Greek Readings

Male Domination Causes Female Subordination


The justice received in the court case of the Furies vs. Apollo is significant because for the first time since all the murders and sacrifices began in Agamemnon, justice was received in the form of a legal judgement instead of a murder. This is important because it established an order by which society must live under as opposed to the murders of the past, which brought only temporary justice for one person.
The verdict delivered by the goddess Athena is a perfect example of female passion being defeated by male order because it brings about a new, male dominated order, justifies the acts of Orestes and Agamemnon, and essentially strips away any power, compensation, or satisfaction Iphegenia, Clytemstra, or the Furies might have received had they won the case.
To understand the idea of male order triumphing over female passion, we must first examine what qualifies as each. Male order refers to male status, and males...