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Assertrive women in greek mythology
Assertrive women in greek mythology
Womans role in ancient greece
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Deception Amongst Women in Greek Mythology Within the writings of Greek mythology women commonly display certain attributes that the Greek society associated with women or femininity back in the day. A common quality demonstrated amongst the women in Greek society, and more specifically in Greek mythology, is deception. Throughout the Greek literature discussed in class, women have commonly showed their deception and trickery in different ways and for numerous different reasons. The Odyssey, Theogony, and Homeric Hymm all displayed Greek women showing some form of deception within the stories and poems. These stories show various ways and reasons for Greek women being deceiving and disingenuous, reasons for which there needs to be more discussion. Homer’s epic great poem, The odyssey, shows the readers various samples of women deceiving men within this literature. The Greek goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, was the first to show deception within this epic poem. Although Athena was helping Telemachos, she did it with trickery and deceiving him. When Athena was attempting to tell Telamachos about his father still being alive, she did it by changing her appearance, deceiving him, in order to help lead him towards his father (Odyssey 1.178-220). Athena finds herself using a changed appearence to deceive Telemachos, again in order to help him voyage for his father. Although she is again disguising herself, this time as Mentor, she is deceiving him in efforts to aid him (Odyssey 2.267-271). Another leading lady within The Odyssey is Telemachos’ mother, Penelope. Penelope finds herself being very deceitful throughout this reading. Penelope shows her abilities in trickery in efforts to stay faithful to Telemachos’ father, Ody... ... middle of paper ... ...eceives people on earth, but it’s all out of a place of sorrow. She does it merely to look for her daughter in hopes of finding her. Throughout all of these examples, it’s obvious to see that women in Greek Mythology are portrayed as deceptive. Penelope, Demeter,Gaia, and Rhea are just a few of the women who were portrayed as misleading in the Greek society. As readers interpret the readings, such as The Odyssey, Theogony, and Homeric Hymm, they will see the numerous deceitful acts commented by the Greek women. People should take into account though their reasons for being misleading, some of the women found themselves doing it for other reasons, other than just being deceptive. With the women discussed earlier, it’s clear to see that although the women deceive and use trickery on others, it’s clear to see there is commonly more to than merely to deceive.
Some women are known for the deeds of their sons or husbands, but never for a heroic deed of their own, their personalities, and what they do themselves. It seems the only accomplishment women could achieve was being beautiful. Theseus "had no joy of"(195) the princess Ariadne because she died before this was possible. Homer makes it sound as if Ariadne's life was useless because she did not give Theseus pleasure. The only woman we hear of for a different reason is Klymene, and we only hear of her because she "betrayed her lord for gold."(195) This is the only time we hear of a woman for something she did, and once we do, it is a negative remark. Penelope, Odysseus' queen, is paid attention to only because of her position. Because she has a kingdom, she has suitors crowding around her day and night. Being a woman, Penelope has no control over what the suitors do and cannot get rid of them. The suitors want her wealth and her kingdom. They do not respect her enough to stop feeding on Odysseus' wealth; they feel she owes them something because she won't marry one of them. One of the suitors, Antinoos, tells Telemakhos "...but you should know the suitors are not to blame- it is your own incomparably cunning mother."(21) Even Telemakhos doesn't respect his mother as he should. When the song of a minstrel makes her sad and Penelope requests him to stop playing, Telemakhos interrupts and says to her, "Mother, why do you grudge our own dear minstrel joy of song, wherever his thought may lead.
The creation of woman in Greek myth was initially caused by Prometheus’ attempt to outwit Zeus, first by tricking the gods into choosing the less...
In considering the relationship between the meanings of myths and their representation of women, we learned that the major role in shaping the narratives was played by men. Myths reveal to us the experiences of women living in the patriarchal society and we gain the symbol value accorded to women and we come to realize what the term "Woman" meant to the ancient Greek man. Reading through the various stories on Goddesses and queens, monsters and more. Princesses, we learn that there are three major levels of women in Greek mythology. The first level is composed of the divine beings known as the goddesses.
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).
The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires, or the
She places in people the desire to have sexual relations and causes fear in men of the power of seduction by women. Her marriage to her husband was ignored as she had affairs with immortal and mortal men. Her infidelity in her marriage places her on the side with Greek men, rather than Greek women because only Greek men were able to cheat on their wives; not the other way around. In conclusion, the three important rules discussed in this paper that Greek women were required to obey, can be seen in the myths of the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Whether or not the Greek goddesses obeyed or did not obey these rules, their importance to the Greek culture is ever strong.
Greek women, as depicted in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of men and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was far more impressive than what men did.
In the era of Homer, women played a very specific role in society, and even in literature. Women of this time were basically put in a box, and expected to never step out of line. If they did go against the arbitration of men, then they were faced with serious consequences. However, female characters play a huge role in both aiding, and delaying Odysseus’s journey home. I will proceed to analyze, and interpret the actions and intentions of every major female character in The Odyssey.
They had similar beliefs, but also immeasurable differences. It was composed of many meaningful gods and goddesses that all played a part in the everyday life of the average Roman and Greek person of that time.
The Odyssey: Portrayal of Women How does Homer portray women in the epic, The Odyssey? In order to answer this question you must look at woman and goddesses as two separate groups of people who are "people". This is because they are portrayed in two separate ways. You see, a regular woman like Penelope is looked at as beautiful but has.
The women in The Odyssey are a fair representation of women in ancient Greek culture. In his work, Homer brings forth women of different prestige. First there are the goddesses, then Penelope, and lastly the servant girls. Each of the three factions forms an important part of The Odyssey and helps us look into what women were like in ancient Greece.
Lies, Betty Bonham. "The Wise Goddess Athena." Earth's Daughters: Stories of Women in Classical Mythology. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 1999. Print.
...nce we see women in the Iliad being referred to by both themselves and others, as liars and bitches who twist the desires of men to suit their own purpose, such as when Helen tries to persuade Hector to rest with her in book six. "My dear brother, / dear to me, bitch that I am, vicious, scheming-- / horror to freeze the heart" (6.407-409)! Here we even see a women debasing her own character.
Thesis statement: In this research, I will investigate the basic concepts of the Egyptian mythology and its gods.
Walcot, P. “Greek Attitudes towards Women: The Mythological Evidence.” Greece & Rome 2nd ser. 31.1 (Apr., 1984): 37-47. Cambridge University Press on Behalf of The Classical Association Article Stable. Web.