The Ideal Treatment Of Women In Homer's Antigone

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Ancient Greek myth provide stories that can be used to understand their life at that time. These stories can reflect their morals and values within their society and aid us in understanding that time in history. Though reading the Iliad, we learned their importance of war and what they value in a hero. We can understand the importance they place on the Gods’ approval through reading Antigone. Throughout the other greek myths studied in the class, women are continuously portrayed as a degradation of man. The Furies women’s low standing in the hierarchy of society and the difference between mortal women and goddesses. However, the Homeric Hymn study the force and trickery used against women. In the Furies, Athena creates a justice system to …show more content…

“The Furies” show that while women can be cunning, they never gain power from their wits, and can be punished if they try to override their role in society. While, “The Rape of Persephone” focuses on the foolishness of women and how men have the ability to control every aspect of a women’s life. Both greek myths provide us with an understand of their lives at the time these were written. It shows that the unequal treatment of women started thousands of years ago, and nothing changed for a long time. We are able to gain perspective on their society’s hierarchy and how their relationship with the gods. In “The Furies” both gods and goddesses have a role in deciding the fate of Orestes. However, in the Rape of… the goddesses have little influence, which is seem when Demeter cannot get her daughter back and Zeus choses to give away a goddess, Persephone, to Hades. Homer’s literature has a harsher and oppressive view of women through dimming down their intelligence, and not giving them any influence even though they are goddesses of Olympus. While “The Rape of Persephone" displays a more repressive force against women, both myth provide an understanding of their views on how women must be

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