Oedipus rex is a well-known Greek play that was performed by Sophocles during 429 BC. A play that emphasizes on Greek tragedy and Greek Oracles. In this play, there is a lot of tension on just the guys and how they really use their anger to fix their problems. Not really focusing on the women in this passage, but when they do come into the play they show a lot of strength and affection. Women have more independent roles while men have more independent roles. Greek society has many types of women. I would say many are similar to women today.
Back than Greek women spent their time usually indoors than outdoors. They didn’t really have a job and if they did it was making clothes. They would use their extra time spinning yarn to make clothes for their family. They believed in loose fitting clothes and easy to make clothes. Between the men and the women their clothes look the same because back then they only had a couple of materials for clothes. Males and females usually wore a tunic that mainly looked like a nightgown. A women’s tunic was called a “Peplos” and a Mans was called a “Chiton”.
The only difference between the two was the men’s Chiton is very light weight. (Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Word) Women were seen differently in the Greek Society, they were seen as second-class citizens. (Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Word) As women you don’t have much say and any freedom, so they are seen as a servant. Women were not allowed to have any property mainly because the men had it all. As the father in the household dies the property passes down the son and if not the daughter. What many people worry about is that when the women marry, her husband will claim the property.
So what usually happens is the daughter marries a family member. Which could end up being her uncle, cousin or grandfather? This extreme measure happens so that family won’t lose the property. In some cases, the women could be married to her husband and family member at the same time. This was very common in the Greek society since the women barely had any rights. Status wise they gained their reputation solely from their husbands and sons. (Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Word) Marriage in Greek society is very common. Around the age 15, they are usually married to somebody twice their age.
They then expand their family by having children. While back then men did force their selves on women. They did have contraception, but their ideal contraception was pessaries soaked in vinegar. When women did get pregnant they did have abortions, but they didn’t end up killing the baby. They would be abandoned, but some would come by and save them. Not for a better life but if they lived they would be raised as a slave or prostitute. When women would give birth it would be at their own home with their female family members. Mortality rate during birth and after were high.
As soon as the baby was born they would go to the father and see what his decision was. Going back to the men having all the power this is a good case in point. The husband then would end up keeping the baby or expose it which basically means adoption. If the father wishes to keep the child they would perform a ceremony on the 7th day after the baby was born. Male babies were most wanted due to them having more rights and female babies were least wanted since they do not have any rights. That’s why when they are adopted they are raised to become a prostitute or a slave.
While they get older at age 7 they are taken from their families to be reared by the state). While a woman is closely supervised under her mother’s vision until the age 15. While growing up the mother’s shows their daughters how to cook, clean, pamper their man and take care of children. The women in Greek society also show them how they will be treated and how they should react. So say a mother doesn’t teach them the right way to treat a man and the daughter is a rebel. Well, a man will not accept that in a wife so she would get punished or disowned. Their hairstyles are different back then.
Women mainly wore hair pieces and wigs. They did believe in dying their hair from gray to black or blond. This was very common with all the women in Greek society. Women usually had long hair, but in the 7th and 6th-century, women were allowed to cut it short. (Adkins 417) Women having their hair short didn’t really intrigue men, they believed women should have long beautiful hair. Males were more attracted to females with long hair. During Oedipus rex not many women play a role in the play it’s main men, but when women do appear they contribute a lot and have a lot of backgrounds.