Women in Greek Society

Although modern historians focused on cultural advancements in Ancient Greece, the society remained traditional, in that males assumed a bigger role in most aspect. While men were able to get involved in politics, through a system called polis, women were only confined to oikos, in which they were expected to stay at home and watch their children. Although they had right to their property, this was only possible with the permission of the husband, whom they had to rely on heavily in order to carry out their restrictions, such as going outside. Also, older men married young females, which led the husbands to become overly controlling of their wives. Women and men were expected to live in this manner from early in life, which is shown by the fact that girls were heavily supervised while boys had relative freedom. However, although …show more content…
This theme of women transgressing against the norm is shown in Sophocles’ Antigone, Euripides’ Medea, and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. However, this is not to suggest that women has achieved a high status in Greek society, but rather, it shows that women, unlike the passive roles that they were expected to have in society, became educated enough (which was shown in Antigone where the king mentioned that Antigone was “well schooled” ) to realize that they are being unfairly treated. This has led them to actively revolt against men and request their rights. Although this behavior did not lead them to a higher status in society, it could be a first attempt, or mark a transition in world history when women really began to stand up against the oppression by men. However, the reason that the writers in these stories portrayed men in this manner was not to praise women’s behavior of revolting or to feel sorry for them, but to warn men of what women’s actions might ensue in the