In Greek mythologies there is a pattern of sex, love, and regret that occurs between the men and the women, beginning with Zeus and Hera. It also consists of the male being narcissistic and the female becoming derogated and the two later producing more narcissistic males and derogated females. Which is present in the family tree that starts with Zeus and Callisto, branches to the daughters of Stheneboa and ends with Heracles and Auge. The narcissism and derogation begins with Zeus and Callisto. Simpson begins the telling Zeus and Callisto’s relationship by informing the reader that Callisto hunted with Artemis and had promised to remain a virgin, but Zeus “fell in love with her” and raped her and did so in the form of Artemis (Simpson 167-168). …show more content…
Furthermore in Apollodorus, Zeus then changed Callisto into a bear, because he was scared Hera would find out that he got her pregnant (Simpson 168). Zeus changing Callisto into a bear, is just another piece of evidence that shows how Zeus is narcissistic. That was how Callisto became a derogated female, she had no say in what happened to her. In the eyes of Zeus, she was just a mere mortal woman that he could force himself on and try to hide by changing into a bear. When Callisto was in bear form, Hera was able to get Artemis to shoot and kill her (Simpson 168). Hera detests that Zeus kept cheating on her, but she cannot get revenge on him since he was Zeus. Therefore, she goes after the women that he sleeps with. Which is just one derogated female, Hera, attacking another derogated female, Callisto, for what the narcissistic male, Zeus, had done. This cycle of the narcissistic male and derogated female continues on with the daughters of Stheneboa and Proetus, who are Zeus’s great-great granddaughters, and how they were treated by not only another female, but also males. According to Acusilaus, the daughters of Stheneboea were driven mad by Hera for mocking a …show more content…
Simpson first tells the story of Heracles and how he was narcissistic. Simpson tells of Heracles and his ten labors that turned to twelve when he tried to outsmart Eurystheus by getting help in his second labor and then doing his fifth labor for profit (Simpson 93-95). This indicates his narcissistic personality because he thought that he was better than those around him and could get away with essentially cheating on his labors. Simpson then tells of how Auge became a derogated female. He stated that Heracles, being the narcissistic male that he was, seduced her, resulting in Auge becoming pregnant. Then in order for her father not to find out about the baby, she hid him in a grove sacred to Athena. However, her father did find out and ordered Auge to be executed, she was saved though by Teuthras who married her (Simpson 168). It was through the actions of Heracles, Auge’s father and Teuthras, which made Auge a derogated female. In her story she had no say in what happened to her from being seduced to then being married off. She was just seen as an object to Heracles and Teuthras, someone to produce and
In the 1930s, who would have perpetrated violent acts against women in the name of sexual gratification yet still hold expectations that women take care of them? By making men in general the placeholder for “you” in the poem, it creates a much stronger and universal statement about the sexual inequality women face. She relates to women who have had “a god for [a] guest” yet it seems ironic because she is criticising the way these women have been treated (10). It could be argued, instead, that it is not that she sees men as gods, but that it is the way they see themselves. Zeus was a god who ruled Olympus and felt entitled to any woman he wanted, immortal or otherwise.
Some women are known for the deeds of their sons or husbands, but never for a heroic deed of their own, their personalities, and what they do themselves. It seems the only accomplishment women could achieve was being beautiful. Theseus "had no joy of"(195) the princess Ariadne because she died before this was possible. Homer makes it sound as if Ariadne's life was useless because she did not give Theseus pleasure. The only woman we hear of for a different reason is Klymene, and we only hear of her because she "betrayed her lord for gold."(195) This is the only time we hear of a woman for something she did, and once we do, it is a negative remark. Penelope, Odysseus' queen, is paid attention to only because of her position. Because she has a kingdom, she has suitors crowding around her day and night. Being a woman, Penelope has no control over what the suitors do and cannot get rid of them. The suitors want her wealth and her kingdom. They do not respect her enough to stop feeding on Odysseus' wealth; they feel she owes them something because she won't marry one of them. One of the suitors, Antinoos, tells Telemakhos "...but you should know the suitors are not to blame- it is your own incomparably cunning mother."(21) Even Telemakhos doesn't respect his mother as he should. When the song of a minstrel makes her sad and Penelope requests him to stop playing, Telemakhos interrupts and says to her, "Mother, why do you grudge our own dear minstrel joy of song, wherever his thought may lead.
