Women and the Comic Plot in Menander

Journal Phasis - Greek and Roman Studies, 2015

In my opinion among the questions related to the study of women in antiquity the discussion concerning the social status of women in classical Athens appears to be the most polemical. The problem of “status” has never been neglected and from XIX century on it has been much accentuated and studied. Up to certain period the prevailing suggestion supposed that women’s position in the 5th century Athens was subjugated and restricted. She was secluded and almost neglected by the masculine part of society was treated with great contempt. In 1925 Gomme challenged this orthodox doctrine and with his famous essay initiated the beginning of the notorious debate “over status”.

Language and the Scientific Imagination: Proceedings of the 11th Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas (ISSEI), 28 July – 2 August 2008 at the Language Centre, University of Helsinki, Finland, 2009

Eminently an Athenian institution, Greek ancient theatre addressed fifth century B.C. social and political issues by resorting to mythical figures. More than a show, it stood for a way of reuniting Athenians around representations of Greek society and of the confrontation between the social categories and ethnic groups that were brought face to face within the settings of a prolonged war. With the Peloponnesian conflict opposing the Athenians to other Greek cities, identity – be it ethnic or of gender – was continuously questioned. Both in tragedy and comedy, the individual underwent a series of transformations which forced him or her to continuously reaffirm and prove his or her identity. Analysing a series of Euripidian tragedies we note that as opposed to reality where only men went to war, women were represented as the primary perpetrators of violence and murder, in a context of treachery and occult practices. Such is the case of Medea, the Barbarian princess who, upon Jason’s infidelity and her imminent marriage dissolution, decides to murder her own children in order to take revenge on her faulty husband. Her position is not unlike that of the Greek princess Iphigenia who finds herself alone in a barbarian land in Tauris and is forced to sacrifice her own people, i.e. the Greek captured in the barbarian lands, to the goddess Artemis. These two examples allow us to address the issues of self-agency and of the construction of individual identity. While in both cases a woman is considered to be vulnerable if she is living among strangers with no husband and no friends and thus she needs to resort to violence to reassert her identity, Euripides seems to rank these women on the basis of ethnic criteria. While Medea is a Barbarian who kills her own children, Iphigenia is a Greek princess with high-valued function and status that explain her killings. By cross-examining these examples with the historical context of the Peloponnesian war, this paper will try to re-evaluate the representation of gender identity in the ancient Greek theatrical speech in the light of the intersection of ethnic, geographic and social standing criteria. Key words : identity, gender, ethnicity, geography, social standing, Greek theatre, Euripides, Medea, Iphigenia

2017

The thesis explores the way in which character is represented in Menander's comedies and in the revival, translation, and reception of Menandrean comedy in the modern Greek theatre. Although modern translators and directors may have sought to reproduce the ancient dramas faithfully, they inevitably reshaped and reinterpreted them to conform to audience expectations and the new cultural context. Comparing aspects of character in Part I CHAPTER 1: The Conceptual World of Menander's Comedies .

2020

Although students and scholars alike know well that ancient Greece was immensely misogynist and patriarchal, nevertheless, there have been numerous attempts to retrieve voices from the classical world at least empathetic to the plight of women. Frequently these attempts turned out to be abject failures. However, many continue to peruse the Greek literary tradition, and archaeological remains for non-misogynist voices. Euripides, at least within reasonably recent history, is for many just such a voice. Medea is one of the first feminist characters in Western literature, which involves the recognition of a significant cultural shift. Euripides'<i> Medea</i> indeed questions contemporary beliefs and standards in ancient Greek society, substantially those of the heroic masculine ethic. Still, it did so at the expense of women, not in their support. Through this paper, I would like to show the depiction of the women situation in ancient Greek and how Medea, as a female pr...

The Social Sciences, 2012

The position and image of women in literary studies have most of the time reflected position and role in the society. In most traditions, women do not play any important role because they are considered as lacking the capability of reasoning and decision making. While most women have accepted this traditional role, there are some who reject the dictates of the society and emancipate themselves from the oppression of the society. This study looks at the position of the woman according to the tenets of culture and further establishes the fact that the woman's position is universal. This has been done through two comic plays; Aristophanes Lysistrata and Rotimi's Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again. These two plays have been discussed to establish to what extent the woman has accepted or rejected the traditional role dictated to her by the society.

Theatre Research International, 2007

Reacting to the concerns expressed by Sue-Ellen Case and others that Greek tragedies were written by men and for men in a patriarchal society, and that the plays are misogynistic and should be ignored by feminists, this article considers how female directors and writers have continued to exploit characters such as Antigone, Medea, Clytemnestra and Electra to make a powerful statement about contemporary society.

PERFORMANCE: Journal of English Education and Literature, 2025

Greek literature, originating in Greece, has influenced generations across Europe, introducing genres like poetry, tragedy, comedy, and western philosophy. Ancient Greek mythology often depicted women as deceitful and manipulative, reflecting patriarchal society. This study contrasts the portrayal of women in Ancient Greek literature and modern-day literature, focusing on the female protagonists Medea, Clytemnestra, and Jocasta. It examines how these women, through their actions in Medea, Agamemnon, and Oedipus Rex, challenge societal norms and grapple with issues of power, identity, and autonomy. Feminist perspectives highlight how these ancient figures resonate with modern concerns about individuality and gender equality, revealing a long-standing tension between societal conformity and personal agency. This research will delve into the roles of female characters aware of their social position and, thereby, gradually emerging as rebellious and defying figures in their society. This paper elaborately discusses how societal conventions define women as either ideal or evil, based on male standards. By exploring gender expectations across literary eras, the study offers insights into how women navigate these constraints and highlights new avenues for feminist literary discourse.

The production and performance of Greek tragedies in the fifth-century Athens was a male enterprise as theatre along with other social and political institutions remained an “exclusive ritual” where its “celebrants were all male.” Greek tragedies were preoccupied with masculine dilemmas of identity, while women excluded from the social and political arenas take a marginal place, being less differentiated as individuals than men. Not only women were denied property, education and vote rights but their speech and actions were limited so that a man was allowed ‘to speak’ for a woman in public. There were no “women’s voices to be heard in the theatre of Dionysus” (Griffith 117), despite the fact that a number of roles in the tragedies were female. In impersonating women, male actors used any means (gestures, steps, costumes) other than relying on female voice and language. The Athenian society shaped the identity, behavior and verbal expression of women different from men. Words appropriate for men’s speech would be improper and outrageous for a woman. Female speeches in tragedy include laments of grief, loss of the family or a beloved, prayer to gods for help. One of the symbols of female virtue along with chastity, obedience and modesty included silence, as the “highest prestige (doxa) a woman can earn is not to be mentioned in public” (Bouvrie 54). Women become the force of disruption and challenge of moral and cultural values in Greek tragedies. Those women who have access to language and take actions outside oikos “represent the greatest and most puzzling deviation from the cultural norm” (Foley 4). The goal of this paper is to examine how by means of language women ‘voice’ and fulfill the moral and social agency in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, Sophocles’ Antigone and Electra, and Euripides’ Medea and Hecuba.

P. Lang eBooks, 1998