The ancient artistic and ideological works of Athens offer some of the only insight we have on the role of women in their society at that time, making it especially critical to analyze. Although there are a great deal of differences between ancient Greek and Athenian writings, they also hold numerous similarities in things like their recurring themes—particularly that of women and their defiance against men. In ancient Greece, plays like Homer’s Odyssey as well as Sappho’s works of poetry introduced a common emphasis on love as a driving force behind women’s resistance; Athenian works like Euripides’ Medea and Hippolytus and Aristophanes' Assemblywomen, maintain this perspective in some cases, but further expand upon it by offering a more specific theme motivating these defiant acts and even share a common theme in the way that women execute these acts of resistance against men. …show more content…
However, these Athenian writings expand upon this by offering a more particular emphasis on women and their reasons for acting out, marked by women’s concern for the way that they are perceived by others. Additionally, they hold a similarity in the way that women approach their revenge— always attempting to evoke some sort of emotion, as it was emotion that brought them to seek revenge in the first place, and, often, a lack thereof which was the issue at hand. Their acts of defiance are often due to a lack of love or appreciation, so the acts themselves are often marked by their shocking or heartbreaking nature—fighting this lack of positive emotions by inflicting just the