What Was The Role Of Women In Ancient Greek Mythology

In our current world, gender expectations apparent in our society be traced back to ancient mythology. Women of today find inspiration in beauty and fashion often unknowingly form ancient cultures. Similarly, popular masculine attributes are relatable to the myths of heroes and important gods. Basing current social standards upon mythological texts however creates problems. In striving to achieve such physical greatness people of this era are attempting to reach the impossible: to become a god or goddess of immortal standards themselves. By relating ancient myths to that of the current media, one can view the effect that the ancient world has upon the social standards apparent in our society today.

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.

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?"

Although, the women often appears in Greek mythology as dangerous and immoral. In the myths of the Greeks from the earliest poems of the archaic period to the sophisticated dramas of classical Athens, there appears a pervasive fear of women. Female characters of many Greek dramas child killer Medea, the husband killing Clytemnestra, and the mother killing Electra. While these females appeared previously in Greek myth, the Greek authors further explored their characters and displayed their malice in greater depth. As can be seen from myths and drama, this fear as it surfaced in ancient Athens is voicing of the male concern that women are a threat to their masculine society and have the potential to disrupt and destroy

Greek Woman was considered to be submissive which means once you are married to a woman, then she is in your full control. The woman in ancient was not allowed to own the property, in one way we can also relate that the woman had fewer rights than the man because they could hardly express their feeling. The woman was not considered as the citizens.

Amazons were mythic female warriors, who fought many male Greek heroes and supposedly some real ancient men. They are first mentioned in Homer’s Iliad as Amazones antianeirai, but their part in Greek myth likely goes further back. They are one of the most prevalent subjects of Greek vase paintings, and they are commonly seen in murals, clay dolls, sculptures, and monuments of the ancient world. They were said to be fierce fighters, mainly with bows and javelins.

Throughout history, most societies held women in an inferior status compared to that of men. This was often justified as being the natural result of biological differences between the sexes. In many societies, for example, people believed women to be more emotional and less decisive than men. Women were also viewed to be less intelligent and less creative by nature. However, research shows that women and men have the same range of emotional, intellectual, and creative characteristics. Many sociologists and anthropologists maintain that various cultures taught girls to behave according to negative stereotypes (images) of femininity, thus keeping alive the idea that women are naturally inferior.

Ancient Greek mythology is somewhat different from the common modern way of thinking. Ancient Greek mythology will mostly base its acceptance of actions on the laws of the god’s, while modern society mostly bases its acceptance off of social affairs or the people around them. Even though twentieth century readers might have a different way of thinking than ancient Greek’s, the essence of describing a character in literature remains constant. Throughout the semester, many of the ancient literary works read portrayed characters in many different ways.

The roles of women in ancient times is undeniably important. They were the center of the home and the center of the family. Family was most important in these times, especially the fact that all men needed heirs, without women this would not happen. They were cunning seductresses, obedient housewives, givers of life and the center of all households. They were not given citizenship or had political power, but held power and influence none the less. Women were not worthy of education and were meant to stay subservient. They were thought of as worth less than a man, but where would men be without women?

In ancient Greece, women were socially divided. They lack the access to many things such that men could do. Such activities include opportunities associated with wine drinking. The symposion, a private drinking party was designed only for men. It is stated that “walls were often decorated with drinking-related murals or paraphernalia, and the use of a special room emphasized the separation between everyday life and the symposion, during which different rules applied. The andron was sometimes the only room in the house with a stone floor, which sloped toward the center to make cleaning easier. Its importance was such that houses were often designed around it” (pg 47). Men in ancient Greece were very privileged, whereas women were often excluded

Many religions and cultures no matter how small or large have creation myths and legends that were deemed to be important to their livelihood. Mythology was a tool that was used to explain how the world came to be. It gave explanations for how the seasons change, where humans come from, why there are specific rituals for a certain culture, and structure to how societies were governed. In Classical Greek mythology patriarchy is a common theme that was used for how society was governed. Zeus became king of the gods and from the mythologies created Ancient Greece followed the ways by which the gods lived. The Greek goddesses didn’t obtain higher power unless they had to threaten another god or they were working with a male god. Patriarchy was used in mythology to promote the male domination of government and the mainstream governing forms of the Ancient Greek world. Examining the story of Hesiod's Theogony we find instances that there was a patriarchal structure.

It is a common misconception to think that women in the ancient world were of less importance because of their gender. The opposite is actually true. Women of ancient times played many important roles within their villages, kingdoms, and home life's. Of course the stereotype of a stay at home mother was predominant in many parts of the peasant world, but many powerful women came to rise in various cultures. Ancient civilizations such as Egypt worshiped their women more than any other during their time. Ancient Egypt had strong female rulers and political figures before any civil. Greece's famously worshiped goddess and Aphrodite, goddess of love, was an important factor in the everyday life of ancient Grecians. Feminism was strongly undermined because of the patriarchy that was held high above civilians heads, but secretly the women were gaining power.

Thesis: In ancient patriarchal societies, the women had no choice in their subordination to men; their role in society was seen as futile. A woman's only known benefit was to bare and produce offspring.

In ancient society, the established hierarchy placed men above women. Women were, for the most part, defined by their role as wives and mothers, their ability to bear children giving them worth and social recognition. As stated by Ovid’s Niobe, her children made her “worthy of praise and [the] envy of men and women everywhere” (Ovid 110), highlighting their importance not only for ancient women but for society in general. Since children are the key to continuing a bloodline or people, women’s reproductive capacities made them essential. While motherhood was an occupation which both involved and was dictated by men, pregnancy and childbirth are things that no man can imitate, ultimately making them a purely female domain. For example, there are several instances in which a female immortal conceives without male participation, such as when Hera “bore [Hephaistos] without making love” (___Hesiod 87 line 932____) and when Gaia gave “birth to the barren, raging Sea without any sexual love” (____Hesiod 64 line 131). Furthermore, Artemis’ statue in her temple in Ephesus seems to uphold this idea (___Lecture___). The goddess’ statue is covered in what many scholars believe to be breasts which is typically considered to be a symbol of fertility (__Dr. Lecture___). The fact that a chaste goddess such as Artemis, who turned Actaeon into a stag and caused his own dogs to tear him apart simply for glimpsing the goddess bathing (_____Ovid____), could also be a fertility symbol emphasizes

In many ancient societies women were treated as they were property of men. Men were far more superior whereas women had little to no rights or freedom. Gender affected people's place within society in places like Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Ancient societies were very similar in some aspects, but there were also many differences involving gender roles.