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What were the roles of each gender in ancient Athens
Gender roles in ancient greek society
Gender roles in ancient greek society
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In reading the comedies of Aristophanes, modern readers are able to catch a rich glimpse of the gender norms and expectations of his time. Visions of power-hungry, crafty women and bumbling, foolish men pervade his plays and reveal ancient Greek views and stereotypes regarding male and female roles. One of the more complicated concepts to grasp, however, is Aristophanes’ true sentiment regarding homosexual love and practice. The aim of this paper is to compare Aristophanes’ presentation of homoeroticism in The Women at the Thesmophoria to that of his speech in Plato’s Symposium and attempt to clarify the playwright’s stance on the matter. In these two works, Aristophanes offers a mix of mocking and approving sentiments oh homosexual men and the practice of homosexuality itself. As he is a comedian, Aristophanes immerses his characters in satire in order to gain laughs from the audience; by looking carefully at the texts, we can see he does not actually see homoeroticism as an institution to be derided and ridiculed.
To begin, an examination of The Women at the Thesmophoria can provide valuable insights into the prevailing culture’s notion of homosexual relations. Just before Euripides and the Kinsman reached Agathon’s house, they discussed the poet briefly:
Euripides: There is an Agathon …
Kinsman: You mean the suntanned one, strong guy?
Euripides: No, a different one. You’ve never seen him?
Kinsman: The one with the full beard?
Euripides: You’ve never seen him?
Kinsman: By Zeus, never, as far as I can recall.
Euripides: Well, you must have fucked him, though you might not know it (38-45).
This exchange, which foreshadowed the entrance of Agathon, provides us with a clear idea of how a man ought to look: tan, strong, and bearded. The joke here is that Agathon was by no means a masculine man, as proven by Euripides’ last comment, which solidifies Agathon’s effeminacy by stating he prefers a passive sexual position. While the statement may apparently show disdain for homosexual acts in general, it actually emphasizes the lack of manliness only in taking the passive homosexual position.
In The Bacchae, I believe that Euripides uses the relationship of male and female to explore the alluring concept of feminine empowerment in a patriarchal society and to demonstrate the cost this empowerment subsequently has on ordered civilization. In this paper, I will argue that Euripides uses the conflictual relation between the genders to criticize the role of women in Greek society while also showing the consequences of a total feminine revolt. Through developing this conflict, Euripides is demonstrating how the path to the most successful civilization is through a balance of masculine rationality and feminine emotional freedom. I will prove this by analyzing the positions of Pentheus, the Bacchants, and Dionysus throughout the play. The character Pentheus
Why would I start with Julia Duckworth Stephen to get to Virginia Woolf? One answer is Virginia’s often quoted statement that "we think back through our mothers if we are women" (Woolf, A Room of One’s Own). Feminism is rooted not just in a response to patriarchy but also in the history of females and their treatment of each other. Part of feminism is a reevaluation of the value of motherhood.
Eupriedes, Medea and Sappho’s writing focus on women to expose the relationships between a variety of themes and the general ideal that women are property. The main characters in both pieces of literature demonstrate similar situations where love and sex result in a serious troll. These themes affected their relationship with themselves and others, as well as, incapability to make decisions which even today in society still affects humans. Headstrong actions made on their conquest for everlasting love connects to sacrifices they made to achieve their goal which ultimately ended in pain. Love and sex interferes with development of human emotions and character throughout the course
While the focus of the Symposium is homosexual relationships, it should be noted that Plato would have been aware of Alcibiades’ inability to have a productive heterosexual relationship. Alcibiades was married to Hipparete, daughter of Hipponicus, and had at least one son by her; however, the couple lived separately for most of their wedded life and Hipparete even attempted to divorce Alcibiades. Alcibiades also unsuccessfully attempted to have a productive sexual relationship by impregnating Timaea, the wife of Agis, so that his descendants would become kings of the Lacedaemonians, but Agis realized that the son was not his and subsequently refused the royal succession. Gregory R. Crane (ed. The Perseus Project: Plutarch, http://www.perseus.tufts.
This complication presents another challenge to the Athenian masculine identity and conceptualisation of gender. In Pentheus, femininity represents weakness, submission, madness; in Dionysus, femininity is power. Dionysus’ use of femininity is what destroys Pentheus, dressing him in women’s clothing (Euripides, Bacchae 915) and, even earlier, capturing his intrigue with his own feminine disguise (Euripides, Bacchae 455). Pentheus and Dionysus’ roles switch with Pentheus’ madness; Dionysus as the Stranger first appears as the subjugated, passive actor of the two, in the traditionally feminine role once he is captured, and his appearance reflects this (Euripides, Bacchae 450). Pentheus appears in the active, masculine role, having captured and restrained Dionysus, cutting his hair and interrogating him, even cutting his hair in an attempt to strip him of some of his feminine beauty (Euripides, Bacchae, 455-510). With Pentheus’ madness, however, these roles are reversed, though Dionysus still appears feminine – this enduring quality a sign of femininity as power in his case – and Pentheus appears similarly, though this symbolises his passivity. It is notable that, alongside being presented as feminine in appearance, Dionysus appears multiple times in the play in
In classical Greek literature the subject of love is commonly a prominent theme. However, throughout these varied texts the subject of Love becomes a multi-faceted being. From this common occurrence in literature we can assume that this subject had a large impact on day-to-day life. One text that explores the many faces of love in everyday life is Plato’s Symposium. In this text we hear a number of views on the subject of love and what the true nature of love is. This essay will focus on a speech by Pausanius. Pausanius’s speech concentrates on the goddess Aphrodite. In particular he looks at her two forms, as a promoter of “Celestial Love” as well as “Common Love.” This idea of “Common Love” can be seen in a real life context in the tragedy “Hippolytus” by Euripides. This brings the philosophical views made by Pausanius into a real-life context.
