Homer's Iliad, the text often referred to as the beginning of the Greek literary tradition, begins with a discussion between Achilles and Agamemnon about a woman. This fight takes place within a war that began because of Helen, who was kidnapped from the Achaeans by the Trojans due to her overwhelming beauty. This is a theme that persists throughout the Greek literary tradition in general. While it is usually the men in these types of books who carry out acts of violence as warriors and fighters, it is often a woman's action or reaction that triggers an unfortunate series of events. Women are very often interpreted as bearers of violence in Greek literature, as exemplified by three key works: Sappho's "If not, winter", Euripides' The Bacchae, and Plato's Symposium. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay As a lesbian, Sappho offers a unique perspective on the role of women in Greek society. She is a person incapable of procreating with the people she is sexually attracted to. From these factors it can be deduced that Sappho does not love for the purpose of investing in her lineage or family line. Rather, his love for women is purely romantic in nature. In the first fragment of “If Not, Winter,” he describes the goddess of love as “[d]immortal Aphrodite of the glittering mind, / daughter of Zeus, who twists the bait” (Sappho 3). The language used in this interaction shows her view that love is something she has been tricked into. A “bait,” as Sappho says, is a tool used in hunting to lure the victim into a trap so that it can be killed. This language implies an unpleasant ending as it leads the leader to believe that his relationship with the people he loves, women, will likely end badly, if not violently. Furthermore, this dialogue with Aphrodite shows his view that his feelings towards women are inevitable and uncontrollable. In her thirty-first fragment, Sappho describes violence as a product of a woman's presence. In this poem, her love interest has a flirtatious conversation with a man. Sappho becomes overcome with jealousy, describing her emotion watching the scene as “fire runs under the skin / and there is no sight in the eyes and the drum fills the ears” (Sappho 63). The fire metaphor is significant because fire is inherently violent and often uncontrollable. By nature fire destroys and consumes. To equate the feelings provoked by his intense feeling towards this woman to fire is to indicate the unbridled, uncontrolled and destructive nature of sexual desire towards a woman. If his feelings are as uncontrollable as fire, a bait that Aphrodite attracts, then there is no way he can conceive of preventing such emotion. Any attempt to do so risks failure, as Sappho describes in her first fragment: "[if] he does not love, he will soon love / even without wanting to" (Sappho 5). As a result, there is no way to prevent the negative consequences that occur as a result of this intense emotion unless the woman is completely removed from the scenario. Sappho recognizes the specificity of her situation in the 31st fragment and broadens her scope to demonstrate the universal nature of this circumstance. “But everything is to be dared, because even a poor person” (Sappho 63), Sappho begins before the fragment ends abruptly. Even if the ruling is partial, its implications are nevertheless clear. It is not fame, money or individual situation that are responsible for his intense and destructive mood. This feeling would happen to anyone, regardless ofcircumstances. Women are the cause of irrational feelings like these which can only lead to negative consequences, as confirmed by the disturbing last complete sentence of the fragment "I am dead - or almost / I seem to be" (Sappho 63).Sappho characterizes the presence of a woman as something that can produce an unhappy ending. Logically, a set of rules and standards should be established to prevent negative outcomes. The notable disregard of these rules, exemplified by the Bacchae in Euripides' composition, leads to a violent and gruesome end. Sexually liberated women in Bacchae are free from conforming to a restrictive society. Furthermore, they are portrayed as violent, animalistic and uncontrollable. This correlation suggests that women, especially those who do not follow the expectations of patriarchal society, are supportive of violent ends. The collective and liberated nature of the Bacchae, or the group of women who worship Dionysus, is a threat to the ancient Romans. society in which this play was written. The Bacchae have no explicit leader, no king or queen to tell the humble peasants how to live their lives. Instead, they live in communities. When the messenger tells Pentheus about his experience with women, he describes them as a flock, “they flew like birds” (Euripides 50). Rather than a single leader supported by an army, the Bacchae are birds, an animal without hierarchy in their society. This can be described as “with” power. This type of cooperative power works in contrast to Pentheus, who opposes the Bacchae for their behavior, stating in reference to the Bacchae that "[those] who run freely will be hunted down." (Euripides 28). Pentheus is willing to take action and suppress those who do not think similarly to him. From this his dependence on superiority and dominance in the society he leads is clear. He, as king, exercises power “over”. Probably, this school of thought