The Role of Women in Greek Mythology

600 Words2 Pages

Women have given birth to new generations for centuries and have the common stereotype of being caring and gentle. But in the creation myth, women were given to man as a punishment. In the book of collected Greek tales, " Mythology Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes", by Edith Hamilton, women take up important roles that shape each story. Although women are usually characterized as being helpful and motherly, Greek mythology, on the other hand, portrays them to cause distress, fear, and anxiety to numerous men. Women’s actions are shown to be influenced with jealousy and vengeance which gives them an evil nature. Mortal females cause struggles among men and are portrayed as wicked in Greek Mythology. In the story of How the World and Mankind Were Created, the Father of Men and of the Gods, Zeus, swears to get revenge upon mankind because of the poor sacrifices made to the altars. Therefore, he “[makes] a great evil for men, a sweet and lovely thing to look upon… they [call] her Pandora… the first woman… who are an evil to men, with a nature to do evil… is the source of all misfortu...

Show More
Related

  • The Role of Women in Greek Mythology

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Role of Women in Greek Mythology In learning about the feminist movement, we studied the three articles, discussed and reviewed the different authors perspectives on the topic, and learned how important the role of woman in Greek mythology is. In presenting the feminist theory to the class, we analyzed the three articles, Women in Ancient Greece; Women in Antiquity: New Assessments; and Women in Greek Myth, and discussed how although the three articles provided different views on Feminism in mythology, they all essentially are aiming to teach the same basic concept. In order to understand the feminist theory, we have to understand the notion that although myths are invented and that they involve fantasy, the concept of mythology does not necessarily imply that there is no truth of history in them. Some of the humans may have lived while some of the events may have taken place. Most importantly, the social customs and the way of life depicted in the myths are a valuable representation of Greek society.

    Read More

  • Important Role of Women in Homer's Odyssey

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).

    Read More

  • Fitful and Changing: Femininity in Virgil's Aeneid

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child, I was fascinated by Greek mythology and history, and I made it my business in elementary school to read as much as possible about the subject, including the outstanding stories and the pantheon of gods presented. I thought of them as fantastic, supernatural tales with fitful gods and brave heroes, and I never stopped to consider that the mythologies could be representative of the cultural views and habits of the Greeks, specifically regarding gender roles. One such representaton is Virgil's epic Aeneid, which contains depictions of women in positions of power, and also characterizes these women as irrational, emotional to the point of hysteria, and consequently, unfit rulers.

    Read More

  • How Does Theseus Portray Women In Greek Mythology

    1591 Words  | 4 Pages

    While this stereotype proved true that women like to feel safe, it was biased towards the fact that women are actually capable of so much more. In the photo to the right, the woman is trying desperately to lift a light weight, while the man beside her is lifting it with ease. Even though the weight should mean nothing to her, she can't seem to lift it in comparison to the man. It shows how stereotypes rule everyone's mind into thinking women are incapable of doing such menial tasks without someone's help. Similarly, in the myth Orpheus and Eurydice, Eurydice was unable to fend off her offender. She was chased by Aristaeus through a thick forest where "she cried out desperately for help, but there was no one near to hear" (Gibson 31). In the myth she runs blindly deeper into the forest where no one would hear her cries for help. In reality, she could run back in the direction of the village, rather than running farther away from help. In this way women are shown to be menial and completely inadequate to take care of themselves in myths. On that account, mythological worlds define women as incapable individuals who always need a man to help them through their day to day lives. Although Eurydice has a strong presence in the plot of the story, she is deduced as a pathetic and powerless character throughout the story. This misconception is

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece itself because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. These three goddesses represent three different types of women in Greek society. Sarah Pomeroy, author of Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, believed that “the goddesses are archetypal images of human females, as envisioned by males” (8). Pomeroy understands the significance in the differences between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and what those differences meant for the women of Greece who were required to follow three important rules. The first rule was for the women to live a life of domesticity and motherhood. This was very important to the men in the society. The women were the only ones able to bear children. Also, if they were forced to stay in the house, men could keep a greater control on their wives, and not have to worry about them having affairs. The second important trait was virginity until marriage. Its importance to the Greek culture lied in the fear of a woman’s power. The men of the society felt it best that a woman remained a virgin until she was married; however this same attribute was not required of a man. Their belief can be explained by this quote written by P. Walcot in the article “Greek Attitudes Towards Women: The Mythological Evidence”: “The Greeks believed women...