Aristophanes has mildly insulted the previous speakers in two ways. By claiming that one of the original forms was androgynous, he has suggested that heterosexuality is at least as natural as male homosexuality – as is being a lesbian. In contrast, Empedokles in fact did hold to a theory of sorts based on fitness to the environment, the description at 191c strongly suggests that only heterosexual relationships yielding only a temporary satisfaction and relief, allowing the participants to go about their business.
...hat had already been set in place to make them more justifiable in todays world. The “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Marriage repeal just shows how apparent and real the ideals of these movements are to Americans to this day.
Aristophanes’ significant contributions in the development of the theater arts and his standing in the Athenian community are well documented. His hilarious comedy, Lysistrata, reflects the disgust with war prevalent at Athens after the disastrous expedition to Sicily. It is ripe with sexual innuendo and provides much insight into the timeliness of human sexuality, desire, and the war of the sexes, yet it was intended to make a political statement regarding the folly of Athenian military aggression. Aristophanes was not suggesting that a sex strike might be an effective means of ending the Peloponnesian War, more likely that the reasons for the war itself were suspect. Lysistrata’s scheme to force the men of Greece to the peace table could never have been successful. Property concerns, gender roles, and the sexuality of Athenian men prevented Athenian women from exerting the necessary political influence.
March, Jennifer. “Euripides the Mysogynist?” Euripides, Women, and Sexuality. Ed. Anton Powell. New York: Routledge, 1990.
It seems to provide numerous benefits, the main being cardioprotective health. Another reason why I am inclined to incorporate the Mediterranean Diet into my own is because I have a high cholesterol problem that is hereditary. While I may eat a relatively healthy diet and exercise 3-5 times a week, my cholesterol level is still high. I hope that maybe with this diet, it will help to reduce my lipid panel numbers on my next physical examination. Incorporating more fresh fruits and vegetables as well as unrefined grains I believe will provide numerous health benefits. I would like to learn more about the different types of unrefined grains that is used, and how to cook them. Coming from an Asian family background, my main staples for grains were rice and noodles. I think that it will beneficial for me to expand my knowledge regarding adapting the beneficial components of the Mediterranean Diet and learning how to cook certain recipes so that I can obtain better overall health
Aristophane’s Lysistrata is a flawed classic filled with the power struggle between man vs. woman. It is entirely focused and written from the male perspective, in which male-privilege dominated and disregarded the women’s outlook entirely. This “classic” is full of misogynistic perspectives, and should be disregarded as a great piece in Athenian literature.
Pentheus has an over the top obsession with masculinity and sex and Euripides makes it obvious from the very beginning of this play. While these are two characteristics that one would tend to think would refute someone being transgender, however the over exaggeration of masculinity may be used as a cover up. An example of this is apparent in Pentheus’ opening lines of the play when he is describing the appearance of Dionysus. He repeatedly observes and makes note of Dionysus attractive appearance saying things like, “his long locks and golden curls all sweet-smelling” and “his eyes full of Aphrodite’s charms. Day and night he surrounds himself with young girls” (214). However immediately following these observations he attempts to try and reassert his masculinity by saying if he captures Dionysus he “will cut his head right off his body”(214). Throughout the play Pentheus consistently makes remarks that may come off as homosexual and immediately follows up with a comment in an attempt to reassert, and often over exaggerate, his masculinity. Another example of this can be seen during Pentheus’ first interaction, and in particular first sentence, with Dionysus. Pentheus states, “Well, stranger, your body is indeed quite shapely, at least for enticing the women” (222). Pentheus’ initial comments are all in awe of Dionysus
Marder, Herbert. Feminism and Art: A Study of Virginia Woolf. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1968.
... convey deeper themes of life and death, the struggles between power and class structure and also the societal differences between men and women. Aristophanes uses humor to hook his audience into his play, and then undermines the surface humor with much bigger thematic issues. If this play had simply been about women withholding sex for other reasons such as wanting more money for shopping or other frivolous ideas it would not then be considered a satiric comedy. Satire requires more than physical humor. An issue must be raised such as the life and death theme that is seen in the war in Lysistrata, and a solution must then be made. Aristophanes created the women in the beginning to be bickering, unintelligent, and self-centered people. But in the end it was their idea and compromise that ended the war.