Clytemnestra and Aphrodite

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Clytemnestra is one of Greek literature’s most famous villains while Aphrodite is seen as one of the most desirable women in literature. Greek Goddesses are celebrated for their manlike traits where as human females are thought to be undesirable for them. This relationship further proves that gods and goddesses are superior not only in power but also in social status. By comparing Aechylus’ Agamemnon with The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite we can see how in ancient Greece, literature taught women to be inferior by showing them consequences of female actions to keep women in their subordinate positions in society.
Clytemnestra is the anti-feminine queen in Agamemnon, which the reader (at least the ancient Greek) would have hated for stepping outside her place as a woman. The first mention of her masculine behavior comes from the watchman at the beginning of the play. “She in whose woman’s breast beats heart of man” (Aeschylus 2). Clytemnestra rules over the kingdom of Argos while her husband Agamemnon is at war. In his essay “The Critique of the Female Stereotype in Greek Tragedy”, Leonard Moss describes the typical female character in tragedies. Moss states female characters “lacked…the practical intellect to deal with ethical or political concerns” (516). Clytemnestra completely goes against this attribute of other female characters. In Agamemnon the chorus describes her actions/speech as man-like because it is smart. “A gracious word thy woman’s lips have told/Worthy a wise man’s utterance” (Aeschylus 13). This line tells us about Clytemnestra and about the views of the Greek people. In Greek tragedy the chorus was supposed to represent the thoughts of the average person and sum up the story so people could understand. People watch...

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...ore power as they would be scared to undermine the god’s power. Or did Greek men make women think this so that women would not undermine male authority? Judging by Clytemnestra and Aphrodite we know Greek men had something to be scared of, strong independent women who did not need them.

Works Cited

Aeschylus, and Gilbert Murray. The Agamemnon ... Translated into English Rhyming Verse with Explanatory Notes by Gilbert Murray. London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1920. Print.
Cyrino, Monica S. "Bows and Eros: Hunt as Seduction in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite."Arethusa 46.3 (2013): 375-93. Project MUSE. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Fawkes, Glynnis, and Gregory Nagy. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite. S.I: Www.lulu.com, 2000. Print.
Moss, Leonard. "The Critique of the Female Stereotype in Greek Tragedy." Sounding: An Interdisciplinary Journal 71.4 (1988): 515-32. JSTOR. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

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