Thebes Misogyny In Sophocles Antigone

A common argument against mine is that there actually was no relationship between gender and ancient Greek suicide, held by scholars: L. Lykouras, E. Poulakou-Rebelakou, C. Tsiamis, and D. Ploumpidis. In 399 BC, Socrates consumed a lethal dose of hemlock as a result of imprisonment by the Athenians for failing to recognize the gods and corrupting the youth through imparting knowledge deemed as necromancy by the Athenian state. He was convicted by the states, forced to commit suicide, and hailed as a hero by all, except the state and state supporters, for not backing down from his ideology. A similar case can be seen in Antigone by Sophocles, written around 441 BC. In order to uphold her morals, Antigone killed herself. Throughout the entirety of the play, she was portrayed as a hero for attempting to get both of her brothers buried. Her brothers were engaged in a civil war over the throne of Thebes, and they ended up killing each other. The unburied brother was seen as a rebel for beginning the civil war by Creon, the new king of …show more content…
Generally speaking, the ancient Greeks had a culture revolving around the concept of honor. They did not believe in the rectitude of women. Because of these opinions, the Greeks believe male suicides to be honorable while female suicides to be disgraceful. Another way misogyny plays a role in ancient Greek society was in the way in which it downplayed the importance of heroines who committed suicide. Finally, the ancient Greeks were so misogynistic that they went as far as misrepresenting suicide data. As such, it is clear that misogyny had an impact on the views about suicides. There’s only one remaining question left to ask: Was misogyny relevant in other culture’s