Research Paper on:
Medea and Antigone as Representatives of Fifth Century BCE Women

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
and modernized to fit the current age in which a story is being told. Certain archetypes have been established in ways that have influenced literature and drama through the ages.  But it is important to understand that such archetypes are founded on their original creators vision which would have been informed by personal experience. Therefore, Sophocles would have created a  right-minded and devout character attempting to fulfill pious obligations and being stopped by a person in authority. To add the proverbial twist, he would have the pious person be  a young female and the authority figure would be the powerful and older male. Clearly, such a situation would have been the norm in his time regardless of what issues  were being debated or what particular considerations were argued between a man and a woman. The man would automatically have the greater measure of authority in virtually any issue. In  comparison to the plight of Antigone, Euripides story of Medea offers an even more powerful example of the ways in which a woman was at the mercy of a man  in ancient Greece. The shocking aspect of the story of Medea, of course, is the measures she was willing to go to in order to preserve her autonomy and "protect"  that which was rightfully hers. This was a very grave endeavor during these ancient times and serves to illustrate just one small unique aspect of women during this particular time  period. Sophocles "Antigone" Initially, "Antigone" appears to be an obvious story of political dilemmas focusing on civil disobedience and civic responsibility, rather than the personal development and revolution of  one woman. Certainly all of those issues have been seen throughout the history of literature. Despite classical assumptions and the typical reaction of modern cultures to view the character of