... 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 conditions that women face in her time. Sophocles Antigone is a very impressive portrayal of a woman in fifth century Athens, and she is able to produce sympathy from the audience, making the audience aware of ... her decision to kill her children. She has extrac...

• Word Count: 1759
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... of this play she remains true to her beliefs, seeming unafraid to embrace her destiny. One can see from merely looking at the prologue the foundations being laid for a virtuous character. When analyzing Antigone's opening remarks in conversing with Ismene, her sister, the reader notices that this superwoman is not just going to sit around and let someone else tell her what ... , passive personality of Ismene provides a perfect contrast against the determined mindset of her sister, serving as a foil that highlights the good, and hero-like qualities inherent in the latter. For, against Ism...

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

... elected him to high military office. Sophocles composed more than 100 plays, of which 7 complete tragedies and fragments of 80 or 90 others are preserved. The seven extant plays are Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), Electra, Ajax, Trachiniae (Maidens of Trachis), Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus (produced posthumously in 401 BC). Also preserved is a large fragment ... 430 to 415 BC. Philoctetes is known to date from 409 BC. All seven extant tragedies are considered outstanding for their powerful, intricate plots and dramatic style, and at least three - Ant...

• Word Count: 2321
• Approx Pages: 9

... views of the Greek society and those of the playwrites themselves. One can see through the works of Greek plays such as, "Oedipus" or "Antigone", "Medea", and other historical accounts that the Greeks believed that there is no happiness where there is no wisdom. In the work of Sophocles" "Oedipus" and ... "Antigone" wisdom is one of the key elements in the shaping the characters and story line. Oedipus, who is the main character in "Oedipus", is used ... that is not the wise thing. One does not divorce a loving faithful wife and betray his children for a young royal romance. Medea does ...

• Word Count: 1272
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Odysseus' slaughter of the entire younger generation of the Ithacan aristocracy. Sophocles' Ajax sees nothing wrong in his attempt to kill the commanders of the army for denying him the armor of Achilles; his shame springs simply from his failure to achieve his bloody objection. But Medea is a woman, a wife and ... 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 hanged herself. Medea is quite sure, however, that the gods are on her side. From her first appearanc...

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