Supposedly, behind every great man is a great woman. If this statement where true the world might be a better place. Most know of the god Poseidon, but few know of his wife, Amphitrite. She is a true mystery as very little is known about her outside of her marriage to Poseidon. Amphitrite was a jealous goddess who, except for marrying and having kids with an adulterous god, did little of significance. Amphitrite was a sea nymph, a goddess of the sea. Her father was either Oceanus or Nereus depending on what version is referred to (Magnani, 1). She was often described as “the female personification of the sea: the loud-moaning mother of fish, seals and dolphins.” The name Amphitrite means the surrounding third which refers to the sea. …show more content…
Amphitrite, hoping to protect her innocence, swam to the edge of the sea near Atlas and hid. Seeking help from everyone, Poseidon scoured the sea for his runaway bride. Delphin, the dolphin god, was eventually the one to find her and convince her to wed Poseidon. Poseidon gave Delphin a spot in the stars for his accomplishments (Astma, 2). After they were married, Amphitrite bore Poseidon three children: Triton, Rhode, and Benthesicyme. A fourth child, Kymopoleia named in only a few versions. Of Poseidon’s children, Triton was a merman and Rhode became the wife of Helio’s and the goddess of the Aegean Island of Rhodes (Magnani, …show more content…
She is briefly mentioned at the birth of Apollo. In Homer’s epics her name is used as only a synonym for the sea (“Amphitrite”, 3). Amphitrite more often appears in art than she does in written stories. There are several famous paintings and sculptures or her both by herself and with Poseidon. In various art pieces her hair is shown pulled back by fishing net and her head adorned with crab claws. She occasionally holds a fish in her hand. When with Poseidon he is usually driving a chariot while she stands at his side. While she might not make much of an appearance in popular myths she does make quite the appearance in art. (Astma,
Judged by modern Western standards, the treatment of women by men in Homer's Odyssey can be characterized as sexist. Women in Homer's Odyssey are judged mainly by their looks. If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son or husband is a hero or has an important position such as king, the woman is successful. The way women in The Odyssey are treated is based on appearance, the things men want from them, and whether the woman has any power over men. During Odysseus' journey to the underworld he sees many different types of women. We hear about their beauty, their important sons, or their affairs with gods. We hear nothing about these women's accomplishments in their lifetime. Odysseus tells how Antiope could "boast a god for a lover,"(193) as could Tyro and many other women. Epikaste was called "that prize"(195) her own son unwittingly married.
his past adventures, the Phaiacians who are descendents of Poseidon, chose to be loyal to
Women are often treated as tools to accomplish men’s goals because of this authority and are seen as beings who cannot live without the support of men. In The Odyssey, Penelope, Telemachus’ mother, is used by Telemachus to show his authority as the man of the house by sending her away to her room by his “masterful words” (Homer 186). By doing so he is also warning the suitors who have come to take advantage of the xenia he and his mother provided to them. While Penelope is strong by refusing the passes of the suitors, she maintains the vulnerable image by weeping for Odysseus who has been gone for ten years (Weimer 1). In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Shamhat the Harlot is used as a tool to seduce Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s male partner and friend. Ninsun’s reaction to Enkidu brings to attention to her worries of Gilgamesh being taken away from her, showing that relationships between men were held in much higher regard than mother and son relationship (“The Epic Of” 51-52). Men are depicted more powerful than women thus leading to supporting women, especially those they are related to.
Poseidon had ask Medusa for marriage and proposed, and Medusa said yes to his proposal. When they had proposed they went to Athena’s temple, once the’ve arrived they caught by Athena, and at this moment Athena had turned Medusa into a gorgon with snakes in her hair. Never look into her eye’s or will
Divine intervention is often an integral part of ancient epic poetry as seen in Homer's The Odyssey. The role of the goddess Athena was an essential part of Odysseus's journey back to Ithaka. Athena also played a vital part in Telemakhos's life before the return of his father. Even Penelope is impacted by the help of the "grey-eyed" goddess, often inspiring Penelope to hold off the suitors as well as putting her to sleep when a situation became too difficult. Athena demonstrates that she is a critical component of development within the father Odysseus and his son Telemakhos as well as guiding Penelope as a beautiful mother waiting for the return of her husband.
