Medea And Agamemnon - 1445 Words

Ancient expectations for women include always putting the responsibilities of being a mother above all else, as shown in Euripides’ Medea and Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, as well as Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis. Both Clytemnestra and Medea exhibit motherly love and tend to those responsibilities, but commit atrocious, unladylike acts, which jeopardize the sympathy felt for them by an audience. The respective playwrights of each story use their character’s motivations and how they align with their roles as mothers first and women second to ultimately characterize each in either a negative or positive light. The motherly motivation that Clytemnestra and Medea exhibit excuses their vengeful and deceitful actions, however Medea’s final action,†¦show more content†¦Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis provides important context regarding the sacrifice of Iphigenia and Clytemnestra’s past with Agamemnon. Clytemnestra is ashamed after talking to Achilles about the wedding between him and Iphigenia that he is unaware of. After discovering Agamemnon s true intentions, she decides that she will no longer â€Å"let shame prevent† her from seeking Achilles’ help to stop Agamemnon because â€Å"whose interests should [she] consult before [her] child’s?† (Iphigenia at Aulis 24). Her concern for Iphigenia overpowers the indignity she feels because her child’s well being is greater than her own. Both women’s anger and desire for vengeance grow as their children are endangered or harmed as â€Å"vengeance makes grief bearable† (Medea 2.55). The playwrights show each as either a good or bad woman based on if their vengeful actions are ultimately in favor of their children or not. The mistreatment that both receive from Jason and Agamemnon despite all that they do for them contributes heavily to their vengeful actions as well. Medea used her magical powers, defied her father, and killed her brother to devote herself to Jason, is still treated coldly and is neglected by Jason, who abandons her and their two sons and leaves her for Creon’s daughter. She realizes that â€Å"to annihilate the past is not possible: but its fruit in the present† can be used at her disposal to fulfill vengeance (Medea 1.364-5). She decides to channel the woe sheShow MoreRelatedComparison Of Medea And Hecuba1614 Words   |  7 Pagestragedies. The tragedies are â€Å"Medea (431 BCE)† and â€Å"Hecuba (420 BCE)† by Euripides. Although at the time of these writing women did not have the same rights as men, both writings justify acts of revenge by Medea and Hecuba. The only way Medea and Hecuba will feel satisfied is to punish those who have done them wrong. Euripides details in his writing how both women cleverly present their disparity to convince people that seeking revenge is a just mean for punishment. Medea and Hecuba’s eye for an eyeRead More Tragic Heroines: Medea and Clytemnestra994 Words   |  4 Pagesmisfortune that precedes their downfall must evoke compassion and pity. The tragic hero must experience a peripeteia. Two of the most famous Greek tragic heroes (heroines) were Medea and Clytemnestra. They share characteristics Aristotle deemed essential for the heroic character in a tragedy. They are both of high rank. Medea is a princess and a sorceress, and Clytemnestra was the de facto ruler of Argos in Agamemnon’s absence. Their tales initially evoked sympathy, but hamartia and hubris were instrumentalRead MoreRole of Women in Greek Myth Essay874 Words   |  4 Pagesnot be dared† (Agamemnon 4003-408). Thousands of men died while she sat in her castle. It goes to show how powerful a woman’s beauty can be. We then have Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and queen of Argos. Clytemnestra was described as â€Å"a woman with a man’s heart† (Agamemnon 11); she was depicted as a very brutal and treacherous woman but she was also very intelligent. Clytemnestra knew how intelligent she was and even proved it to the Argive elders, in line 351 of the play Agamemnon the y tell herRead MoreAristotle s The Tragic Hero1561 Words   |  7 Pagestragic heroes, and yet their understanding of â€Å"good† conflicts each other. In Agamemnon, Clytaemnestra murders her husband, who is also the father of Orestes. In doing so, she justifies herself saying â€Å"By the child’s Rights I brought to birth by Ruin, by Fury†¦ Here he lies. He brutalized me. The darling of all the golden girls who spread the gates of Troy.† (Agamemnon, 1459-1466) In her understanding, the murder of Agamemnon was a righteous punishment for the murder of Iphigeneia. On the other handRead More Tragedy In Drama Essay1713 Words   |  7 Pages Tragedy and Drama In a range of dramatic works from Agamemnon to Hamlet, one sees the range of development of the tragic form, from the earliest Greek to the later Shakespearean tragedies. There are two basic concepts of tragedy: the concept introduced by Aristotle in his Poetics, and the concept developed by Frederick Nietzsche in his quot;The Birth of Tragedy.quot; Many dramas can be reviewed to reveal the contrast between these two concepts of tragedy, and demonstrate the development of theRead More Euripides was accused by his contempories of being a woman hater. Why1711 Words   |  7 Pagesthey were not even considered citizens of their region. This is obvious in the chorus where in the Electra, Medea and Hippolytus there is a chorus of women. This was unheard of in the time when the plays were written. A chorus is typically made up of wise men of Athens, therefore making it up of women would in that age, be very controversial. In Medea the chorus side with her and Medea makes the chorus swear to silence. Therefore she can confide in them without having to put a face on. TheRead MoreCharacteristics Of A Tragic Hero944 Words   |  4 PagesEuripides s Medea and Homer s Achilles have downfalls that not only affect them but also the those around them, they should be classified as tragic heroes by Aristotle s definition and by today s definition. One of the characteristics of a tragic hero according to Aristotle is that the protagonist must come from nobility, so that the downfall of the character is greater than an average person s, and should have some type of unique skills or abilities. It is clear that both Medea and AchillesRead MoreTragic Heroes in Greek Myth2055 Words   |  9 PagesAccording to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character, usually of high birth, which is pre-eminently great, meaning they are not perfect, and whose downfall is brought about†¨ by a tragic weakness or error in judgment. The three Greek heroes Oedipus, Medea and Agamemnon, who each killed a member of their family, carry most of the qualities that make up a tragic hero: being of noble birth, being surrounded by an extraordinary circumstance, and gaining self-awareness or some kind of knowledge through their downfallRead MoreThe Theme of Family1694 Words   |  7 Pagesin the Oresteia and the Medea Understanding Greek tragedy depends upon tracing the growth of characters and themes within the plays and how they help to highlight the greater significance of the work. A prominent theme discussed by the tragedians is that of family and is dominant in both the Oresteia and the Medea. The Oresteia centers on concepts of what family is and how obligations within a family transcend personal desires and dictate the life of individuals. The Medea on the other hand focusesRead MoreMedea Vs Medea1233 Words   |  5 PagesWho is Medea? Many famous pieces of literature end up being turned into some sort of movie or any other form of cinematography. Whether the story was written in 2016 or 431 B.C.E it does not matter as long as viewers end up being entertained. This is the case with director Jules Dassin, who made a movie based on the poet Euripides’s well-known tragedy Medea. Tragedies were a type of play that ancient Greeks would write/perform that involved mysteries and conflict based on a death of a character