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The Role Of Women In Greek Myths

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The roles of women have been changing since the beginning of recorded history, and even more rapidly in recent times. However, looking back at history, much can be said about the roles women had through the myths about them. The stories of Eve and Alcestis are both antiquated tales of women from different cultures but much can be discerned from how the plots of these stories are the same and where they diverge. The story of Alcestis came from the Ancient Greek playwright Euripides in 438 BC, and is a tale of a mythical queen who is constantly making sacrificed. The ancient Israelite story of Eve is much older and tells the story of the first woman and how she is the reason behind human suffering on earth. Whereas the actions of the women in …show more content…

In the Biblical tale of Eve, Eve is portrayed to be a challenge for men and a detriment for them. As the story goes, Eve is the person first swayed by the serpent to disobey God. She eats from the tree and gains knowledge of good and evil, and after she eats, Adam follows her example and eats as well. This story makes it seem like the original sin and the fall of man are the fault of Eve. Overall, the impression of Eve is very poor, since she seems incapable of making the right choices, and is even commanded to follow the will of her husband because of this supposed flaw she posses. On the other hand, the myth of Alcestis portrays the female protagonist in a much more positive light. Alcestis, following her own will, seems to make the right choices while Eve failed to. First, when her sisters are plotting to chop their father, King Pelias, she is the only one to object and to try to stop her sisters from being fooled by the magic of Medea; she is clearly a character capable of making sound decisions on her own. Later, when her husband is about to die, she also seems to make the right moral decision, laying down her life for her husband and being rewarded by having her soul brought back from the realm of the dead. These are two very different portrayals of women, where one story’s female protagonist can make the good choices on her own while the one in the other story

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