Male Dominance In Greek Mythology

As one begins to enter the Greek world of Mythology it cannot be helped but to notice the significant impact these works have had on this day and age. Seeing as how they have such profound impact on our everyday lives, it’s necessary to research and analyze this noteworthy topic. A constant recurring theme worth discussion as seen throughout Greek Mythology is that of men and their dominative status. Some examples of such men include: Hercules – renown for his 12 Great Labors, the cunning Odysseus in his return voyage home, and the ever-courageous Orestes. However, as one could wonder as he/she is reading throughout Greek Mythology, “What is it that gives men such predominance in Greek Mythology?” – now the aim of this paper. As can be observed throughout Greek Mythology, the dominant force of men is shown through their courage which is prevalent in their deeds, quests, and battles.

When one thinks about men and their deeds in Greek Mythology, the notorious character Orestes and his all-too-famous act of vengeance always comes to mind. However let us first turn to Agamemnon and the Greek fleet’s journey to Ilium – which is to set off, in a chain of events, Orestes’ action. As Agamemnon and the Greek fleet drew near to Ilium for their oncoming invasion it is said that “They met at Aulis, a place of strong winds” (E. Hamilton 182) where after several days of winds keeping them on shores, the army grew “desperate” (E. Hamilton 182). As found later by the soothsayer Calchas “Artemis was angry. One of her creatures… a hare had been slain” (E. Hamilton 182) the only way to appease her would’ve been to “[sacrifice]… a royal maiden, Iphigenia, the… daughter of… Agamemnon” (E. Hamilton 182). Reputation at stake, Agamemnon dared...

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...oldness of both father and son, Agamemnon and Orestes to complete their difficult task, the utter strength and courage of Hercules to complete his twelve near-impossible feats, and the single-handed determination that only courage gave to the wise Odysseus, we can see that it was courage and mainly courage that helped all these well-known men to complete the tasks that asserted and showed their dominance in Greek Mythology. Therefore, with these being said, and putting it all into perspective, we see how it was courage that helped not only these same men, but other men as well, such as the brave Achilles, Theseus, Perseus, Ajax, Jason, Diomedes, Bellerophon, Hector, and so on, throughout much of Greek Mythology. This being said, it is then no wonder that “The Greek word for courage or bravery is andreia, a noun formed from the word for a (male) man.” (Raphael 32).