... . These responses are countless in number for the reason that there are many facets to human nature. In looking at only two characters in Greek writings; Oedipus from Oedipus the King written by Sophocles and Medea from Medea written by Euripides, we can see two different reactions to adversity in tragedy. Medea, when faced with the loss of her husband to another woman, ... turns vengeful and murderous, "the emotions of the woman whose love has turned to hatred, and equally those ... have everything, and by doing nothing beyond seeking truth, loses everything, touches a universal anxie...

• Word Count: 2458
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... "I shall kill- over and over again. The firmness of her resolve is phrased in the terms "my mind is made up- (1236, 822). She is deaf to persuasion. She is moved by the typical heroic passion, anger (176), wrath (94). As in Sophoclean heroic tragedy, there is also a secondary figure whose pliability under pressure throws the hero's unbending will into high relief. It is Creon, king of Corinth. He comes on stage ... to Athens. Medea's success contrasts her completely from other Greek heroes. Ajax triumphs but he is dead; Oedipus wins, but he is blind; Antigone achieves victory after she ...

• Word Count: 1681
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Women in ancient Greece were supposed to embody traditional gender schemas by staying in their homes, keeping quiet about most matters, and acting in a subservient and obedient manner. However, the tragic playwrights, perhaps eschewing feminist ideologies ahead of their times, did not seem to think it necessary to restrain the roles of the fairer sex in their works. The presence of strong female lead characters, such as the title protagonists in Sophocles" Antigone and Euripides" Medea, shows that women do not always have to remain passive and in the background of a plot. In fact, the aforemen...

• Word Count: 2039
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... were prevalent in his age. Hence, Euripides manages to expose the chauvinistic trends of the Greek society and uses his artistic genius to lay bare the inherent imperfections in the supposedly perfect' Greek Civilisation. Let us scrutinise how Euripides manages to portray Medea as the first notable precursor of the feminist perspective. A keen reader of the Greek Tragedy may argue that there are various other female characters that ... Pelias in their absence. Akastus, Pelias' son, banished them into exile. Jason's desire to reclaim his throne having been dashed for good, they now went t...

• Word Count: 3814
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School