Loyal Disobedience-A Social Tract of Euripides
In ancient Greece the females were considered to be conniving and deceiving whisperers, and men almost never trusted their wives. The ideal woman was an obedient and placating wife. They believed that the female should be strong but still yield to the power of the male in charge, whether it was older brother, father, or husband. Euripides often used females in uncommon ways; he did not simply show them as complacent animals. Women in Euripides' plays were used for social commentary. They were not just simple characters; they could be both agathos and kakos. The females in the works of Euripides were extremely strong and devious and they were loyal but at the same time hypocritical.
Ancient Greco society contained a vast amount of gods, demigods, and other godlike beings. Even though it was widely known what females should be like, the gods themselves did not emulate this. Hera was not obedient to Zeus. There are other contradictory goddesses: the goddess of Peace, and the goddess of War. In the time of Euripides there was a double standard.
In both Medea and Helen, the title characters are disobedient females. They do not listen to the males around them. In ancient Greece it was not acceptable for a female tolive by herself. They believed that females should be the servant, or the subjugated property of a male. Females relied on men for their protection but in return they gave their loyalty. What might have been seen as obedience, most likely was loyalty. Men might have thought they had an obedient wife but this was not the case.
Menelaos is shipwrecked in Egypt after a long and arduous j...
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...allowed to break their physical bonds, i.e. kill the children.
To Euripides, women were in no way obedient. He believed that women were loyal to those who provide for them, but if you cut the provisions you will lose their loyalties. In both Helen and Medea the title character is a strong and independent woman. They are loyal to their husbands, but just so long as their husband reciprocates the loyalty. They were loyal but disobedient. If the connection is broken, they will not listen. A man might think he has an obedient wife, but it is most likely loyalty.
Works Cited
Ancient Greek Women in Athens. 20 January 2002. <http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ancientchix/>
Marschke, J. The Roles of Women in Greek Tragedies. 20 January 2002.
<http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/gwomen/gwomen.html>
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