is very harmful to the established patriarchy. This fear is reflected in Tiresias' attempt to comfort Pentheus, who is troubled that these two men want to join the Bacchae movement, "[d]o be so sure that dominion is what matters in a man's life" ( Euripides 31). Power over power, exemplified by Pentheus, is partly based on sexual control. In contrast, according to Dionysus, hedonism – particularly sexual activity – is not discouraged. The aspiring Bacchante Tiresias makes this clear when he points out that “Dionysus, I admit, does not force a woman into chastity” (Euripides 31). When women are allowed to have sex independently and without inhibitions, a power shift occurs. In fact, if you cannot regulate the female body, you cannot regulate reproduction. This conception, in turn, means that inheritance cannot be regulated, which ultimately undermines patriarchy. The potential replacement of the patriarchy of Pentheus with the matriarchy of Bacchus proved dangerous due to the role that women play as promoters of violence. The return to the natural state is deeply emphasized within the Bacchae clan. The reason for this is, as the wise Tiresias explains, that "[m]anity, young, possesses two supreme goods. The first of these is the goddess Demeter, or Earth” and the second, as he goes on to describe, is Dionysus. This connection to the earth and the natural order of things is important because it suggests that, in their essence, in their most natural state of being, women are savage, relentless and murderous. For example, the Bacchae, with “hair [crowned] with leaves, ivy, and oak” (Euripides 49), are able to connect with the earth in unparalleled ways. A woman is described as “scraping the ground with her bare fingers and white milk came out. Pure honey flowed,” whileanother “planted her fennel in the ground […] a spring of wine gushed out” (Euripides 49). A moment later, these same women are seen “tearing a fatted calf in two with their bare hands, still bellowing in fear, while others tear the heifers to pieces” (Euripides 50). The scene of the unregulated and empowered clan of women attacking men who watched them bathe is described in gruesome and bloody detail. The graphic image of “ribs and cloven hooves scattered everywhere, and blood-stained shreds hung from the fir trees” (Euripides 50) suggests that in their essence, in their most natural state, women are violent. The Bacchae suggests that a circumstance in which women who are liberated and not overwhelmed by a patriarchal force will inevitably lead to violent behavior ends, because that is simply how women are. This is emphasized by the enormous role that the Bacchae play within the play. In contrast, Plato's Symposium features a notable lack of women in the work, with only one female character, Diotima, invented by Sophocles. The work, unlike many works of the Greek tradition, ends without bloodshed or gore. It is the absence of a woman in the scene that allows men to live their lives in peace, proving that women are the enablers of violence. Despite the omission of a real woman in Symposium, the work is not devoid of sexuality. This is important to note, as it is not the presence of sexual interest that leads to the disorder. Sexuality itself is not bad; rather, it is women's sexuality that produces violent outcomes. In the Symposium, as the men at the table discuss what they believe the nature of love to be, they never condemn love as a whole. The characters do not believe that the act of love or sexual desire is sinful or immoral. For example, Phaedrus, a philosopher and the first to speak at the event, begins his speech by stating that "[l]ove is a great god" (Plato 9). His main evidence of love as the "highest honor" (Plato 11) is the story of Alcestis, a woman who kills herself in her husband's place, which the gods accept as "nobly done" (Plato 11). In this story, it is the elimination of the woman that allows the unspecified violence to end, though she is ultimately brought back to life as a reward for her selflessness. But despite his noble and lovely sacrifice, Achilles is granted greater honor than her because his story is that of a "lover [...] more god-like than her boyfriend" (Plato 12). As a woman, she cannot play a role in this equation. The second story he tells is that of Orpheus who, motivated by his heterosexual desire, goes to Hades to reconnect with his love. He becomes dissatisfied when he is shown only an image and not her body, so the gods "punished him for this and made him die at the hands of women" (Plato 11). The fact that he is angry when he is not given her body is important as this demonstrates his sexual, rather than emotional, motivation when it came to seeking out his loved one. Therefore, it is this frustration triggered by his heterosexual desire that leads to his own death. By putting “at the hands of women” at the end of the sentence, it gives great gravity to the way he is punished. It is those final words that stick in the reader's mind as it is what the reader is left with when they move on to Phaedrus' next point. The way Plato emphasizes this specific mode of execution states that death “at the hands of women” is the most violent of punishments. Pausanias, the next speaker, provides the clearest insight into the Greek mentality of common, heterosexual, vulgar love. compared to the admirable love between men. Aphrodite's common love is felt by.