Women lit
Professor Borchers
09/09/2013
Cultural and Historical Context of Antigone
Women's rights and opportunities were limited back in Ancient Greece. When reading Antigone, the women were not valued and the male had the perception that they were better than the women. "⦠Most women were relegated to a role of a second class citizenry in ancient's Greece's male-dominated culture" (Driscoll, 2011). The importance in learning household work was highly valued, then letting women pursue an education. Men were in the position of obtaining higher education and became poets or writers. Scholars were able to learn about the lives of ancient Greeks by reading their poetry, writing and understanding their paintings and sculptures.
Most ancient Greece women identified themselves with marriage. It was an important part of who they were. "A girl was usually married off at about the age of fourteen to a man in his late twenties or thirties.
The bride was rarely consulted about the choice of mate; instead, her father and the potential bridegroom made the arrangementsâ¦" (Driscoll, 2011). It seems as of early their childhood is spent preparing women for marriage, and once they entered puberty they were sent off to their husbands. The weddings were not based on love but more on an economic outcome. The women were to bear to children and specifically males so they can own property because women were not allowed to. These are a few glimpses of how women were viewed in ancient Greek times.
Work Cited
Discroll, Sally. "Overview of Women In Ancient Greece." Ancient Greece: Overview of Women In Ancient Greece (2011):1. History Reference Center. Web. 9 Sept. 2013.