Patriarchy and Clytemnestra

Patriarchy generally refers to the dominance of males in a social hierarchy. We see that most cultures and societies throughout history have been dominated by males. The rise of patriarchy often had the impact of diminishing the roles, expressions and contributions of women in society. Women were provided clearly defined and limited roles considered suitable for their "sex" by men. In Aeschylus' Oresteia and Homer's Iliad, we see that the Greek heroic code stems from "The moral pressure which ensures compliance with this heroic code is simply what peers will think and say" (Dunkle, 1986, p. 4).

Gender roles and patriarchy were not as clearly defined in Ancient Greek society as say the Victorian era. Nevertheless, we see that in Clytemnestra, a woman who murders her husband Agamemnon, a woman who clearly believes the woman's role in society is to protect home and hearth along with the sanctity of marriage and family. This analysis will explore the rise of patriarchy in Ancient Greece through a discussion of Clytemnestra and her role as exhibited in the Oresteia and other Greek classics like the Iliad.

Aeschylus (455 B.C., Agamemnon, Act 1, lines 205 - 21) introduces his tragedy by referencing the fact that Agamemnon has sacrificed his daughter, Iphigeneia, to ensure that the war against Troy will be successful. In doing so, he invokes the wrath of his wife, Clytemnestra, who takes a lover during her husband's long absence

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unish him mortally for the wrongs he has committed in his pursuit of glory; to her they are his shame." We see in the Oresteia that Clytemnestra also takes a dim view toward other females who, from her perspective, do not adhere to the moral code and values she believes are necessary to protect the social order most valued to her. She has little sympathy for her sister Helen, with Homer telling us Clytemnestra viewed her as being "stained with blood" and carrying a "dowry [of] death" (McMahon, 1989, p. 451). We see that Clytemnestra is shunned in Greek society because she is a woman who takes matters into her own hands, acts based on her own values and morals, and seldom if ever permits the influence of male or female opinion on her decisions or acts. Clytemnestra is in possession of a "good intelligence," but we are told by another Greek poet, Homer, that she is also seduced by Aegisthus (Lefkowitz, 1987, p. 517). While Penelope in the Odyssey waits faithfully for Odysseus, Clytemnestra views the acts of Agamemnon as transgressing all in which she believes and, therefore, she determines she is morally justified in mortally wounding him. One can see the rise of patriarchy in Ancient Greece in the way that we are told Clytemnes

Category: Literature - P