Today in class we delved into Antigone and various themes that surround the myth; heavily focusing on the theme of social norms. Antigone was a girl who stood up for her older brothers. This can be seen as different from social norms as the brother is not only older, but is obviously a male. Women have always been portrayed as the damsel in distress or weaker than their male counterparts. The age difference also plays a role against the social norm, as elders are theoretically thought to be superior.
I thought this was incredibly fascinating considering the format of the Heroides, which consisted of letters from the women to their male complements. The perspective of women was not usually represented throughout greek mythology, and Ovid decided it would be a good change to represent the thoughts and wishes of the women. By doing so, it shed light on new ideas and topics, which I found beneficial in my learning.
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