The Role Of Women In Classical Myth

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Gender dynamics of ancient Greece were heavily skewed towards men in al aspects of life in their culture. Little to nothing is known, only assumed, of the woman’s life although much is known of men. What is known of women is very gravely depicted and filled with hatred and anger towards women. This idea is represented through Powell’s work Classical Myth in his section dedicated to females of the period and is then supported through the work written long ago by Hesiod in his poem Work’s and Days. In both Powell and Hesiod’s words the general attitude towards women is grim as well as the depiction of their worth in regards to consumerism and applicable work. The general attitude towards women is resentful and feels as if though women are seen …show more content…

Hesiod writes of how women and all of their downfalls came to be in the myth of Pandora and her infamous box. Women were not a well-intended gift for those already inhabiting Earth, primarily towards men. Women were given as a underhanded attempt at revenge by the Gods as told in the poem in the words of, “You really delighted in swindling me by stealing the fire, but soon you will find it a curse to yourself and to men yet to be. I shall give them a present to compensate for the fire. May they be merry at heart, forever embracing this horror” (114). In this passage alone women, represented through Pandora, are described as a punishment and as a horror. Hesiod goes on to later describe women as possessing “the soul of a bitch” (114) and how the Gods “filled her with lies, with swindles, all sorts of thievish behavior… a curse to men” (115). The representation of women in this ancient culture is rooted in hate and is not shown in a light of affirmation. This results in the gender dynamic and value of women to be swayed downwards in comparison to men that then transferred into their daily

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