Medea & the role of Athenian women

1. Medea & the role of Athenian women

2. Athenian democracy • A democracy of the minority. Women, foreigners and slaves had no influence or true civil rights. They lived in the shadow of the Parthenon.

3. Athenian Citizenship • Athenian citizenship for males was dependent on being able to prove ‘double-descent’ • Foreign-born women immediately lost status as potential wives, because their sons would never be eligible for citizenship

4. A woman’s place • Married women in Athens were constructed as dependents of their husbands, bound to obedience and sheltered in domestic life.

5. A woman’s place • Women could not participate in any of the activities or civic duties expected of male citizens. Except women, slaves and foreigners, of course.

6. Choral Census • Female choruses in Greek plays outnumbered male choruses by >2:1. Why is the portrayal of women so prominent in the most public of Athenian art-forms if they were largely excluded in Athenian public life? Is this an accurate representation?

7. Marriage = Sexual Control • Men could take any number of sexual partners outside marriage but women were punished severely for adultery. Athenian men believed that marriage was the only way to control women. Fun fact: The word polygamy derives from the Greek polys gamos, which literally translates to ‘often married’.

8. Euripides: a proto-feminist? • Euripides was famous in Athens for centering his tragedies so frequently on women. • He used his tragic heroines to explore their relationships between gender and the other conceptual, political and social categories organizing Athenian life.

9. Think about it. • Ancient plays prominently featuring female characters like Medea raised questions of women’s rights, duties and relationship issues. • How does Euripides portray the inferior position of women in Medea?