The representation of women in ancient Greek mythology greatly reflected the ways in which women were treated and perceived in ancient Athens. Even though these myths were written by men, they still give us knowledge about and insight into how women were viewed in ancient Greek culture. A common theme in Greek mythology is misogyny. This negative view of women is derived from the patriarchal society in ancient Athens. In analyzing the representation of women in Greek mythology, specifically Athena, Aphrodite and Medea, as well as other works, we will enhance our understanding of women's position in ancient Athens.
In ancient Greek mythology, the goddess Athena represents strategic warfare, wisdom and heroic endeavors. She is said to have invented the flute, trumpet, earthenware pot and the chariot (Graves 37). According to Hesiod, Athena is born from the head of Zeus, after he ingests Metis so that the prophecy of his death is not fulfilled: "He himself bore from his head owl-eyed Athena, the awesome, fight-rousing, army-leading, unweary mistress whose delight is din and wars and battles" (921-928). Her birth represents male dominance over the universe, because Zeus gains the ability of reproduction (Arthur 81). Through his ability to reproduce, women are no longer needed in order to produce children. Thus males establish their dominance over women by gaining the power to reproduce.
Athena is associated with regeneration and growth, yet she is still a virgin goddess. She is seen as being more masculine since she never uses her gift of reproduction. Also Athena never has had a lover or husband, nor does she have any children (Arthur 82). She is the representation of a virago, because of her tendencies to be more masculine than feminine. On her shield she carries the head of the gorgon Medusa which represents her masculinity but also shows her femininity. By wearing the head of Medusa on her shield, she is associating herself with the evil and negative aspects of the female character that leave me conquered. Even though Medusa is perceived as a monster, she still has been decapitated by Perseus. The decapitation of Medusa by Perseus is another example of male dominance over female monstrosity in Greek mythology (Arthur 79-82).
In classical Greece the restriction of women was at its greatest, which can be explained by the overwhelming importance given to the goddess Athena. Her importance to Athens is established through her becoming the patron goddess of Athens as well as the many festivals, celebrations and temples built in her name. The emphasis put on Athena throughout classical Greek culture can be connected to the way women were viewed and treated in ancient Athens. Through this relationship we can better understand how this model of a woman was seen as the reason for men to dominant and deny women rights (Arthur 81-82). It was believed that women are inherently evil and so they must be dominated by men. Since Athena is viewed as one aspect of the female character, men in classical Athens believed that women should be under the control of men, like she is under the power of her father. After the worship of Athena shifted to the worship of Aphrodite, the way women were perceived and treated in ancient Athens changed (Arthur 82).
When the worshiping of Aphrodite became more prominent during the Hellenistic period, women's rights shifted and became less restricted. This shift is connected to the way Aphrodite is presented in Greek mythology. Aphrodite is seen as the expression of female sexuality, especially because she is not a virgin goddess and has children. On the contrary, Athena is seen as the denial of female sexuality, because she is a virgin goddess. Athena's power only rests in her association with her father, yet Aphrodite's power is from within and not because of whom she is associated with (Graves 14-15). According to Hesiod, Aphrodite is born when Cronos castrates his father, Uranus and throws the genitals into the ocean:
As soon as he cut off the genitals with adamant, he threw them from land into the turbulent sea; they were carried over the sea a long time, and white foam arose from the immortal flesh; within a girl grew... An awesome and beautiful goddess emerged, and grass grew under her supple feet. Aphrodite gods and men name her, since in foam she grew; (188-197).
Aphrodite is unique among the female goddesses because she is the only one who is able to choose her lovers and husband. According to Greek mythology, many gods want her as a bride because of her beauty, but she chooses Hephaestus, the god of craftsman (also the god of fire of the forge). This marriage between the goddess of love and the god of craft has been linked to the birth of art (Bolen 234). In ancient Greek society, Aphrodite was regularly worshiped and had many cults attributed to her. Her festival Aphrodisia was celebrated throughout Greece but mainly in Athens and Corinth. Priestesses of Aphrodite usually had intercourse with men because sexual expression was seen as a method of worshiping her (Lefkowitz 115-117).
Even though Aphrodite is the goddess of love, she still poses a threat to men and is feared. It is not Aphrodite herself that is seen as threatening. It is her effect on other individuals. This fear stems from the destructive acts that a woman can cause through her sexual appeal. Not only is a woman's sexual appeal seen as a threat, but also her irrationality and lack of control over her emotions, which is why men think woman is inferior (Lefkowitz 118-119). The social and legal rights governing women in ancient Athens may derive in part from the way goddesses are represented in Greek mythology. Aphrodite is seen as a sexy sensual woman, yet she has a destructive side, which in turn causes people to worship her. It was thought in ancient Athens that if someone did not pay appropriate homage to the gods and goddesses, they would punish them. In order to prevent the god's from taking vengeance by making someone fall in love with someone horrible for example. The devotee must worship her regularly (Lefkowitz 119-121). The view of women as inherently evil is shown in Sappho's poem to Aphrodite, where she speaks of the goddess as the "weaver of plots." Her feelings toward Aphrodite are fear of her wrath, as well as fear that she will not get what she wants unless the goddess is on her side (Lefkowitz 116). The idea that women are the "weaver of plots" correlates with the stories in Greek mythology. The destructive side of the goddess is seen in numerous stories although we will only discuss one, the story of the wife of King Cinyras and her daughter, Smyrna (Graves 28).
