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Women in classical mythology
Women in classical mythology
Gender roles ancient greece
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Athenian Women’s Acquisition of Power through Relationships with Men
Greek society held the belief that women had little common sense or logic; they had the natural tendency to move toward chaos and destruction. Women were thought to have the ability to destroy a man’s honor through their actions. Because of this, women were given no influence in the government of the polis or in their lives; they had no power. Instead, they were kept inside where they could be closely monitored by their husbands, fathers, lovers or protectors. Yet, as seen in Kathleen Freeman’s translations of Athenian court trials The Murder of Herodes, women were able to acquire power in the household, the government, and for their own betterment through sexual relationships, marriage, and family ties.
Greek mythology painted a poor picture of women. This, in turn, created a society where the men believed that these myths were an accurate interpretation of the nature of women (or, possibly, vice-versa). Zeus created women as a punishment, and to this end, he made them so tempting that men could not resist them. But, he also made them a bane to men’s existence, where men had to marry them and constantly have to try to balance the good and the evil that inherently existed in their wives, or die alone. As a consequence of this bleak picture of women, Athenian men believed they had to keep a close eye on women and not allow them too much freedom; they had to keep them behind closed doors as much as possible so they could balance the good and evil and control their deceitful nature.
So how is it that women are supposed to acquire any power in their lives if all they have is their households? In fact, the first area in which a woman could gain power was the household. In a trial concerning the killing of an adulterer, the defendant Euphiletus gives an account as to what happens when a man and a woman marry:
"… When I decided to marry and had brought a wife home, at first my attitude was this: I did not wish to annoy her, but neither was she to have too much of her own way. I watched her as well as I could, as kept and eye on her as was proper. But later, after my child had been born, I came to trust her, and I handed all my possessions over to her, believing that this was the greatest possible proof of affection.
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.
Finally, the novel The Secret life of Bees demonstrates the emotional maturity, and growth of the both Lily and Zach, during times of systematic racism. The novel authentically represents Civil Rights Movement’s time, and makes us realize how spiritually sad and dangerous these times were.
In ancient Greece, there were clear differences regarding the manner in which men and women should behave. Males were expected to be the dominant sex, ruling over the land and people without any input from females. They were the sole breadwinners for the families and were to be given the utmost respect at all times. In contrast, women were to remain in the shadow of their husbands, not speak up or retaliate in any way, and complete household chores such as cleaning and caring for the children. In fact, they could not sleep in the same room as the men and were rarely allowed to leave the home. If they were to stray from these specific roles, they would face serious consequences and have even more of their little freedom taken away by the males.
...playwrights of Ancient Greece understood that women played a pivotal role in human society, despite the way they were treated. As such, women were given important roles to play in their respective tales, and displayed unusual strength, wit, or cunning. Even though the development of women’s rights would take several more millennia, these storytellers were among the first to show that women can be just a powerful as men.
Ideas, innovations, and inventions are all created from brilliant minds. Than how did these ideas come to be? Descartes believes that God is the cause of new innovations adding, therefore God instilled in us the idea of his existence. Explaining, in order for us to draw an idea from a presumption or thought, than an object must have been derived not by us but rather God. An example of his presumption of the existence of God would be the fact that if one cannot imagine a bookshelf without books. Whether one exists or not, it is true than that they cannot be separated from each other. Descartes follows by stating that “he cannot conceive God without existence, existence is inseparable from him.”
Born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii, Captain Sameul Jelsma of Pahoa Police Station has served as a police officer for more than two decades. He is the commander of the station and he oversees the lower Puna district. Before he joined the Hawaii Police Department, he served in the US military. When he was in the army, he decided to come back and serve his own community. He was initially enlisted as a patrol officer but his commitment and hard work rewarded him with promotions as the result of which he became a captain.
The social, physical, and mental expectations of women were very high and very strict. Women were to be married young and as virgins to their much older husbands (pg. 28). They were also expected to produce children, specifically sons, and were not allowed access to the legal system in most areas of Greece (Ian and Powell, 28-34). They could not be and were not seen as individuals outside of their homes, and ancient Greek texts held a mostly misogynous view of women during that time (Ian and Powell, 28-32). Hesiod, a famous Greek poet, even goes on to say that women were sent by Zeus as punishment to mortal men and that they are the epitome of deceit and lust (Ian and Powell 29-32). Also, women were confined to sex within their marriage, while men had the choice of seeking extramarital affairs with prostitutes or slaves that they acquired (Ian and Powell, 35). Overall the lives of the women of ancient Greece were far from glamorous, and there was not much of a difference in the treatment of women concerning their social class. The well off house wife was maybe a step or two above the “lowly” prostitute, and that was most likely due to the fact that a well off woman might have been able to receive an education because of her family’s status. Whatever the circumstances were however, it appears that women had no place or value in ancient Greece other than to have children and
"Indians & Smith | Captain John Smith Historical Trail." Indians & Smith | Captain John Smith Historical Trail. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. .
