The role of men in ancient Greece was one of power, prestige and honour. Men were given the most responsibility and therefore considered to be the most important people in archaic Greece. Societal status was based upon the quality of ones character—knowledge, strength and integrity—rather than on ones wealth, political position or ancestry. Men were the citizens who held power in city-states; it was the men’s character, behaviour and important values that were praised and celebrated by society.

Writers from ancient Greece reflected these values of masculinity in their works. In Homers the “Iliad”, the set of principles his characters adhere to are qualities that became known as Homeric values: honour, status, and power. Each of the characters in the “Iliad” is trying to achieve these. In Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King”, depending on perspective, the character Oedipus demonstrates two different sets of values. Oedipus displays all the virtues of an ideal Greek citizen, yet from the reverse perspective he embodi

To be able to identify with the values of ancient Greece one must know a little of the history of these people. It shows the roots of the moral codes and clarifies why certain values were praised and other admonished. Athens was the first polis to emerge in history: a city-state where equality and democracy hold the greatest value and control is not in the hands of one person but in the hands of the citizens. “The centre of the circle is where the power resides. A man can step into the middle for a time but his place in society should be no closer to the centre than his peers” (Rich et al.). All major government decisions and legislation were made by the ekklesia . The Greek democracies were not entirely representative governments though; they were governments run by the free, male citizens of the city-state. In reality the city-states were not entirely “democratic” though, for everyone was not considered equal: slaves, foreigners, and women were all excluded from the democracy.

es the exact opposite. Sophocles’ also depicts the moral values of archaic Greece in his play “Antigone”. He displays the relationship and reactions between men and women in effect portraying the differentiating gender roles in ancient Greece. In factual historical accounts of ancient Greece, the historian Thucydides described the values that held significance in his era of Greek society. Through the works of ancient Greek playwrights, story tellers and historians, it is made evident what personified the men that were valued by Greek society.

The values of ancient Greek society in respect towards men were based upon morals and values of their time many of which contradict the morals and beliefs of western society today. The overriding concern was to save face one way or another (or not lose face in the first place). Concerns centred on public esteem, not on matters of conscience or morality. Men cared about what society thought of them and therefore performed acts which in their time were “normal” but nowadays would be considered eccentric and cruel. That, for example, is why the glory of battle which to us seems so violent, is written with praise by Homer; one societal value was a man’s ability as a soldier. Some values though were alike to those of western society today. In Greece the ability to “think” was greatly respected and admired, as was the ability to perform in public debates and displaying a knack for politics. Every man though in turn, wished for nothing more than kleos, eternal and undying fame.

In “Antigone” Sophocles’ puts male and female characters in direct conflict to show what the established roles of the sexes were. Creon continuously makes belittling comments about women throughout the play. At the discovery that Antigone had performed the burial rights, Creon and his son Haemon get into a disagreement when Haemon reveals objection towards his fathers’ sentence of Antigone’s death. Creon repeats the same ideas over and over again: women are weak, conniving and evil. “While I am

Some topics in this essay:
Greece Societal, Soph Oed, Traditional Greek, Iliad Homer, Hom Il, Saph Oed, Soph Ant, Pel War, Olympic Games, Percicles’ Athens, soph oed, greek society, ancient greece, greek citizen, ideal greek citizen, ideal greek, hom il, glory battle, saph oed, ancient greek, values praised,