    Read More

  • Clytemnestra and Aphrodite

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clytemnestra is one of Greek literature’s most famous villains while Aphrodite is seen as one of the most desirable women in literature. Greek Goddesses are celebrated for their manlike traits where as human females are thought to be undesirable for them. This relationship further proves that gods and goddesses are superior not only in power but also in social status. By comparing Aechylus’ Agamemnon with The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite we can see how in ancient Greece, literature taught women to be inferior by showing them consequences of female actions to keep women in their subordinate positions in society.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The very creation of women was set as a punishment to man because Prometheus, son of Iapetos, tried to trick Zeus into eating bones and then, with the tube of a fennel, steals fire to give to mankind. Zeus then proclaimed, "To set against the fire I shall give them an affliction in which they will all delight as they embrace their own misfortune." Out of Zeus' anger came Pandora, the first woman. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mold women from the earth and water, Athene to dress and adorn her, Temptation to give her necklaces of gold, and Hermes to implant a bitch's mind and a thief's temper. Hesiod describes women as a "precipitous trap, more than mankind can manage." Hesiod states, "even so as a bane for mortal men has high-thundering Zeus created women, conspirators in causing difficulty." And thus the first woman was named Pandora, Allgift,-"a calamity for men who live by bread." And so Pandora and all the evils of the world, except Hope, were released into the world by a punishing Zeus. Hesiod explains how formerly the tribes of men lived "remote from ills, without harsh toil and the grievous sickness that are deadly to men." From Pandora descended the female sex, "a great affliction to mortals as they dwell with their husbands- no fit partners for accursed Poverty, but only for Plenty." An analogy is then used to compare women to drones who, according to Hesiod, feed off hard-working bees all day. Hesiod immed...

    Read More

  • Dehumanization Of Women In The Odyssey

    391 Words  | 1 Pages

    Women, without divinity, are inferior to men and succumb to the less prominent roles of an accessory or prize. Being goddesses, they are heroes and in many cases active protagonists and superior to both men and women mortals. The status of being divine is the only characteristic that undos the sexism women face in the Iliad. The dehumanizing of women and the praising of goddess from moral men contradict each

    Read More

  • Oresteia And Clytemnestra

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Hymn to Demeter (HH 2) and Aeschylus’s trilogy, Oresteia, portray the ancient Greek view that female character and behavior pose a danger to men and that women need to be controlled by them. This notion manifests differently in respect to gods and humans. Clytemnestra, a human, violates gender roles as she threatens the order brought by men while Demeter, a goddess, conforms to them.

    Read More

  • Mythological Gender Profiling and the Women of Greece

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the myths of the Centauromachy and the Amazonomachy, the Greeks found a manuscript for moral and disciplinary guidance in their dealings with the women of the time. By assigning the women of Greece hybris, Greek men targeted the women of Greece to intense programs of subjugation and social retribution in order to prevent the emergence of Centaurian or Amazonian traits, which would destroy the patriarchal nature of Archaic Greek culture. Generally, Greek myths tend to exemplify gender profiling as a way to polarize the sexes in order to maintain a stable and workable patriarchy. This is evidenced in the Centauromachy and Amazonomachy, which identify undesirable and inherent qualities in the women of Greece.

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Women's Roles

    214 Words  | 1 Pages

    Ancient Greek men trained in the military, if not, they watched dramas, and comedies in the Theatre. The shows often included the politics, and the gods. Women weren't allowed to go to the Theatre, or even be in it. So, the men played the women's role. The life of a woman in Ancient Greece was to do devoted work at home. They weren't included in the public life, or even politics. Women normally stayed in the house, but they can do one public job. That is, to act like a priestess in the temple. Kids, used their time to play with games, or toys. Greek boys, had fun by playing games like hockey. The games they played weren't in the Olympics. They normally played their games naked, so that the girls wouldn't watch. Ancient Greek females, usually

    Read More

  • The Roles of Greek and Roman Women

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Greek and Roman women lived in a world where strict gender roles were given; where each person was judged in terms of compliance with gender-specific standards of conduct. Generally, men were placed above women in terms of independence, control and overall freedom. Whereas men lived in the world at large, active in public life and free to come and go as they willed, women's lives were sheltered. Most women were assigned the role of a homemaker, where they were anticipated to be good wives and mothers, but not much of anything else. The roles of women are thoroughly discussed in readings such as The Aeneid, Iliad, Sappho poetry, and Semonides' essay.

    Read More

  • Women vs. Pericles’ Ideal of Athenian Womanhood

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Greek literature it is strongly apparent how women are inferior to men but through Hera, Jocasta, and Antigone it is shown how women can have their own character development and be strong enough to try to defy their own fate. All three of these women showed defiance to powers supposedly greater to their own whether it be a king, a prophecy, or even the leader of the gods Zeus himself. The stories even go as far as to show how much everything falls apart once they are gone as in the case of Jocasta and Antigone. This goes to show that women not only can be seen as a driving force in their society but can even lead to the destruction of the people around them if they were to disappear.

    Read More

  • Women In Early Greek Myth

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    Besides the physical differences, men and women have always been viewed differently according to society. In both the early preconceptions of women in early Greek myth, in particular, Pandora’s Box; and in the idea that women are not only demons, but more often the victims; reveals how women are perceived negatively as evil and dimwitted in both situations.

    Read More

  • Underworld Myths

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, it is because of their life-giving abilities that their presences in these tales are assured to be ripe with metaphor and symbolism. This is what separates heroines from the heroes; the life-giving ability of females grants them a symbolic power that no man can truly attain. Represented as innately feminine, but also as mothers and protectors, women of the underworld have places in myth that are rich with meaning, both to the societies that worshipped them and to those that study them now.

    Read More

More about The Role of Women in Greek Mythology

Open Document