Every culture day to day makes stories and legends to preserve its distinctive qualities. Mythologies are one way of doing so, where it features a strong individual who saves the day or sacrifices himself for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, these warriors are usually men. Women on the other hand, are depicted as the feeble and helpless population who have little to offer to society besides being the victims in most situations. In mythology, many women are not given the credit they deserve after they aid heroes in their success. Mythologies also show the hero discarding women after they have fulfilled the hero's individual needs and demands, as they are also perceived to be the weak and helpless gender. For that reason, it is evident …show more content…
When put into perspective women are often suppressed and neglected from their full capability in these myths, which fuels the prejudice shown to women today. Likewise, in the myth Theseus and the Minotaur, Theseus is a good example of men taking advantage of women. After claiming victory over the Minotaur, Theseus "[sails] back to Athens with his companions and his Cretan bride. But Theseus [leaves] Ariadne on the island of Naxos" (O'Rahilly 5). Theseus promises Ariadne marriage and love in exchange for her help in defeating the Minotaur. Regardless of how much she cares for him, Theseus deserts her. This story is a great example of how women in mythology are taken advantage of, regardless of their contributions to both heroes in myths and today's world. Both Theseus and the man in the photograph exploit women and in turn promote negative messages about women's worth. While myths represented a culture in the past, many societies around the world still follow in its footsteps by consenting to sexist professions such as prostitution and sex trade. In this second photo, a man is attempting to reach over a brick wall. As seen, he is too short to reach it, but with the help of a female companion, the man manages to achieve his goal. However, what he does not realize is how he has undermined and degraded the value of the woman he is …show more content…
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
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.
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).
Clashing swords, miraculous survivals, pain of loss, and heroic sacrifice are all terrifying yet thrilling moments in a battle. The strong possibility of death and the frailty of human life add into the suspense of battle. Yet the reasons behind the wars, death, and suspense can be overlooked. The stories behind the warriors who have died will not be told again, but the stories of warriors still alive are what give the men strength to continue fighting against impossible odds. Ultimately, the reason of why a man would risk his life in battle is for someone, or something, he loves. Like in Gilgamesh and the Iliad, women help encourage and influence the protagonists to be the heroes and protectors they are meant to be.
This paper will discuss the well published work of, Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken, 1975. Print. Sarah B. Pomerory uses this book to educate others about the role women have played throughout ancient history. Pomerory uses a timeline to go through each role, starting with mythological women, who were called Goddesses. She then talks about some common roles, the whores, wives, and slaves during this time. Pomerory enlightens the audience on the topic of women, who were seen as nothing at the time. Men were seen as the only crucial part in history; however, Pomerory’s focus on women portrays the era in a new light.
A good example of the typical type of role a woman would play in classical mythology is the myth of Pandora. Pandora was the first woman to be created; Hephaestus created her on Zeus’s orders. Pandora was only created as a part of Zeus’s plan to punish Prometheus for stealing the secret of fire from Olympus and showing it to the humans. Pandora was given all of the “seductive gifts” by the Olympians upon her creation . Athena gave her the ability to weave and create needlework. Aphrodite gave her beauty and lust. Hermes gave Pandora a shameful way of thinking and a deceitful nature; he gave her a predisposition towards lies and crafty words. Pandora was then dressed and adorned beautifully, along with h...
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.
Through Theogony and Works and Days, Hesiod expressed a hostility toward women that was endemic throughout Greek antiquity. His misogyny is best revealed through his story of Pandora, the creation of women. The very idea that women were created as an affliction for mankind proves that Hesiod looked down upon women with disdain. The depiction of Echidna as a beautiful woman and terrible beast represents his vision of the female race. His compassion for anti-feminist ethics and absolute distrust of women is present in both his books. His misogynistic random sucker-punches at the opposite sex were common belief in ancient Greece. "He who believes a woman, believes cheaters." His teachings of women were common belief in ancient Greece and his prejudices were completely misogynistic.
