The Sheer Deception

Female Menace and Disciplinary Mechanismsin Fifth-Century Athenian Theatre

Abstract

The discourse on the dangerousness of the female sex is well attested in Homer and later in Hesiod, who makes women a veritable genos, separate and threatening to men. But it is from the 5th century onwards that this discourse gradually intensifies, particularly in Athens:
in the iconography and literature of the classical era, and especially in the theatre, there appears an impressive series of female figures who are murderers, adulteresses, seductresses, liars and enchanters, almost exclusively targeting male victims, particularly husbands and sons.
These figures present numerous recurring traits and are united by the way they evolve over time, in the course of which many characters turn from positive to evil or are created in the 5th century. After illustrating the characteristics of this phenomenon, the contribution aims to clarify its causes in relation to the political, social and economic context of the time.