Homer's Odyssey

1148 Words | 5 Pages

Would you really have to portray a girl to get what you want? Can you do something different? The Odyssey was taken on by a Greek legend, Odysseus over sea. In his journey there was different men and women along beside him, but the women were quite different in areas and in heart. Portrayal of women is in answer to all the women in the Odyssey.

Read More

Roles Of Women In The Odyssey, And Clytemnestra

1260 Words | 6 Pages

In Greek epics, tragedies, and mythology women are portrayed in various ways. Women are mainly considered to be weak and less important than men, but there are some women who are shown to be strong and heroic, despite the reputation that was placed onto them in Ancient Greek civilizations. There were two particular women that were strong and took the roles of their husbands while the men left to fight in the Trojan War. These two women were Penelope, wife of Odysseus, and Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon. These two women were different in how they chose to rule while their husbands were at war and how they acted once they got back.

Read More

The Role Of Women In Homer's The Odyssey

954 Words | 4 Pages

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many female characters who play the role of a villain. Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, and the sirens are among the women with the largest, negative impacts on Odysseus’ journey home. Though some women, such as Athena, Eurycleia, and Penelope, are loyal to Odysseus throughout the poem. With such a wide range of female characters, they all contribute different things throughout the book, whether the impact of their actions is negative or positive. Regardless of the outcomes, Homer has quite a modern view of female representation in his poem.

Read More

Women's 'Suffering In The Play Medea'

158 Words | 1 Pages

While women are the inferior party , they do has told. They can't leave their husbands and must take care of their children or they'll be shamed. Medea's suffering shows everything about a women's status in ancient Greek. She like other women fought to get married to a man and have his children. Then he just up and left her and their children to be with another woman.

Read More

The Objectification Of Women In Homer's The Iliad

1333 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout The Iliad, Homer highlights the gender inequalities between Helen and her male counterparts Agamemnon, Achilles, and Paris. Homer accentuates the objectification of women through conflicts between male characters. In Book 1, the audience is first introduced to this idea in a speech by the King of Mycenae, Agamemnon. The mighty king demands, “I don 't want to see the army destroyed like this. But I want another prize ready for me right away.

Read More

Women In Ancient Greece Essay

1413 Words | 6 Pages

In ancient times, there is a general sense that women were simply items and slaves to their husbands. Ancient Greece specifically has a renowned reputation of favoring men. Men possessed the dominant role in public affairs and events while most women were pressured to stay at home. Very few records extensively discuss women; the records focus mostly on men. Despite the lacking records, it is certain how ancient Greeks viewed their women and their relationships with their male counterparts.

Read More

Justice In Medea And Antigone

1146 Words | 5 Pages

Within this speech, Euripides draws attention to many of the injustices women underwent in ancient Athens. He refers particularly to their dependence on marriage and their absence of a public life. Women experienced the uncertainty of their own futures

Read More

The Portrayal Of Women In The Odyssey

1401 Words | 6 Pages

Women are weak, helpless, and have no real purpose other than to serve men and take care of children. . . or so they were perceived in history. In the Odyssey, one can see that Homer’s portrayal of women challenges the depiction of women during that time period. Throughout the book, many women intervened in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, for better or for worse. One will see Penelope, Athena, Circe, and other women impact Odysseus’ expedition home.

Read More

More about Women In Agamemnon Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document