A loud stomping is heard in the distance accompanied by the sound of trees falling. A curly haired, red headed woman crouches through tall grass and slowly pulls back an arrow ready to fire at a mechanical beast. The arrow is fired and hits directly at the dinosaur-like machines weak spot and it immediately falls and hits the ground like a ton of bricks. The video game Horizon Zero Dawn is one of a few instances in modern day, western society where a woman is used as the strong, yet balanced champion in an allegory (Guerilla Games 2017). While sex and gender equality in contemporary western culture still has a way to go, an individual would find it difficult to argue that it has not improved immensely. However, this progress was not always …show more content…
Zeus then decides to send Hermes to the underworld to convince Hades to send her back. However, Hades tricks Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds, which would stop her from leaving the underworld entirely (Demeter…). There are a couple conclusions that can be extrapolated from this event. One of which is that Zeus, a male, and Hermes, another male eventually came to rescue the damsel in distress from forever having to reside in the underworld with her kidnapper, which also demonstrates the lack of power Persephone or women had in this era of Greek history. Furthermore, Hades is also able to trick Persephone into eating the seeds, which shows that his cleverness triumphed over Persephone’s intelligence or lack thereof. This deduction shows the lack of respect Greek culture had for a woman’s intellect at the time. Moreover, the story of Cupid and Psyche only strengthens the argument that women were second class citizens in olden Greek society.
Psyche, the dreamer of the story of Cupid and Psyche, is one of three daughters of a king and queen. All the daughters are beautiful; however, Psyche stands out as the most stunning of them all. In fact, men began to worship her like a goddess and ignore or forget about Venus’ altar (Cupid…). Once again, the only redeeming quality mentioned of a woman or in this case Psyche
"PSYCHE : Greek Goddess of the Soul | Mythology, Psykhe, W/ Pictures." THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art. Web. 8 Oct. 2011. .
Hades fell in love with Demeter’s daughter, Persephone. Persephone loved to live about in the fields that her mother made. Hades wanted Persephone as his bride. Zeus, the father of Persephone, did not deny but warned that Demeter would be furious. He captured her and forced her to stay in the underworld. To capture her, he arose from the depth with a chariot of horses. He stole her from the flowery field and took her to a dungeon of darkness. Persephone gained the name “core”. This was symbolizing her loss of girlhood. Demeter went looking for her daughter. She could not find her, and she almost came to the extent of barring the whole earth of the vegetation. Zeus could not let this happen, so he sent for Persephone to be received. Persephone would not eat, but Hades would not let her leave until she ate at least one thing. Hades gave her a forbidden fruit. Any fruit that was to be eaten in the underworld, the eater of that fruit must stay in the underworld. Her eating the fruit meant she had to stay in the underworld forever. A compromise was made between Demeter and Hades. Four months of the year Persephone had to stay with Hades and be the queen of the underworld. During this time the Greeks entered a cold and barren time called winter. The other eight months, Persephone spent her year with Demeter. During this time crops and vegetation would be abundant (Peterson and Dunworth 143). These were the times of spring and summer. When it was time for Persephone to rule the underworld, she was in charge of watching the special prisoners. The prisoners were the defeated titans (Calame, 266).
In the Hymn to Demeter, the rape of Persephone starts with her picking flowers and she comes across the hundred headed narcissus which "Gaia made grow as a trick for the blushing maiden" (HHDem. 8-9). This trick is set into motion by Zeus, but since Gaia plays the role of protecting the youngest generation, this is a foreshadowing that Persephone's ordeal will be for a good cause. Hades moves in to take Persephone when the grounds gapes open and she begins to cry aloud. Demeter hears her daughters screams but she is powerless against Hades, hence the separation of distance between them. The grief stricken Demeter goes through an experience which plays out the role of a symbolic death. this is because the relationship between the mother and daughter ends at a wedding.
When Odysseus arrives, she comments that she has not seen a man in over 100 years. She keeps him captive for 7 years in hopes that he will eventually marry her. She is egocentric and likes to think that letting Odysseus go was her idea. She releases him when Hermes gives her a message from Zeus. Although she is self centered with keeping Odysseus, she also promotes early advocacy for women sexual equality. It is seen unjust for a goddess to have sexual relations with a mortal man. She told Hermes, “‘Hard are you gods and envious beyond all to grudge that goddesses should mate with men and take without disguise mortals for lovers,’” (Homer
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
In two amazing poems, both poets make allusions to the myth of Persephone. The myth of Persephone tells of her kidnap by Hades, the God of the Underworld. She is then fated to spend one-third of the year in the underworld as Hades’ bride because she consumed pomegranate seeds. This myth appears frequently as a metaphor not only in “The Pomegranate” and “The Bistro Styx,” but in many others as well. In both poems, the myth of Persephone is used to symbolize the mother-daughter relationships.
