Women's Roles in Greek Society

Rhea grew angry of this and hid the youngest son, Zeus, from him. According to Diodorus Siculus, Rhea tricked her husband to eat a rock instead of Zeus. Zeus would live to be brought up on the island of Crete i... ... middle of paper ... ...e in Classical mythological themes. Works Cited Coppens, Philip. "Crete: the Egyptian Island of the Dead?"

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... ... middle of paper ... ...herself as a man and has misogynistic tendencies. Fortunately, the role of women in society today has changed very much from the roles that they played in classical mythology. Women are now seen as being able to play any role they desire, whether it is the role of a housewife or the role of a workingwoman with a successful career. It is no surprise that achieving the roles that women play today took such a long time when for so long even in mythology women’s roles in society were constantly pushed in the direction of domestics and when for so long women were portrayed as less then pleasant creatures.

Most of us think that the Trojan War has its roots in the feud created by Prince of Troy, Prince, when he abducted Helen, the beautiful wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. Although it is partly true, the Trojan War actually has its connection in the marriage between Peleus and Thetis, a sea-goddess. Eris, the goddess of discord, wasn’t invited to their marriage. She was outraged. She threw a golden apple onto the table in the wedding banquet, and said that it belonged to the fairest.

The Iliad is a story of strong characters, brave heroism, raw human emotion and physical and emotional strife. From war prizes to goddesses, women play a large role in that story. From the opening of the seemingly male-oriented epic, women are at the center of the plot movement and motivation. The war between Greece and Troy originally starts over a woman, Helen. The wife of Menelaus and the promised prize to Paris for being the judge of a beauty contest for the goddesses, Helen is the nexus of the war.

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In the case of the above, it was the women of Greece. The myths involved showed the effects of the hybris of the Centaurs and the similar nature of the Amazons. The attribution of these traits to the women of Greece threatened the stability of the established patriarchy. Consequently, measures were taken to ensure maintenance of the women of Greece. It would be interesting to further explore the myths of Greek culture for examples of rebellious women and how they were dealt with.

Women of Homer's epic, The Iliad, were considered primary instigators of the Trojan war. The characteristics attributed to women in ancient Greek mythology may have been key to the outbreak of the war. But many ask why Homer would choose to reflect so deeply on the feminine roles of this war fought by men. Although the beginning of the war was not spoken of in The Iliad, the origin of the war is traced back to jealous goddesses. The gods and goddesses were feasting together to celebrate the marriage of Peleus and Thetis.