The very creation of women was set as a punishment to man because Prometheus, son of Iapetos, tried to trick Zeus into eating bones and then, with the tube of a fennel, steals fire to give to mankind. Zeus then proclaimed, "To set against the fire I shall give them an affliction in which they will all delight as they embrace their own misfortune." Out of Zeus' anger came Pandora, the first woman. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mold women from the earth and water, Athene to dress and adorn her, Temptation to give her necklaces of gold, and Hermes to implant a bitch's mind and a thief's temper. Hesiod describes women as a "precipitous trap, more than mankind can manage." Hesiod states, "even so as a bane for mortal men has high-thundering Zeus created women, conspirators in causing difficulty." And thus the first woman was named Pandora, Allgift,-"a calamity for men who live by bread." And so Pandora and all the evils of the world, except Hope, were released into the world by a punishing Zeus. Hesiod explains how formerly the tribes of men lived "remote from ills, without harsh toil and the grievous sickness that are deadly to men." From Pandora descended the female sex, "a great affliction to mortals as they dwell with their husbands- no fit partners for accursed Poverty, but only for Plenty." An analogy is then used to compare women to drones who, according to Hesiod, feed off hard-working bees all day. Hesiod immed...
The book then talks about viewpoints of women, both real and those who face tragedy. Women during this time were very secluded and silent, but the heroines contradicted that. This chapter talks about the images of women in the classical literature in Athens, and the role they had in society. Many tragedies were ones that formed by mythes during the Bronze Age. It showed the separation in what made women heroic, rather than average. While viewing other Scholarly sourcese, Pomerory writes her own theory, she used others
Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).
Earth's Daughters: Stories of Women in Classical Mythology. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 1999. Print. The. Stebbins, Elinor. The "Athena".
In conclusion, no matter how big or small, positive or negative, contributions are made by the hero’s leading lady regarding their quest. Perseus’s leading lady Andromeda contributes both positively and negatively to Perseus’s quest. Hera, the leading lady in Hercules’s story makes a negative contribution to Hercules quest affecting him greatly. Finally Theseus’s leading lady Ariadne make both positive and negative contributions regarding Theseus’s quest. All three of these stories also prove how small women’s’ roles are in Greek mythology and how little they are valued in Greek society. Overall, leading ladies in Greek mythology contribute immensely to the hero’s quests.
Around the time where Greece was known to be the greatest civilization on earth, many people used myths and stories as an extension of their belief because they were culturally significant and important. Ancient Greece was a male-dominated civilization that created laws which would benefit only those with power, which let to the suffering of those without power. The relationship of the sexes was very important, because it showed how men were more superior and woman were frowned upon because they were treated more like minorities. Aeschylus’ “Agamemnon” is about a Greek king who would do anything, including sacrificing his daughter, because he feels as a man and a king whatever decisions he makes are always just. Sophocles’ “Antigone” is about a girl who goes against the religious values of the society, and get persecuted because state laws restrict her
Mortal females cause struggles among men and are portrayed as wicked in Greek Mythology. In the story of How the World and Mankind Were Created, the Father of Men and of the Gods, Zeus, swears to get revenge upon mankind because of the poor sacrifices made to the altars. Therefore, he “[makes] a great evil for men, a sweet and lovely thing to look upon… they [call] her Pandora… the first woman… who are an evil to men, with a nature to do evil… is the source of all misfortu...
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.
Greek tragedy incorporates female characters that symbolize women in Ancient Greece. Through the portrayal of Antigone in the playwright, Antigone in Antigone by Sophocles and Penelope in the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, these two women play opposing roles depicting how they appear to society through their actions. In both of these stories, they embody the ideals of passionate women who are very loyal and brave. Through other female characters in each story such as Penelope and Ismene, we can construct a better view of traits illustrated by Antigone and Penelope.
The Role of Women in Greek Mythology In learning about the feminist movement, we studied the three articles, discussed and reviewed the different authors perspectives on the topic, and learned how important the role of woman in Greek mythology is. In presenting the feminist theory to the class, we analyzed the three articles, Women in Ancient Greece; Women in Antiquity: New Assessments; and Women in Greek Myth, and discussed how although the three articles provided different views on Feminism in mythology, they all essentially are aiming to teach the same basic concept. In order to understand the feminist theory, we have to understand the notion that although myths are invented and that they involve fantasy, the concept of mythology does not necessarily imply that there is no truth of history in them. Some of the humans may have lived while some of the events may have taken place. Most importantly, the social customs and the way of life depicted in the myths are a valuable representation of Greek society.
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.
This myth also parallels with the story of Narcissus and Echo. Both Narcissus and Adonis are troubled with sexuality, therefore illustrating Dorian’s relationship with Sibyl. Adonis avoids Venus and the myth suggests that such behaviour leads to death.
Walcot, P. “Greek Attitudes towards Women: The Mythological Evidence.” Greece & Rome 2nd ser. 31.1 (Apr., 1984): 37-47. Cambridge University Press on Behalf of The Classical Association Article Stable. Web.