Poseidon, the god of the sea, is angered by the death of his son, the Cyclops. When Odysseus and his crew stopped off at the Cyclopes island on their way home from war, the cyclops, Polyphemus, begins terrorizing Odysseus’ men. Odysseus blinded him and boasted about the event. He sends storms against Odysseus and tries to wreak his ship in Book 5. While shipwrecked at sea, on a raft – which was aided by Athena – Poseidon sends another storm, washing Odysseus up on shore. Eventually, Odysseus is on another ship gifted to him by the Phaeacians, Poseidon turns the ship to stone and sinks while pulling into the harbor at Scheria. The idea that “a bad storm” can affect a well-trained
In the Greek society women were treated very differently than they are today. Women in ancient Greece were not allowed to own property, participate in politics, and they were under control of the man in their lives. The goddess Aphrodite did not adhere to these social norms and thus the reason the earthly women must comply with the societal structure that was set before them. Aphrodite did not have a father figure according to Hesiod, and therefore did not have a man in her life to tell her what to do. She was a serial adulteress and has many children with many men other than her husband. She was not the only goddess from the ancient Greek myths to cause doubt in the minds of men. Gaia and the Titan Rhea rise up against their husbands in order to protect their children. Pandora, another woman in the Greek myths, shows that all evil comes from woman. Aphrodite, Gaia, Rhea, and Pandora cause the ancient Greek men to be suspicious of women because of her mischievous and wild behavior.
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.
The society in which classical myths took place, the Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal one. By taking a careful gander at female characters in Greco-Roman mythology one can see that the roles women played differ greatly from the roles they play today. The light that is cast upon females in classical myths shows us the views that society had about women at the time. In classical mythology women almost always play a certain type of character, that is to say the usual type of role that was always traditionally played by women in the past, the role of the domestic housewife who is in need of a man’s protection, women in myth also tended to have some unpleasant character traits such as vanity, a tendency to be deceitful, and a volatile personality. If one compares the type of roles that ladies played in the myths with the ones they play in today’s society the differences become glaringly obvious whilst the similarities seem to dwindle down. Clearly, and certainly fortunately, society’s views on women today have greatly changed.
Hercules, or known in Latin as Heracles, was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity. In art Hercules was portrayed as a powerful, muscular man wearing lion's skin and armed with a huge club. He was also described as being a macho man buffoon, who was very impulsive. Hercules’ home and birthing place is in Thebes, Greece. Thebes is a city in central Greece. It plays as an important setting in many Greek myths, such as the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and many other important roles in Greek Mythology. The demigod, Hercules has an interesting origin, he is most famous for his 12 labors, and leaves a legacy in words and expressions.
Athena is a great example of an influential woman. Athena demonstrated the most intellect and courage out of all the characters in "The Odyssey." The male characters such as Zeus, Poseidon, Telemachus and Odysseus might play the most significant roles in this epic, but without the support of the females in "The Odyssey", lets face it, Odysseus would not have made it through his journey. Athena is a Goddess with a lot of power over mortals, but Zeus has the power over the Gods and Goddess. Yet, she approaches Zeus confidently and says to him; "O majesty, O father of us all, if it now please the blissful gods that wise Odysseus reach his home again, let the Wayfinder, Hermes, cross the sea to the island of Ogygia; let him tell our fixed intent to the nymph with pretty br...
Aphrodite is known as the Greek Goddess (Roman Venus) of love, desire, beauty, fertility, the sea, and vegetation. It is said that when Cronus was castrated by Uranus, and his genitalia were thrown into the sea, Aphrodite was thus born and arose on a large shell, which West Wind then carried to Cyprus where she was clothed by the Season, thus her name being translated "foam-risen." The sea nymphs dressed her and adorned her with flowers and gold. She now represents Erotic Love as a form of Divine influence, which has resulted in many men becoming capable of falling in love with her.
Greek mythology is thought to be very fascinating to many people; I personally wanted to learn more about it and the Hellenistic period. A new cultural age was led by Alexander the Great when he took over Egypt and the Near East, historians refer to this period as Hellenistic.
Aside from all the correlation between Aphrodite with sex, love, beauty, and marriage, she is also often depicted as being worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring, war and social cohesion. She was, of course, born of the sea and is often depicted in a seashell. Sea farers of Ancient Greece looked to her for safe travels and successful voyages. Sea faring was a vital activity for the Greeks and an important aspect of society in which they believed that Aphrodite assisted them in. “Cults, myths, and images illuminate Aphrodite’s maritime functions form many different angles and her nature of birth helps to understand why she is such an important deity of maritime trade, travel, and naval battle” (Kondoleon).
The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the goddess of sexual desire, Aphrodite, both play a significant role in this poem. These women have the ability to control mortals and even other gods. They are considered to be one of the powerful forces in this poem because of their control over the mortal relationships would systematically change the course of conflict and actions of the mortals. In the beginning of book I, Homer uses Athena to try and calm Achilles down from a quarrel with Agamemnon. During this situation the goddess is about to change a situation when she, Athena, states to