... new dimensions in virtually every department of creative work to which he turned, in format, musical quality and technical demands (p. 22, Classical Music, the Rough Guide). His music was so complex that many analysts have uncovered layers of religious and numerological significance that is rarely found in the music of other composers. Bach’s chorale harmonizations and fugal works were soon adopted as models for new generations of musicians. Bach was the last great representative of the Baroque era in an age which was already rejecting the Baroque aesthetic in favor of a new, enlightened one (www.sfsymphony.org/templates/composer).
When thinking of ancient Greece, images of revolutionary contrapposto sculpture, ornate lecture halls, and great philosophers in togas are sure to come to mind. As the birthplace of democracy and western philosophy, ancient Greece has had an inordinate influence on the progression of the modern world. However, the ancient Greeks’ treatment of women is seemingly at direct odds with their progressive and idealistic society.
Women had very few rights, they lived as prisoners, serving men 24 hours a day. Women were sheltered from society, restricted to their husbands and their husbands houses, crying out for help and justice but there is no one to there to hear their screams. In the play Antigone when the title character had to sneak out of the house to meet up with Ismene. Ancient Greek men ruled a lot like over protective fathers with teenage daughters. Men were also scared of women gaining confidence and begin thinking on their own or worse taking action or speaking out against men, like in the play Antigone where Antigone confronts Creon by burying Polyneices after Creon strictly stated that no one bury him. If someone were to bury him, the whole Polis would stone them to death. When Creon found out that someone buried Polyneices, he did not even consider that it could have been a women that did it.
Grief leaves an imprint on those who experience it. Some can survive its deep sorrow, others cannot. In The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, she explores the effect of grief on the main characters. The novel opens with fourteen-year-old Lily Owns struggling with the knowledge that her mother was dead because she, as an infant, picked up a loaded gun and accidentally shot her. She runs away from her abusive father in search for answers of who her mother was. Lily hitchhikes to Tiburon, South Carolina; the location written on the back of an image of the Black Madonna – one of the only belongings she has of her mother’s. There, she finds a pink house inhabited by the Boatwright sisters who are African American women making Black Madonna honey. The Boatwright sisters have had their share of grief with the death of two of their sisters and the racial intolerance they face despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act. The Boatwright sisters and Lily Owens have different methods of coping with grief; internalizing, ignoring, and forgetting are some of the ways they cope, with varying degrees of success. They discover that they must live past their grief, or else it will tear them apart.
When you think of ancient Greece, you probably think of togas, polytheism, epic heros, and olives. But do you how women were treated or veiwed? There is quite a lot of evidence displayed throughout manyplays, epics and other documents. Oedipus the King and The Odyssey are two ancient Greek works of literature that exemplify their society perfectly. Ancient Greece was a patriarchial society where women were treated as objects and sex symbols and misogyny was often present.
Women in the ancient world had few rights, they differed from country to country or, in the case of the women of Athens and Sparta, from city-state to the city-state. The women of the city-states of Athens and Sparta had profound differences in their roles in the political and the daily lives of their families and their cities. When it came to the difference in levels of power and the rights of women, Sparta was a leader in its time. At the same time, their rights as citizens were almost the same. While they did not take an active part in politics, they had opinions and ideas like women all over the world. Their thoughts, deeds, and opinions rarely recorded or if they were, the male historians or philosophers of the time recorded them. What were roles did the women in ancient Athens and Sparta? Were they citizens, did they have personal freedoms? On the other hand, did they in a time when the beginnings of democracy were happening were they less than a second-class citizen? The misogyny and patriarchal societies continued throughout the ancient and classical periods only beginning to change in the Hellenistic era.
...e. He argues that the essence of God implies the existence of God. While the idea of God is present to the human mind, it is different from other ideas because such an idea is that of a supremely perfect being. God would not be a perfect being if there was the impossibility of his existence. Consequently, God’s existence cannot be separated from His essence. His essence is to exist and his existence is necessary. Using the criteria for truth, Descartes notes that he clearly and distinctly apprehends God’s essence to be supreme perfection. Such perfection is void of limitation. This argument is not contingent on Descartes recognizing his existence first as per the previous proof for God’s existence. God becomes the subject and existence the predicate. God is seen by virtue of His own existence. Such knowledge is clear and distinct and guarantees truth for Descartes.