Antigone and Medea are both strong-willed women in defiance of a male-dominated world. Antigone acts against the laws of her uncle Creon, giving her brothers a proper burial and allowing them passage to the afterlife. She does this out of love, choosing to follow her conscience and filial duty rather than a law she views as unjust. Medea is cast aside by her husband, Jason, when he finds a more suitable match. Unwilling to be mistreated, Medea hurts Jason in the worst way: killing his new bride, the bride's father, and finally, the children she had with Jason. In this way, both women are willing to do anything to pursue their visions of justice.

Both women are also self-destructive in their quests for justice. Antigone sticks to her principles not only at the cost of her life, but also at the cost of the happiness and lives of others. Antigone returns to the grave site for a second burial, recovering her brother's disturbed burial mound, not out of necessity, but out of stubbornness (considering the fact that the rite was already complete). In effect, this stubbornness, while admirable, also proves her undoing and the undoing of those who love her. Likewise, Medea's murder of her children hurts not only Jason but Medea herself as well. But she is so consumed with rage that she kills her sons and flees to live in exile, since she can not live among her husband's people or the people of her father, who disowned her when she married Jason.

I think that one of the most valid points of comparison in writing about both protagonists is that they are representative of strong women.  Sophocles and Euripedes construct women who are the very epitome of strength.  They resist social conventions and the judgments of others in what they believe.  Being a woman does invoke more criticisms of their actions, but this is something they dismiss in the name of their belief systems.  Medea is told that as a mother, she must honor her children and not "cross that line," while Ismene implores Antigone to reconsider her actions as a woman.  I think that you can find some similarities in their speeches of why they must do what they must do.  Comparing their language in tone in several moments where they express their conviction could prove to reflect some basic similarity between them.  Another point of comparison would be to point out how their positions, regardless of strength, bring about despair and destruction, as a result.  Antigone's own life is taken, as well as Creon's son who is in love with Antigone, and Creon's wife. As for Medea, Jason is forced to see his children murdered by their mother.  In the end, these positions of strength are non- negotiable ends, and the result is death for those who are fated to love them.