Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom presents an alternative to the traditional archetypal woman. In The Furies she presides over the case of Orestes; and casts the deciding vote that absolves him of the crime of killing his mother. Athena explains her logic:
“I was born of no mother, and I defer to the male in all things with all my heart, except for marriage, as I will always be the child of my father.
Thus, I cannot give precedence to the woman’s death: she murdered her husband, the guardian of the House” (The Furies, 736-740)
She decides in favor of Orestes seemingly because he is a man. By giving “precedence” to the death and murder of Agamemnon, she shuns her identity as woman or feminine figure. Athena’s whole gender identity is paradoxical: she has no mother, only Zeus as her father and she is a warrior goddess, as well as the protecter of the city. To further alienate her from from the archetypal feminine figure, she bears…show more content… Ismene is closer to the ideal woman and citizen: she believes that there should not be challenges to the laws of Kings, because Antigone and herself are nothing more than women and opposition will result in their deaths. Antigone is the antithesis of this is more representative of a questioning mind, that believes that laws of men should be challenged when they are unjust and violate the rules of the gods. Ismene’s construction of gender is in line with the dominant society in which she lives in. Her uncle and the King, Creon reiterates, the notion that women are lesser beings and incapable of holding power by stating that he is not a man, if Antigone is not punished for her crime and “get[s] away with holding power” (Antigone, 484-5). The notion that women are powerless is so integral to gender relations, that Creon’s identity as a man disintegrates if a woman possesses any
