essay

540 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women's role in greek mythology

Throughout Greek mythology male gods were seen as a more superior god then females. Our society has changed drastically since these stories were written. The female characters in Greek mythology tend to be docile and submissive. Their roles were to play as the house wives and to serve for their husband. Most of the heroic characters in Greek mythology were the males. Greek mythology believed that male gods were more dominant to female gods, so therefore they made most of the decisions. In Greek mythology some of the actions of the character are often based on gender role stereotypes, which we still see in our society today.

In Greek mythology female gods are not seen as being capable male gods. Goddesses are usually seen as a timid character, or are afraid of more dominant males. For example, Ismene in the play of Antigone is afraid to stand up for her brother’s dignity and does not want to bury him. She is afraid of King Creon, and she doesn’t want to disobey the law and be put to death. According to the myth that Greek mythology follows, the females live in a society that was de...

Show More
Related

  • What Is The Role Of Women In Herodotus

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Ancient Greece, women had little to no freedom in their lives. For instance, they had no role in politics, leaving that completely to men, were expected to stay indoors for the majority of their lives doing household work because they were under the control of a male relative, usually being their father or husband, and they were not allowed to study medicine. These standards were set by great writers such as Aristotle who wrote of women being inferior to men. He believed women were more emotional, which is why they would be useless in politics, and they were more deceptive and mischievous. Because only men were doctors, many women were dying during childbirth due to the fact that they felt uncomfortable about having a man handle their pregnancy.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles among Gods and Mortals in The Iliad

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Iliad, the gods and goddesses have completely different roles. The females are usually the ones in the battle fighting, while the male gods are putting courage into hearts, but that isn’t to say that is all that they do. This is a completely different role than the mortals have. While the men are out in battle, the women are knitting and cooking. The women are also described so that it seems like they are property and not humans, and that they don’t have any feeling. Where the female gods act and are treated as if they are equal, if not ranked higher.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Greek Mythology

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Greek And Irish Ideology

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the beginning of time, women didn’t have as much power as a men. A great example of this is how women are portrayed in Greek and Irish mythology. Looking at the history of Greek mythology, what roles women play, and the differences between Greek and Irish mythology, it is easy to see the difference in how women are treated compared to men.

    Read More

  • The role of Women in Greece

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    of the family. This fact not only holds true for The Odyssey but in the ancient Greek way of life, too. For example, women did not have such a meaningful role in Greek drama as the men did. The parts of women would be played by men in the majority of the plays. The reason this took place was because all of the playwrights were men. There were cases in which women were used in plays but they were used solely as models. Nonetheless, all of the types of women that lived in ancient Greece were depicted in all of the playwrights. The women in these plays were depicted by the role of a sinner, saint, poetess, coward, heroine, and

    Read More

  • Comparing Homer And Hesiod

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    The goddesses such as Hera, Thetis and Athene are strong, powerful, and elegant. Aside from powerful, in Iliad the goddess Hera represents a nurturing and motherly side, and Homer writes, “I have come down to stay your anger but will you obey me? from the sky; and the goddess of the white arms Hera sent me, who loves both of you equally in her heart and cares for you” (7). In the Odyssey we have the two goddesses, Calypso and Circe whom Odysseus has extended affairs with and they are beautiful and embraced sexuality. Calypso had an egocentric and dominative character because she wanted Odysseus as her immortal husband (Bauschatz, 22). Women gods in the Odyssey and Iliad are elegant, strong, and wise while mortal women are property and subordinate as written in Hesiod’s Works and

    Read More

  • Clytemnestra And Calypso In The Odyssey

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    In ancient greek mythology in the 13th century men had different point of views of women. Men thought that they were far greater and better in nature because they should rule and women should be the subjects of men’s rule. The only thing women would take care of is their household and their families, which created major gender roles. On the other hand, in the Odyssey things are much more different, they portray women to have stronger powers than most men and overpower them. Some women are viewed to be goddess, monstrous, and are even more powerful than most men. Clytemnestra and Calypso in the Odyssey take a major role in this part, yet they both have their

    Read More

  • Essay

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    “‘They score! Henderson has scored for Canada!’” Foster Hewitt wordlessly described” (Pelletier) when Paul Henderson scored the series-winning goal. This allowed Canada to win the 1972 Summit Series, a moment that no one would ever forget since it all happened during the climax of the Cold War. Prior to this, the Soviets had won the previous three Olympic gold metals since Canada could not use its NHL players. Thus, this provided Canada with the chance to play hockey against the USSR using its best players. This raised the question: if Canada were able to send its best players, would it still be enough to beat the Soviets? Everyone in Canada was certain that the Soviets would not win a single game, but little did they know they underestimated the extent of the Soviets abilities. Tied in the last few minutes of game eight, Canada had to score or they would lose the series. However, when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal, never before had a single sporting event meant so much to Canadians. Therefore, Paul Henderson’s goal is a defining moment for Canada in the twentieth century becauseit provided Canada with the opportunity to evolve hockey, proved that Canada and our democratic society were superior to the USSR and their communist society, and brought citizens together to unify Canada as a nation.

