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Portrayal of women in greek and roman mythology
Women's roles in ancient Rome
Portrayal of women in greek and roman mythology
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Repression of Women in Euripides' The Bacchae
Many different interpretations can be derived from themes in Euripides's The Bacchae, most of which assume that, in order to punish the women of Thebes for their impudence, the god Dionysus drove them mad. However, there is evidence to believe that another factor played into this confrontation. Because of the trend of male dominance in Greek society, women suffered in oppression and bore a social stigma which led to their own vulnerability in becoming Dionysus's target. In essence, the Thebian women practically fostered Dionysian insanity through their longing to rebel against social norms. Their debilitating conditions as women prompted them to search for a way to transfigure themselves with male qualities in order to abandon their social subordination.
According to research, the role of women in classical Greece was extremely limited. Men and women were segregated all over in the Greek society, even in the home (Source 9). Women were secluded in their homes to the point of not being able to leave their own quarters except on special religious occasions or as necessity dictated (Source 10). All women were tightly controlled and confined to the home to insure that their husbands were provided legitimate male heirs. Beyond this, women had no true value (Source 6). Clearly, male domination in Greek society was like enslavement to women. A marriage contract dated 92 B.C. can be located in Women's Life in Greece & Rome by Mary R. Lefkowitz and Maureen B. Fant which defines unacceptable behavior within the union of marriage. The document requires that both husband and wife be chaste within the context of the household, but although nothing prevents ...
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...because their position in life made them more susceptible to this kind of delirium.
Works Cited
Williams, C.K. The Bacchae of Euripides
Faraone, Christopher A. Ancient Greek Love and Magic Http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/FARANC.html
Gleason, Maud W. Making Men: Sophists and Self-Presentation in Ancient Rome Http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/5574.html
Lefkowitz, Mary R. And Maureen B. Fant Women's Life in Greece & Rome http://uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/wlgr/wlgr-greeklegal101.html
Http://didaskalia.berkeley.edu/supplements/supp1/rabinowitz.html
Http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/eng251/agamemguide.html
Http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/5665.html
Http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/bacchae/themes.html
Http://www.ifi.uio.no/~thomas/ai/ai03.txt
Http://www.iwu.edu/~mblodget/hypergoddess.html
Euripdies' The Bacchae is known for its celebration of women's rebellion and patriarchial overthrow, claims which hold truth if not supremely. The Thebans, along with other women, pursue the rituals and culture of Dionysus’s cult which enacts their rebellion against men and the laws of their community. However, this motion to go aginst feminine norms is short lived as they lose power. When Agave comes to her epiphany, Dionysus is the one who is triumphant over Pentheus's death, not Agave or her sisters These women must be punished for their rebellion against both men and community. This female power is weakened and the rebellion muted in order to bring back social order and also to provide the story with a close. Female rebellion actually becomes oppressed through The Bacchae due to its conseqences and leading events of the play. This alludes to the message that women who do not follow traditional roles of femininity are subject to the destruction of an established society.
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The role of women in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days is outstandingly subordinate. There are a number of times in Hesiod's text that despises women, being mortal, immortal, or flesh-eating monsters. The overall impression of women from Theogony and Works and Days, leads one to believe that Hesiod is a misogynist.
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