Representation of women in Athenian tragedy Representation of women in Athenian tragedy The representation of women in Athenian tragedy was performed exclusively by men and it is likely (although the evidence is not conclusive) that it was performed solely for men as well. In a society that valued women’s silence, their predominance in the most public of Athenian art-forms constitutes a paradox. Only one of the surviving 32 plays has no female characters: Sophocles' "Philoctetes". Female tragic choruses also outnumber the male choruses by twenty-one to ten. Macaria, in the "Heracleidae" states that "for a woman, silence and self control are best." The philosopher Xenophon thought
Oedipus Rex the play, although some are alluded to in the text. Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes. The misfortunes of his house are the result of a curse laid upon his father for violating the sacred laws of hospitality. In his youth, Laius was the guest of Pelops, the king of Elis, and he became the tutor of Chrysippus, the king's youngest son, in chariot racing. Laius seduced or abducted and raped Chrysippus, who according to some versions, killed himself in shame. This murder cast a doom over Laius and all of his