Role of Women in Greek Tragedy
Women are depicted as villains, victims
and heroes in Greek tragedies. Though women were considered
insignificant to men, female characters are featured in many of the most
famous Greek tragedies, according to Richeast.org. These characters
give clues to historians about how women were perceived and treated in
Greek society. The tragedies were a common theme in ancient Greek
theater.
Villain
The character Clytemnestra is a
noted Greek villain who murders her husband and his mistress in the play
"Agamemnon". She took her husband over a crimson carpet that resembled a
"sea of red blood" and then killed him in a bath. She is a brutal and
treacherous woman with a "man's heart". Others in the play fear and hate
her. Clytemnestra is also considered a victim because of her difficult
past. For example, to win a war, she sacrificed her daughter to appease a
goddess.
Heroine
Antigone, in the tragedy "Antigone",
buries her brother despite a Creon law that forbids her to do so. Her
brothers killed each other in war for their father's throne. One of the
brothers is permitted by Creon law to be honored and buried, but the
other is not. Antigone is so devoted to honoring the unburied brother
that she is killed because of it. The act is a symbol of family loyalty.
The audience is left to wonder if people should show loyalty first to
their government or to their family.
Victim
In the play "The Women of Troy",
Cassandra is depicted as a victim after successive tragic events. For
example, she refused her body to the god Apollo who then curses her with
the ability to see into the future. This is a curse because no matter
what she sees, no one believes her. Her prophesy that Troy would be
destroyed was ignored. When the battle of Troy was taking place, she
looked for refuge in the Temple of Athena where she was raped.
Heroine, Villain and Victim
The character Medea in the play
"Medea" is a hero, villain and a victim. She is a witch who is also the
daughter of a sorcerer and her grandfather is a god. The narrative is a
play on the roles of men and women. Medea followed her love interest,
Jason, to Greece from her foreign land. When he falls in love with
another woman, Medea murders her own children and then sends the
mistress a poisonous dress to get back at Jason.
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