Numerous lively heroes ventured into Persephone’s clutches with the hopes of beating death, yet she explains that despite their god-like strength they too will die. Two such heroes were Theseus and Pirithous. When Theseus and Pirithous attempted to kidnap the Queen of the Underworld she enticed them to sit in the chair of forgetfulness where their flesh fused to the cushions and refused to relinquish them (Taylor 268). Persephone appears many times to offer food, drink, or rest to weary heroes in the underworld in order to trap them there forever in the same manner that Hades tricked her (Taylor, 268). Because of Persephone and Hades’ antics many people hated them as gods, but Persephone’s cruelty serves as a reminder that while death is necessary it is not always kind. In the same manner that Persephone accepted her fate, mortals must also accept their own imminent
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.
She was told not to eat anything, for then she would have to remain in the underworld. While in the underworld, Persephone consumed six pomegranate seeds. Her mother Demeter, goddess of agriculture, threw a fit. Demeter complained to her brother, Zeus. To be fair, Zeus stated that Persephone would have to remain in the underworld one month per seed each year.
A Greek myth that showcases deception is the story of Cupid and Psyche. Even though this story ends with the cliché “happily ever after,” this story is riddled with deceit. The first time Cupid sees Psyche, he falls in love with her. He has Apollo tell Psyche’s father through his oracle that she must be left alone on a hill. When she is left there, Zephyr lifts her up and takes her to Cupid’s mansion. When Psyche first meets her new husband, he refuses to
In a society in which social position was vital for having a successful family, the Greek and Roman families internally struggled with one another. This constant conflict stems from the father’s desire for control and the society’s high placement of power. In the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone, Zeus’s interest for his selfish gains prompts him to “ ( give ) Persephone to the Lord of Dead to become his queen “ ( Rosenberg Demeter 96). Zeus does not ask Persephone nor Demeter, his beloved wife, presenting that he does not show any opinions on their feelings. Although Zeus in reality just wanted to have a powerful family with the addition of Hades, his love for power overrode his love for his family and created a tension between the other members and him. In another Greek myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece, shows man’s love for supremacy through ...
...der stratification—unequalness of power, property, and prestige between men and women (Henslin 280)—still encounters within our society, and men are usually superior to women; women are uprising feminism. Henslin defines feminism as “the philosophy that men and women should be politically, economically, and socially equal; organized activities on behalf of this principle” (292). An example of a toy I saw showing feminism is a pink bow and arrow in the archery section of the toy store. Although the black bows and arrows dominated this aisle, there was one bow and arrow for girls showing that females have their right to be equaled with men. One last game I saw in Toys R Us that was interesting to me was a video game called Grand Theft Auto, which is a video game intended for boys. The point of this game is to join gangs and do their “dirty work”. In some parts of this
Pursuit and Hindrance: The Self-Identity of Mistress Hibbins in The Scarlet Letter and Cristina in Lives of the Saints. Abstract In The Scarlet Letter (1850) by the famous American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mistress Hibbins, a character recognized as a witch in society, not only demonstrates a strong spirit of religious resistance but is also a forerunner of feminist thought. Similarly, in the Italian-Canadian novelist Nino Ricci’s debut and masterpiece Lives of the Saints (1990), Ricci succeeds in portraying Cristina, a woman with a rebellious spirit. These two female characters, though from different time and space backgrounds, have shown persistent pursuit of self-identity.
According to “Persephone, Demeter, and Hades” It starts off with “Persephone who is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture (farming). Hades who is her uncle, abducts Persephone while she was picking flowers with her companions in a meadow.” According to “Classical Mythology” it states “Hades had other plans for Persephone: he would steal her innocence and virginity and turn her into the dreaded goddess of the Underworld.” It also states how “Persephone was gathering flowers one day on a plain in Sicily. Hades appeared, thundering across the plain in his four-horse chariot. The god then jumped down upon Persephone, and scooped her up with one arm. After abducting her, he carries her off to the Underworld. Demeter who is Persephone’s mother soon came to retrieve her daughter, but was unable to find a trace of Persephone. She traveled to the corners of the earth, searching for nine full days and nights without ever stopping to eat, drink, bathe, or rest. Demeter was in a fury so in retaliation she destroyed lands, crops, and livestock as she complained to the loss of her daughter. She threatened to make the earth unproductive forever and thus destroy all of humankind if she did not find her
Although written in the olden times, one of Apuleius’s story collections in the book of Metamorphoses entitled "The Tale of Cupid and Psyche" relates to the modern age issue of marriage and relationship. It reflects and gives hope to some relationships that started wrong but ended up good. I will examine the story of “The Tale of Cupid and Psyche” and will relate its relevance to the modern times. “The Tale of Cupid and Psyche” is a tale about the relationship that the God of Love, Cupid, has with a mortal named Psyche. Venus, the Goddess of beauty and the mother of Cupid, was offended when people believed in a rumour that Psyche, the most beautiful of the three daughters of the king and queen, is Venus’s daughter from a union with a mortal.