    Read More

  • Ishtar's Role Of Women In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women in The Epic of Gilgamesh plays a very significant role. Women were not considered as the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans but they still had great influence over others around them, at that time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu were men, women did not necessarily play a minor role. The roles of women in The Epic of Gilgamesh were mixed. Women are represented as harlots (Shamhat), wise (Ninsun) and as gods (Ishtar. In the epic of Gilgamesh, it can be seen that while men were considered to be the most powerful and wisest humans and gods, women had the power to significantly influence these men. Several women mentioned and described in the Epic of Gilgamesh carried roles that had important effects on the men they encountered. One woman I found very interesting is Ishtar, the goddess of love and fertility. I will discuss how women were being portrayed in the story using her character to support my analysis and how the creators of this epic portrayed women in Mesopotamia through this character.

    Read More

  • ANCIENT GREEK WOMEN

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women had very few rights, they lived as prisoners, serving men 24 hours a day. Women were sheltered from society, restricted to their husbands and their husbands houses, crying out for help and justice but there is no one to there to hear their screams. In the play Antigone when the title character had to sneak out of the house to meet up with Ismene. Ancient Greek men ruled a lot like over protective fathers with teenage daughters. Men were also scared of women gaining confidence and begin thinking on their own or worse taking action or speaking out against men, like in the play Antigone where Antigone confronts Creon by burying Polyneices after Creon strictly stated that no one bury him. If someone were to bury him, the whole Polis would stone them to death. When Creon found out that someone buried Polyneices, he did not even consider that it could have been a women that did it.

    Read More

  • Role of Gender in the Book of Genesis and Theogony.

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    The male role of domination is also shown in Theogony where Zeus is the highest and greatest of all the goddesses and gods in power (Heseiod, pg 4). And throughout the text male gods were portrayed as more important than the goddesses (Hesiod, pg 7). The goddesses would even sing to praise male gods. The text explains the Muses (Goddesses) sang of the august family of gods, of Zeus, and of family of men and giants (Hesiod, pg 4).

    Read More

  • The Role Of Seduction, And Female Roles In The Odyssey

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Odyssey, women play a much greater role in the development of the story than in previous instances in Greek Mythology. These women, such as the Sirens and Circe, not only serve the purpose of providing multiple opportunities for Odysseus to abandon his responsibilities in Ithaca but they are also integral to the theme of seduction and male weakness in the Odyssey. While some of the female characters in this epic do support the male heroes, their role in the Odyssey has more to do with showing how simple it would be for these heroes to fail. Their purpose in the epic, to some extent, is to support the male heroes in this way.

    Read More

  • womenant Portrayal of Women in Sophocles' Antigone

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although ancient Greece was a male-dominate society, Sophocles' work Antigone, portrays women as being strong and capable of making wise decisions. In this famous tragedy, Sophocles uses the characters Ismene and Antigone to show the different characteristics and roles that woman are typical of interpreting. Traditionally women are characterized as weak and subordinate and Ismene is portrayed in this way. Through the character of Antigone, women finally get to present realistic viewpoints about their character.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in the Play: Agamemnon by Aeschylus

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play Agamemnon, Aeschylus depiction of gender roles are both typical and atypical of a standard male or female behavior in the culture and era because male characters in ancient Greece resemble the powerful nature of a warrior. They are seen as the head of the household where the male role is to go out and do hard labour to provide for the family and bring honor to the country, while females are to stay home to tend the kids and do house chores. This is most typical when looking at the gender role in Ancient Greece. Female characters are dependent to the status of the male characters. In the play, Clytemnestra hold great power because of her title as the queen of Greece and wife of Agamemnon. Although male characters are significant in the play, female characters such as Clytemnestra and Cassandra depicted by Aeschylus are complex for numerous reasons. First, Cassandra is a very different character, since she was given the ability to tell and predict the future. Her role in the play is symbolic because of her given ability and her constant struggle in the Trojan War. Cassandra went through rape, war, losing her family and abducted to a kingdom cursed by the Greek gods. Her persistent characteristic make her a powerful female character as equal and symbolic as other male characters in the play. However, the reader must understand that in ancient Greece, the cultural mythology of Greek gods and goddesses is primary to understanding the text. The gods hold the greatest power of all. Apollo is a popular god in Greek for his passion to give unnatural power to humanity. Cassandra was chosen by Apollo to inherit the ability of comprehending prophecies. When Apollo has fallen in love with Cassandra, but she refuses, he cursed her ...

    Read More

  • Greek Mythology Reflection Paper

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout all Greek myths, the gods were always created in the image of man. This shows how Greeks viewed men in a positive way and thought that they were more powerful and superior to women. In addition, they thought men and women are unequal and that men were given jobs that required more physical strength. Although women played a role in Greek myths, they were not as important as men. Women had a more easier and feminine jobs than men. In the Greek creation myth, we see Hades as the god of underworld and Aphrodite as the goddess of love. The difference between th...

    Read More

More about essay

Open Document