ded that it was Orpheus who tries to save Eurydice instead of Eurydice saving Orpheus. Sappho implies in her poem(s) that women are very susceptible to emotions by using herself as an example. In her poems she is wholly taken up by each emotion. In Byron’s Don Juan, Sappho is referred to as ‘…burning Sappho loved and sung… ’ Indicating how emotional her writing was. This attitude is echoed in the Victorian age, which unsurprisingly was influenced by the culture of the ancient Greeks. Many psychologists developed their theories on human development by using the Greek myths; therefore our culture is still permeated by classic mythology. For an example, Freud developed his famous theory regarding child development from the story of Oedipus. Ancient Greece was definitely a patriarchal society. Brides went to their husband’s home. Her property also presumably became his. In Medea, Jason explains this aspect of marriage in his explanation of his political reasons of marrying the princess for the benefit of Medea and her children. It was not only the domestic sphere that was affected by gender. Vengeance was considered vulgar and inappropriate in ladies, and acceptable in men. Clytymnestra was berated as a whore for taking a lover and killing her husband Agamemnon, even though he killed his own child to guarantee killing other people. Medea was berated for avenging herself on Jason. Conversely, vengeance is perfectly fine for men as shown by Achilles killing Hector for Patrocleus. Asides from vengeance, infanticide is viewed differently also. Medea killing her children is considered base where Agamemnon killing his daughter is excusable. Men and women lived in completely dissimilar spheres, until the time of marriage. Even after marriage, they still retained strong ties to their own spheres by Achilles and Patrocleus. This is aspect of young life is depicted by Sappho in her poems. Apparently alternative li...
