The Oresteia by Aeschylus takes its audience back to a highly patriarchal society in Athens, Greece in the 5th century BCE. In this society the men were the head of the family, the leaders of the army and, perhaps most important of all, the heroes of society. In contrast women were not considered anything more than homemakers. The depictions of women throughout the Oresteia show that they were inferior in society, and tended to be highly emotional yet still possessed strong, positive traits.
Throughout the Oresteia, men were shown as the superiors. For example, Agamemnon was the head of his family and the leader of his army. Then, after the fall of Troy he was also the hero of Argon. Remarkably, many of the other characteristics of men were attributed to Queen Clytemnestra. As soon as the play begins the watchman comments, “So commands, full of her high hopes. That woman-she maneuvers like a man” (Aeschylus 103). He is pointing out that even though she is a lady she has high expectations and is quite assertive. Both of which are accepted as male characteristics. Then later Clytemnestra remarks that although the soldiers have defeated Troy they still have to make it home safe and that’s half the battle.…show more content… To be more specific, it explains that a woman was much more likely to display grief than a man. There are multiple instances throughout the play where this is seen to be true. The most prominent of these is when Electra grieves for her father at his grave. She says, “It’s sweeping over me too –anguish like a breaker-a sword ripping through my heart! Tears come like winter rains that flood the gates-”(Aeschylus 186). The pain Electra feels overwhelms her and she describes it as being sharp and cold. She has no problem expressing her misery over her father’s death. In contrast Orestes only focuses on his anger and desire for