The power and influence of women is symbolized in Odysseus’ encounter with the dead in Hades. In the Underworld, Odysseus meets more women than men. He meets his mother and then a “grand array of women” (334). They all were “wives and daughters once of princes” (334). All of them are the legendary women who were the mothers of the greatest Greek lineages. This symbolizes how Greek civilization was founded by women; they were the ones who gave birth to the heroes. Similarly, The Odyssey is a story created by women. The plot revolves around the actions of women. Athena orchestrates all the events. The seductresses, such as Circe, the sirens, and Calypso, attempt to stop Odysseus from reaching home. The helpmeets, such as Nausicaa, Arete, and Athena, aid Odysseus in his homecoming. The wise and virtuous Penelope is the object of Odysseus’ quest. Unlike Helen who forsakes her husband, Penelope remains faithful. Unlike Clytemnestra who assassinates her husband, Penelope patiently waits for Odysseus. She becomes a model of female patience and of female intelligence. Her craftiness is the only one which can match up to Odysseus’. The Odyssey presents a wide array of women and demonstrates the influence that women have in the life of a
...re treated poorly but they can overcome their circumstances so that they may still contribute to society in a powerful way. Although women in the epic Sunjata, Indian and Greek society are all seen as the subordinate gender, the women in the epic Sunjata are strong people by making the best out of situations. Some could say that women control the story. In the beginning, the hunters would not have killed the buffalo woman if not instructed to. Also, if Sogolon hadn’t pressured Sunjata to stand, he wouldn’t have walked his all his life.
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.
misrepresentation, as in it does not do women justice and oftentimes, has a negative impact
One thousand years go by and an abundant amount of people still view women in a stereotypical type of way. On the opposing view, if women did not overstretch the slightest of things, this wouldn’t be such an enormous issue. Women may be overreacting to what the media has to say about them. It is not affecting everybody but the vast majority of successful women from continuing to moving forward, said Marianne Schnall. Important to realize, women are capable of doing jobs men can do.
The first example of women being treated as property is found at the very beginning of the poem, when Agamemnon agrees to give Chryseis back to Calchas. "But fetch me another prize, and straight off too, / else I alone of the Argives go without honor. / That would be a disgrace. You are all witness, / look--my prize is snatched away" (1.38-41)! The women are described as prizes, on par with weaponry, gold, and other honors of war. In fact, Achilles gives other women away as prizes during the funeral games for Patroclus. "For the winner a large tripod made to stride a fire / and worth a dozen oxen, so the soldiers reckoned. / For the loser he led a woman through their midst, / worth four, they thought, and skilled in many crafts (23.782-785). Not only was she a prize in a contest, she was a prize for the runner up. This is a very demeaning and degrading position.
In conclusion, the development of the folktales leads to the obtaining of ideas about gender. In many ways our society supports the idea that women seem underestimated as well as physically and mentally weak in comparison with the men who is portrayed as intelligent and superior. This can be shown in many ways in the different versions of this folktale through the concepts of symbolic characters, plot and narrative perspective.
Women were often subjects of intense focus in ancient literary works. In Sarah Pomeroy’s introduction of her text Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, she writes, “Women pervade nearly every genre of classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (x). It is evident in literature that the social roles of women were more restricted than the roles of men. And since the majority of early literature was written by men, misogyny tends to taint much of it. The female characters are usually given negative traits of deception, temptation, selfishness, and seduction. Women were controlled, contained, and exploited. In early literature, women are seen as objects of possession, forces deadly to men, cunning, passive, shameful, and often less honorable than men. Literature reflects the societal beliefs and attitudes of an era and the consistency of these beliefs and attitudes toward women and the roles women play has endured through the centuries in literature. Women begin at a disadvantage according to these societal definitions. In a world run by competing men, women were viewed as property—prizes of contests, booty of battle and the more power men had over these possessions the more prestigious the man. When reading ancient literature one finds that women are often not only prizes, but they were responsible for luring or seducing men into damnation by using their feminine traits.