Euripides Oedipus The King: Gender In Ancient Greek

Gender in Ancient Greece
In ancient Greece, the societal roles of men and women were drastically different from one another. A woman's status was far inferior to men; they were responsible for taking care of the family and served a nurturing, motherly role. A man, however, was seen as the head of the household, or the kyrios. They were seen to posses more emotional stability and competence than a woman supposedly could, so therefore held responsibilities that were deeply involved in public matters. This bias is observed through the comparison of Euripides’ Medea and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Sophocles writes the story of Oedipus, who is trying to save his city from pollution, while simultaneously running from his own prophesied fate. His
Medea assumes many of the attributes typically associated with men, and although she makes various questionable decisions over the course of the play, Euripides tends to repeatedly place the blame on Jason. Through their respective works, Euripides and Sophocles demonstrate conflicting views of the gender roles in Greek society, with Euripides alluding to a woman’s preeminence and Sophocles following the conventional male-centric structure. Euripides and Sophocles demonstrate contrasting views on gender roles through the emotions and actions of their female characters. Medea fights against the stereotypical image of women, while Jocasta, the only woman with dialogue in Sophocles’ work, is easily manipulated by the male characters around her. Repeatedly conflicted with her societal roles as a woman, Medea leaves behind her home with a husband of her own choosing, a liberty that women did not typically have in ancient societies. At a point later in the play, Medea says that she “would rather stand three times in the battle line than bear one child”, contradicting the accustomed idea that women should be motherly figures (Euripides 251-252). Continuing to defy this role,
Medea is able to ultimately manipulate Jason and succeed at her revenge, saying to him, “I have done what I had to-- I have stung your heart” (Euripides 1360-1361). She then continues to stand up for herself by telling him that, “you shall never lay a hand on me,” and becomes a truly powerful figure, flying away in a lavish chariot given to her by the gods (Euripides 1321-1322). A woman’s triumph over man was typically an unfamiliar occurrence in ancient Greece, however, Medea is a clear exception and displays overwhelming confidence in her actions against Jason. She does not allow a man’s influence to take advantage of her life. Jocasta, on the other hand, falls under the manipulation of Oedipus and her own emotions. Realizing that Oedipus will ultimately figure out her true identity as both his mother and wife, she takes her own life after “tearing her hair with both hands, and slamming the bedroom doors behind her shut” (Sophocles 1242-1244). Obviously quite distraught, much like Medea was in response to Jason’s betrayal, Jocasta ends up succumbing to her paranoia and grief. Therefore, contrary to Medea, who overcomes her grief and ultimately grows stronger from her husband’s actions, Jocasta’s emotions humble her, once again exhibiting the two playwrights’ contradictory perspectives on a woman’s