Euripedes & Classical "Feminism" part 1: Medea

Euripides 

In Classical Athens, there were three great tragedians: Euripedes, Sophocles and Aeschylus. Euripides was known to shock his male audiences by demonstrating sympathy to all groups of people, women included. His portrayal of women made him unique amongst his peers. How dare he make women seem strong and intelligent?!

Hippolytus and Medea, the plays that I shall be exploring (in two parts), both  have speeches delivered by the two female protagonists demonstrating elements of the stems of feminism, along with consistent referral to the lives of women throughout the plots, with a focus on the problem that exclusively befall on them. Today, I'll be exploring Euripides' Medea (James Morwood's translation). 

Medea About to Kill Her Children by Delacroix

In Euripedes time, women did not have high social stature or any power whatsoever within their societies. Traditionally, women were confined to typical roles, including a mother/housekeeper/mistress/etc. However, Euripedes portrays Medea as ahead of her time: she is not the stereotypical, virginal, "good" heroine, nor is she defenceless or weak. Instead, she proves herself powerful and indeed quite revolutionary. She is smart enough to manipulate the men in the play with great cunning: appealing to the men's passions and their inability to recognise dangerous consequences to then leave them in a helpless position, resulting in their tragic downfall. She completely defies the aforementioned expected confinements of women of her time, evoking feminine pride among the sisterhood. No heroine could possibly better express the destructive power of women and their vengeance.

The Women of Corinth speech, delivered by Medea and addressed to the chorus, is a famous extract from the play, and a well recognised piece of empowering literature.
"Of everything that is alive and has a mind, we woman are the most wretched creatures." (230-231) Here, Medea (Euripedes) begins to outline the absurd and quite heartbreaking realities of the life of a woman.

• "First of all, we have to buy a husband with a vast outlay of money - we have a master for our body. The latter is still more painful than the former." (231-233)
• Way back when, a woman would typically be betrothed to a man from the age of five years old and would probably be married at the age of fourteen. This was not the case in this play, as Medea was a barbarian (someone who isn't from the state), however she is aware of the traditional customs of Greek society. 
• When the betrothed young woman eventually gets married, her father donates a hefty dowry to his daughter's new oikos (household). It symbolises, essentially, a father selling his daughter to a  her new husband, who will replace her father's position as her kurios (head of the household). 
• "For divorce brings shame on a woman's reputation and we cannot refuse a husband his rights." (235-237)
• In Medea's situation, her husband, Jason, betrays her and abandons his wife and children to marry the king's daughter. A woman would struggle to get by following a divorce as a result of the shame that has befallen her. Medea, however, being the most cunning and vengeful babe in Greek mythology, makes sure she gets her revenge and makes it quite clear-cut that she will not tolerate Jason's behaviour. 
• "Men say of us that we live a life free from danger at home while they fight wars. How wrong they are! I would rather stand three times in the battle line than bear one child." (249-251)
• Quite possibly the most famous feminist sentiment in ancient literature. The "life free from danger" that the men assume women are granted is contradicted with the way they are treated in marriage and in society as a whole. 
• She stresses the point of a man's ability and freedom to get up and leave the house to see friends, business partners, etc is endless, but a woman is bound to face "one soul alone," facing this terrible, constant claustrophobia within the oikos.
• Her final comparison between fighting in a gruesome, relentless war and the natural process of giving birth would have been extremely challenging for an audience in Euripides' time, which we can only assume was done completely deliberately to invoke and arouse questioning on the matter of the position of women in society. 

In a time where slaves could attend a play at a theatre but a woman could not, it would not come as a surprise that Euripides was often questioned on his decisions regarding the way he wrote about women. However, his genuine concern that ended up being reflected in his tragedies were able to push for progress, and though it may have taken a couple of thousand years to get there (... still not quite there yet...), the role of women in society is no longer bound in the household.

Part 2 will be on Phaedra in Euripides' Hippolytus. 

Thanks for reading!

But why this fear of love? -Sappho

I decided to switch to Blogspot for classical blogging and leave Tumblr for teenage squabbles. Bear with me whilst I work out how to use this thing!

Sappho by Alma-Tadema

For my first post, I thought I'd write a little bit on the lovely lady in the painting: Sappho! (The woman resting her head on her arm against the lecturn). She was a Greek lyric poet, and she dominates what we think of female desire today.
In ancient Greek times, it was not uncommon for men, including the likes of Socrates, to find themselves attracted to young, beautiful boys. Provided that this attraction did not go further than a cheeky peck, this was absolutely accepted as a part of Greek society. Women desiring women, however, was atrocious. Simon Goldhill wrote: "Male writers who idealise love of boys describe female desire for females as horrific, immoral, contrary to nature and just disgusting."
Sappho lived round about the beginning of the sixth century BC on the island of Lesbos, where she wrote love poetry, of which some was directed towards females. In case you haven't already figured it, the word "lesbian" is directly derived from "Lesbos", where she was born. Her poems imply lovers of both sexes, but naturally, it was her infatuation with the women she wrote about that intrigued us all. Despite the disgust felt by men towards women wanting women, Sappho was considered as one of the greatest lyrical poets in antiquity -  Plato even referred to her as the tenth Muse! She was held in high regard, with men singing songs of her stories for years to come. Third century BC philosopher, Maximus of Tyre, described her relationships with women similar to Socrates' relationship with men:
"What else could one call the love of the Lesbian woman than the Socratic art of love? For they seem to me to have practised love after their own fashion, she love the love of women, he of boys. For they said they have loved many, and were captivated by all things beautiful."
Unfortunately, there is very little we know about her, as the only proof we have of her existence is her poems, which cannot be used autobiographically. It provides us with a canvas with a dim outline, leaving the rest for us to imagine for ourselves. The European Renaissance and the ages that followed gave us incredible imagery of what may have gone on on the isle of Lesbos, for example....

Sappho & Friends by Edouard-Henri Avril

Not quite the outing you'd have with your friends nowadays!
I'll conclude my little "Welcome to Sappho's existence" post by saying that she was a total babe, and if you have the chance, read her poetry. It is ever so beautiful.

"You may forget but
Let me tell you
this: someone in
some future time
will think of us"
-Sappho
You sure got that one right, girl!


Thanks for reading!