In many tragedies of fifth century Athens, the women characters appear as strong, defiant women who are able to carry out matters that would take a lot of courage. However this picture of the fifth century Athenian woman that the plays show, do not concur with what is known about the women that lived in the time that these plays were written. In the Athenian polis, women had their specific place, which was often in the home and were denied many aspects of public life. They were not allowed to own land and were married off very young to total strangers. From childhood the divide between the two sexes can be seen. Young boys would attend private schools while girls women were forced to stay home with the mother. However the plays of that time do not reflect the evidence that we have about the women in classical Athens. The tragedies of Medea, Antigone, Electra, and even Agamemnon, show women are strong and free willed and are capable of doing things on their own. In Euripides’ Medea, Medea is constantly talking about the c

‘Surely, of all creatures that have life and will we women

Women in fifth century Athens were very restricted in many different ways. As a young girl, the father would be their legal guardian until they were married, when this would happen, the husband would take over that role. If the women were widowed or divorced and they had no sons, then they would go back to their original guardian, but if they did then they could be place under the guardian ship of their own son. ‘When a woman was married she passes guardian ship of her father into that of her husband. Legally, an Athenian female remained a minor the whole of her life. She was always assumed to be under the protection of a male guardian, who was responsible for her financial support and acted as her reprehensive in all legal matters.’ A woman was legally incapable of arranging her own marriage, and would often have their marriage arranged while very young. Women, to men were usually just seen as a means of producing children, more importantly a son.

Sophocles, Antigone, is seen as one of the most impressive female figures in Greek tragedy. She is shown to be standing up for what she believes is the laws of the gods, to bury her brother. She is motivated by love and affection for her brother and that she believes that she is doing the right thing. Both her brothers are dead and only Eteocles is allowed to be buried as he was fighting for Thebes. Polyneices however, at the orders of king Creon, was to remain unburied as Creon saw him as a traitor. Creon decided that anyone who tries to bury him will be put to death. Antigone is resolved to go out and bury her brother even if it means death. She asks her sister Ismene to help her but she refuses. She fears the king and tries to dissuade Antigone from going ahead with it and points out that as women they must yield to male power.

‘She passes from the individual instances of injustices towards general injustices of norms that systematically concede greater freedom to men and corresponding powerlessness of women.’

Were underlings ruled much stronger hands

Some topics in this essay:
Thebes Polyneices, King Creons, , War Agamemnon, Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, Classical Athens, Sophocles Antigone, Euripides Medea, Legally Athenian, Sophocles Euripides, fifth century, century athens, fifth century athens, classical athens, women classical athens, greek tragedy, women classical, plays sense role, male traits, role reversal, sense role, sophocles antigone, male power, tragedies fifth century,