Classical Athenian Women Analysis

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Throughout history, women have struggled to achieve a significant and impactful role in society. It has been difficult for women generation after generation to gain certain rights in their society and achieve the same rights granted to men at birth. Specifically in Ancient Greece, women had more of a role in the privacy of their own home than in public. “Antigone” by Sophocles and “Household, Gender and Property in Classical Athens” by Lin Foxhall both serve as sources that discuss the role of women in the household and in public society and how their rights were mostly limited. In the scholarly article “Household, Gender and Property in Classical Athens” by Lin Foxhall, Foxhall discusses the role of women and rights they have in the household. When a woman in Greece is married, all the property she owns falls under the category of her dowry. This property is usually given to the woman by her family,…show more content…
Antigone is a woman in Greek society who would rather obey the rules set by the gods rather than the ones set by the king, Creon. She does not keep this a secret when she decides to disobey Creon’s laws and bury her brother who was recently killed in the war. When she tells her sister Ismene this she does not agree with Antigone’s actions, telling her, “We were born women whose purpose is not to battle against man.” Ismene embodies how most women acted and were supposed to act during this time in Greece. Antigone continues to plan her brother’s burial because it is her belief that she must do this to honor her brother. When Creon discovers what Antigone is planning, he becomes angry. Antigone defends her beliefs against Creon when she says, “no disgrace is involved in respecting your uterine kin.” In the end, when Antigone attempts to bury her brother, she is arrested. She was rebellious in that she went against the laws set by Creon and did what she wanted because it was her
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