Values of Athenian society as seen in Greek Tragedy

1. Values of Athenian societyas seen in Greek Tragedy Emily and Ellie

2. Virtue - aretē Virtue – or human excellence Denotes moral, social and physical excellence of a human being Divided into wisdom, courage, self-control and justice Women and men differed in virtue: - Men: Timidity - Women: Courage As seen in Antigone – Antigone goes against the typical female virtues by being courageous, as does Media – both writers show this motif of virtue in women

3. Oikos Ancient Greek equivalent of a household/family Also includes the slaves, land and wealth of the house Seen quite clearly in Hippolytus – Theseus at the head with wife Phaedra and son Hippolytus. Other elements of their Oikos are the Nurse and their palace, where the play is set.

4. Dishonour (atimia) and Revenge If a man was dishonoured, the consequences were grave If a man did not take revenge for atimiathen he was considered to be cowardly Thucydides tells us that the Greeks had a proverb that nothing was sweeter than revenge Medea: Medea is dishonoured by Jason taking a new bride and in revenge she kills Glauce, Creon and Jason’s children.

5. Hubris Can be defined as pride, but also has translations of violence and aggression If a man has too much pride and ambition, he can incur the anger of the gods and be punished by them In Hippolytus, the eponym's arrogance and refusal to revere Aphrodite causes her to punish him with a scheme of revenge, resulting in his death

6. Pious – Piety Definition: Having or exhibiting religious reverence; earnestly compliant in the observance of religion; devout A rule bound version of religion Hippolytus has this extreme reverence for Atermis Antigone also demonstrates this, in her belief of burial rights – the issue from which the events of the play stem from