The wife of King Cinyras one day boasts that her daughter, Smyrna, is more beautiful than the goddess Aphrodite. To take revenge on Smyrna's mother, the goddess causes Smyrna to fall in love with her father. Then Aphrodite has Smyrna go to the bed of her father in the night when her father is too drunk to know that it is his daughter. When she becomes pregnant, her father realizes that he is both the father and grandfather of this child. In a fit of rage he takes his sword and tries to strike her. Before King Cinyras is able to kill his daughter, Aphrodite quickly turns her into a myrrh-tree. The sword of King Cinyras splits the tree in half and out comes Adonis whom Aphrodite conceals in a chest. Adonis later becomes the lover of Aphrodite, but he is killed by the jealous Ares (Graves 28). This mythological story about the goddess Aphrodite allows us to understand the way men looked at women in ancient Athens, especially since all these works have been written by men. The jealous and revengeful sides of the goddess are shown in this story, and so if it was told in ancient Athens, it would remind boys and men of the deceitful traits Greek women supposedly had. The goddess Aphrodite represents the sexuality of women, yet she also symbolizes the deceitful and manipulative powers women are thought to possess (Lefkowitz 121-123).
The power of Aphrodite is also expresses in the story of Medea and Jason. Aphrodite has her son Eros make Medea fall in love with Jason, who is on a mission to find the Golden Fleece. Medea helps Jason find and win the fleece, so Jason decides to marry her. They have two sons together and seem to be happy. Little does Medea know that Jason is only looking to gain power, so he decides that he wants to divorce Medea and marry the princess of the Theban King (Graves 204, 213). Since Medea has given up so much for her love of Jason, she becomes very angry and decides to kill her two sons for revenge:
My friends, I have decided to kill the children without delay and quickly depart from this country; I shall not, by delaying, give my children over to another, more unfriendly, hand to murder in any case, their death is inevitable, and since it is, I who gave them birth shall kill them (Euripedes 1236-1241).
Euripedes introduces the notion in his play, Medea, of the murder of Medea's children. Since Medea was not Greek, and Jason was, their marriage is supposed to be an example of what happens when a man marries a non-Greek woman. She also symbolizes and is an example of the irrational thinking and actions of women. Through this play, Euripedes shows that the condition of an ancient marriage is restrictive for a reason, because women are irrational and cannot be in control of their own lives (Lefkowitz 38). The play gives us very good insight into how women were restricted in ancient Athens and the way that women were viewed by men. It seems that Euripedes is showing how men need to learn how to control their wives and all women so that they will not do harm to others (especially the polis). It can also be seen as an example of how ancient Greeks glorified motherhood and condemned those that opposed it (Lefkowitz 36). This is connected to the way Aphrodite and Athena affected the perception of women in ancient Greece (Lefkowitz 39).
The common theme of misogyny in Greek mythology is shown through the stories of the gods and goddesses. Medusa and Medea represent the monstrosity and evils that are thought to be characteristic of all women. In comparison, Aphrodite represents the idea of expressed female potency and the sexual nature of all women. This sexuality is perceived as the reason for their subordination. Women's association with nature is shown through the birth of Aphrodite as well as the way women are represented in myth. Women's association with nature is portrayed also through maenads. Maenads are the female followers of Dionysus who were portrayed as women with uncontrollable sexual behavior, who would ritualistically hunt down animals and tear them apart, and would devour raw flesh (Lefkowitz 56). The portrayal of women through maenads also shows the belief, that women are closer to nature than men. Although this association with nature may be perceived as positive, it is not always seen as positive in Greek culture. Men are constantly shown as the tamers of nature in myth, which is a metaphor for the taming of women. According to Arthur, "if Greeks though of civilization as a triumph of man over nature, it was a triumph of man over women no less" (83). This idea gives us a better understanding of why men believed that women in ancient Athens should be under their control.
Literature from ancient Greece allows us to gain more of an understanding why women were seen and treated as inferior to men. Representing goddesses as evil, malicious or manipulating, it reinforces suppression of women. The misogyny in ancient Greek literature is mostly present in the myths, plays and poems: "The misogyny of the ancient Greeks originally sprang from the association of women with the world of instincts and passions, which was hostile to civilized life" (Arthur 91). These basic ideas in Greek society affected dramatically the way women were treated in Athens, which resulted in a very restricted society inside and outside the home.
