Misrepresentation Of Women's Role In Mythology

The book is intended for an academic audience that is already familiar with Greek history and mythology. The book is also valuable to those who are interested in women’s studies, and the role of women in ancient cultures. I found the author’s descriptions of women in ancient Greece to be interesting because she integrates portrayals of women in art, mythology and literature from two eras that depict how women lived and were perceived in early Greek civilization. Understanding how women were portrayed in ancient society helps one to understand the progression of women’s roles in society through

The classic Greek myths found in Mythology and ancient stories told in the Bible, often show striking resemblance to each other in narrative, symbolism, and thematic content. In both texts’ respective “Creation Stories”, women are portrayed similarly, cast in a rather unflattering light. The representation of women in both Mythology and the Bible and their portrayal has lasting impact on the way woman are perceived in the present day.

For thousands of years there has been a strong distinction between the roles of men and women. Often times in stories there will be women that are only mentioned for their beauty and charisma. Hardly ever will you see pages upon pages being spent talking about the true character and accomplishments of women characters. Even though stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Genesis were written thousands of year ago, (when stories were told mostly told from a males perspective) the light shined on women in the texts show them as wise, strong, and greatly influential beings. In The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of  Genesis, the writer shows the women as bringers of knowledge,  guidance, and care to the men in the texts that are lacking thereof.

The Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the classic mythology we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different than women's roles in today's society. Although there are a few similarities to women's roles in today's society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the attributes of Greco-Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths. By comparing the roles of women in the myths with women's roles today we will see that the roles have many differences and few similarities.

Women in Ancient Rome enjoyed a slightly better life than those in Ancient Greece. Roman men "placed a very high value on marriage, home and the family and this made quite a difference to society's treatment of women" (Thompson, 2005). Women still were passed from their father's supervision to their husbands, but enjoyed a more important role. While women could not hold

The Greek and Roman societies were a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the many pieces of literature involving Greeks and Romans we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different from women’s roles in today’s society. Although there are a few similarities to women’s roles in today’s society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the qualities of Greek and Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths.

For this informative report I will attempt to point out the roles women and how they are viewed in ancient Greece. I will then show how these views are present in Homer’s "The Odyssey." How are women, goddess or mortal, conveyed in "The Odyssey?"

Women had very different rights in Republican Rome to their male counterparts, and although they could be classified as citizens and could play certain roles in Roman religion, they were unable to participate in many of the activities that clearly defined a Roman, such as military service, voting on legislation and candidates for office, and holding and elective position either locally or at Rome. It was also considered anomalous for women to be in learned professions, so female teachers and poets were ignored, which means that the only evidence that we have for women in this period comes from what men have written about them, either in poetry, histories or where they are concerned in laws. This means that when studying women of this time it must be considered that the sole perspective that has survived is male, and that the thoughts of the women themselves are not represented at all, therefore it could be argued that women, in general, played a very small role in the world of Roman politics and intellectual culture.

The Roman woman had a very limited role and they could not attend, speak in, or vote at political meetings. Women were not allowed to hold any position of political responsibility. They were not allowed to voice their opinion in public but in the Greek society, the woman was considered just like an object.

Within the writings of Greek mythology women commonly display certain attributes that the Greek society associated with women or femininity back in the day. A common quality demonstrated amongst the women in Greek society, and more specifically in Greek mythology, is deception. Throughout the Greek literature discussed in class, women have commonly showed their deception and trickery in different ways and for numerous different reasons. The Odyssey, Theogony, and Homeric Hymm all displayed Greek women showing some form of deception within the stories and poems. These stories show various ways and reasons for Greek women being deceiving and disingenuous, reasons for which there needs to be

How are women portrayed in our time in society? Women in current times are portrayed as the home lady and the one who takes care of children and are not ones who show strength and power. The women in The Odyssey show otherwise. Odysseus,the king of Ithaca, lives through many moments where women in the story are very powerful, controlling and, smart. Athena, The Sirens, and Penelope are female characters in the Odyssey, show many ways that women were portrayed in Ancient Greece and how it is different from current day portrayal of women. Penelope, wife of Odysseus, shows that she is very smart. Athena, the god of peace and wisdom, shows that she is very powerful, and the mermaids, also known as

Roman culture has been one of the most important civilizations in world history and it became the model to follow for future nations. Due to its importance as a Republic and empire, many Roman historians documented the lives and experiences of Rome and the bravery of their rulers. The Roman Empire came to be because of its leaders and victories over other regions at that time, but what is not as widely documented was the lives of the individual who supported such brave men, their women. Roman society had various important roles for women to take, some were wealthy and influential and also there were the proletariat females. Important to females, and males as well, marriage was a symbolic procedure in Roman society.

While Rome was dominated by the Etruscans women had a lot more privileges than the women of Greece (Reilly, 169). However when Rome took control, the Romans didn’t follow in the footsteps of the Etruscans concerning gender relations. Roman women were a part of a highly patriarchal society, where the men governed society. This type of a patriarchal society can be seen in Roman law, for example if a women committed adultery her husband was allowed to kill her. Another example of how men dominated the society was a father was allowed to sell his daughter into slavery without facing any legal troubles (Reilly, 169-170).

The Roman family was male-dominated, typically headed by the most senior male figure (“The Role of Women in the Roman

Women’s roles in society have changed over the decades compared to roles in myths. In both positions, women are seen as weaker when put side by side with men. Despite being seen as weaker, their importance in society has increased. On the other hand, their importance in mythology has stayed at the same level. In result of the power that men obtain, they are given the most important roles, leaving mythological women to accept the supplementary roles. Mythology demonstrates that women serve roles of little importance while the men are given the opposite. This concept is proven through many myths, including O’Rahilly’s “Theseus and the Minotaur”, a Buddhist myth, “The life of Buddha”, and Green’s “Arthur and the Two Swords.” As the mythical stories