Introduction
Throughout the history the issue of gender inequality was one of the main topics of debates in different cultures, especially in such areas as art, literature and, of course mythology. In most cultures men were portrayed as very powerful and strong, while women played a role of subservient creatures. The purpose of this research paper is to discover in a deeper detail the place and the role of women in Greek mythology. Despite the fact that historically women were always portrayed in a negative light and usually accompanied men, in Greek mythology female characters were as important as male ones. In many myths heroines were showed as strong, brave and powerful women, which leads to a conclusion that they played as important role in Greek mythology as men. Thus, the thesis of the paper is to prove and demonstrate clearly the significance of female characters in mythology and prove their power and strength that are often ignored.
The first part of the research paper will provide brief general information about Greek mythology and its importance in terms of Greek history and culture. The second part of the essay will focus on the discussion of women in the myths and analysis of some female characters.
Brief Information about Greek Mythology
Myth always played an important role for Greek culture and history because a myth is not just a story or fairytale. For Greek people myth was a narrative that tells about the beginning of the world and first people that inhabited it. Therefore, myths were always considered as not only symbolical, but also as historical and literal truth. Since ancient Greek people were always interested in the roots of their existence and wanted to know how they came to this world, mythology was created in order become a source of information. Myths told stories and at the same time they answered to people’s questions about the world and their existence.
In terms of the history, mythology is believed to have a long history – not less than 2500 years when the first myth was created. A printed book with myths appeared much later, but also quite many years ago – approximately 500 years ago. Originally, myths were created as tales, which was the product of people’s imagination. The word myth itself meant simply ‘words’. (Rose 2) Traditional Greek mythology is based on three collections of myths that are still popular and well-known nowadays: Theogony written by the poet Hesiod, and the Odyssey and the Iliad written by the poet Homer.
Greek mythology is unique because it has several specific characteristics. The main feature of it is that myths are stories, the central characters of which are Gods and Goddesses, who demonstrated human feelings. Another characteristic of Greek mythology is that in contrast to such ancient religions as Judaism and Hinduism, the mythology of Ancient Greek did not include any spiritual teachings or special revelations. The third unique feature that the mythology did not have any structure or written code like the Bible, for example. (Livingstone and Dowden 527)
Powerful Women in Greek Mythology
As it has been already mentioned at the beginning of the essay, the women in the Greek mythology are not portrayed only as victims, weak creates and shadows of male characters. Instead, there are many examples in the Greek myths, where power and strength of women were demonstrated. One of the best examples of such women from the mythology is Aphrodite. This goddess used her feminine, beauty and sexuality in order to deceive others on the Mount Olymp into having affairs with each other and falling in love with mortals. This proves that she was not only a beautiful woman, but was also a powerful and strong goddess, who was able to influence others and to manipulate them. Her main weapon is her sexuality that Aphrodite was able to use effectively and that made her a respected Goddess of Olympus. Aphrodite broke the stereotype that sexual and feminine women are powerless and weak. As it is written in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite: “But for the rest there is no escaping Aphrodite, neither for blessed gods, nor for mortal men. She even led astray the mind of Zeus who delights in thee thunderbolt, he who is the greatest and has the greatest share of honor”. (Shelmerdine 128). These words prove that Aphrodite was also powerful that even Zeus, who is called the greatest, could not resist her power and strength – the beauty and sexuality. Another example of female character of the myths who wielded power over men was Hera, the goddess of marriage. Though she was portrayed as the victim of Zeus as his immense power, she had the power herself over her husband that she used in order to resist and trick him, and also with the purpose to fight back. Moreover, Hera also played a significant role in the Trojan War, where tricked Zeus in order to make him make love with her and fall asleep afterwards, which was a turning point since it had opened for the Achaeans the way to victory. This example did not only demonstrate the power of Hera as the goddess, who is strong enough to fight against Zeus, but also her intellect – the feature that was not usually associated with women in the history. One more example of a powerful female character from the Greek myths is Ariadne, the lover of the hero Theseus. She demonstrated her power by helping Theseus and providing him with a sword and a ball of twine. This allowed him to slay the Minotaur and found the way out of the Labyrinth. Though she did not demonstrate directly her physical power, Ariadne’s act is an example that sometimes male characters were helpless without help of women.
Also, one of the most well-known and power female characters is believed to be Pandora – the first woman who released the troubles of the world by accident after opening a forbidden box. The myth about Pandora reminds the story from the Bible about Eve, who is believed to be the mother of humanity. This corresponds with the contemporary and general role of women in the society, who are responsible for the procreation of human race. Therefore, exactly this role of progenitors of Pandora is her power and strength, despite the fact that the myths also emphasize the problematic nature of women, who brings troubles to humanity. (Indick 79)
The proof that women played an important role both in Greek mythology and the whole Greek history is that there are many festivals celebrated in honor of some goddesses and temples that were built as a demonstration of respect to these powerful women. For example, a temple in Ephesus, that is a principal city of Asia Minor, built in honour of Artemis, the goddess of hunting, archery and moon, was included in the list of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. (Clayton ad Price)
Conclusion
Summarizing all the written and discussed above about the Greek mythology and the role of female characters in Greek myths, it is possible to say that women had definitely played an important role and were portrayed much more powerful that it is used to believe. Though this power was different to the physical power of men, goddesses were able to demonstrate their strength in various ways. For example, Aphrodite used the power of her beauty and sexuality in order to manipulate others. The fact that even Zeus, who was well-known for his physical strength, could not resist Aphrodite proves that she was even more powerful than him. Another power of women in the Greek mythology is their intellect, demonstrated by Hera, who had influenced the course of the Trojan War and brought the victory to the Achaeans. The significant role of women is also proved and confirmed by the example of Pandora, who is responsible for the troubles of the world – the same as Eve is responsible for the whole humanity.
Thus, it s possible to say that though women in history were believed to be victims and silent shadows of men, the Greek mythology denies this and portrays women as very strong and smart creatures, without whom men are often powerless.
Works Cited
Clayton, Peter and Martin Price. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. London: Routledge. 2002. Print.
Indick, William. Ancient Symbology in Fantasy Literature: A Psychological Study. Jefferson: McFarland Company. 2012. Print
Livingstone, Niall and Ken Dowden. A Companion to Greek Mythology. Wes Sussex: John Wiley and Sons. 2011. Print
O’Brien, Joan. The Transformation of Hera. A Study of Ritual, Hero, and the Goddess in the Iliad. Lanham: Roman & Littlefield Publidhers.
Rose, H. A Handook of Greek Mythology. London: Routledge. 2005. Print
Shelmerdine, Susan. The Homeric Hymns. Indianapolis: Focus Publishing. 1995. Print.
