Loyal Disobedience - A Social Tract of Euripides in Medea and Helen Ess

Loyal Disobedience-A Social Tract of Euripides In ancient Greece the females were considered to be conniving and deceiving whisperers, and men al c put up never trusted their wives. The ideal cleaning woman was an obedient and placating wife. They believed that the female should be strong but compose yield to the power of the male in charge, whether it was older brother, father, or husband. Euripides oft clock times used females in uncommon ways he did non merely 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 exceedingly 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 providential beings. Even though it was widely known what females should be like, the gods themselves did not imitate this. Hera was not obedient t o 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 designation 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 certificate but in return they gave their loyalty. What might have been seen as obedience, well-nigh 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 impenetrable j... ...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 Med ea the title character is a strong and item-by-item 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. Marschke, J. The Roles of Women in Greek Tragedies. 20 January 2002.