Women in Ancient Greek Life and Theatre.
Review Euripides’ Medea
Pay particular attention to the theme of justice in the tragedy. Remember that as a woman, as a foreign woman, in particular, Medea has no rights whatsoever. She has no family to help her and no means, or court system, through which to find justice. Justice has failed Medea. She says her trust in oaths is gone, lines 162-3, 209-10, 418, 439, 490, 495. She references Jason’s rape of her,line 255
In a famous speech, she describes the raw deal that woman have,page 45.
Link to book:(https://archive.org/details/fourplaystransla0000euri/page/n9/mode/2up)
-Watch video: Women in Greek Theatre
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frfP386zxvA
-Watch video: “What Life Was Like for Women in Ancient Greece”
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZZ15CbCd1o&t=4s
-Read “Pericles Funeral Oration” in Thucydides’ History (note the characterization of ancient Athens and the way in which it describes the best women being those who are not even noticed or mentioned)
Link to reading:
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/pericles-funeralspeech.asp
-Discussion Board Post: Do you think Medea’s murder challenges the ancient Athenian suppression of women’s rights, or do you think her murder reinforces Athenian males fear of women and their power?
-Write a thesis statement in response to this question and a short 150 word statement to support your thesis.
-A handout to writing thesis is in uploaded files just for reference.
Sample Solution
When looking at Euripides’ Medea, it is clear that her murder of her children as well as her husband challenges the ancient Athenian suppression of women’s rights. This is demonstrated by the fact that throughout the play she consistently voices her grievances and speaks out against unjust treatment towards herself or other women in society. By doing so, she serves as a powerful symbol for female resilience and strength which could not be ignored (Hepburn 1993). Additionally, even though she ultimately chooses to resolve her conflict violently this still highlights how desperate and frustrated women were due to their lack of legal recourse or support from patriarchal institutions (Hepburn 1993).
At its core Medea suggests that although Athens may have viewed women as inferior citizens who lacked political power; they were also capable of wielding immense influence when push comes to shove. This idea was quite subversive considering the era in which it was written thus demonstrating how Euripides pushed boundaries with his work while daring audiences to think differently about gender roles (Marquette 1995). As such it can be inferred that he intended Medea’s actions to serve as a wake up call for Athenians concerning the implications of depriving people -especially females-of autonomy and agency.
In conclusion, although there are some aspects of Medea which reinforce males fear of female power such as Jason blaming his problems on “womanly madness”; ultimately I believe that overall the play offers a much more nuanced perspective on gender dynamics within Ancient Greece particularly through its exploration of justice or lack thereof leading up to tragedy (Lowenthal 2017 ).
