misogyny in greek mythology - essay
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Misogyny in Ancient Greek Literature
Special Topics in Literature
9/23/2012
Navya V
"Hero" has no feminine gender
in the age of heroes.
--M. I. Finley
Misogyny in Greek Mythology
Navya Vibhunath
7220077221
Special Topics in Literature – Assignment 1 23rd September 2012
Greece is widely known as the birthplace of democracy, freedom of speech and
thought, and egalitarian life. But in ancient Greece, women had no political or social rights. This
applied to ancient Rome too (Haeberle). Even today, in many societies of the world, women are
not allowed access to public places unless chaperoned by a much older female or a man. What
led to such treatment of females in societies, especially that of the ‘progressive’ Greeks? Why is
there a general hatred towards women garnered in many religions and societies? How is the
procreator lesser in position than the seed giver? In sex-selective societies females are often
blamed for undesired sex / sexual orientation of the child though scientifically, females play a
minimal, if any, role in gender selection of the unborn child. What makes males hate or oppress
females who are their own procreators? (Kimball)
Female bioprocesses such as menstruation, pregnancy and the like are regarded
with shame and contempt. The female body is depicted as more shameful than the male, and the
modern day version of this is of females’ obsession with the notion of the perfect body as a
means of feeling praised and appreciated. The female body is also seen as owned by some male.
While polygamy is a well-known word, polyandry is not (Deborah Schooler).
In Greek myth, the creation of Pandora, the first woman, is branded as the root of
all evil. But, the patriarchal interpretation of these myths can be erased to show a different
picture. Zeus gave Pandora to Epimetheus, brother to Prometheus. Prometheus has warned him
against accepting gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus pays no heed. As mortals have no means to
procreate themselves, they have no option but to accept the first woman. According to Hesiod’s
Works and Days, Zeus orders Hephaestus to fashion the form of the woman in clay. Athene
teaches her the crafts. Aphrodite pours “grace and painful lust and anxious desires” on her head.
The goddesses Athene, the Seasons, Temptation, and the Queen of Persuasion adorn her.
Hermes, being the messenger of Zeus, instills cunning and coquettishness in her according to
Zeus’s plan. Zeus sends with Pandora, a jar or in later versions a box, as dowry. From inside the
box a voice pleads to be freed. Though instructed not to open the box, Pandora being curious and
anxious in nature, opens it. The 6 Miseries fly out into the world, followed by Hope. Here,
though Pandora is interpreted to be the root cause all misery, it can also be derived that if she
was provided with proper guidance, her curiosity, or that of any man’s, could also be utilized for
the greater good. Though given the gift of curiosity, Pandora did not know how to use it (Lowy).
Hesiod suggests that the husband play the role of a teacher to his wife further on in Works and
Days (Grene).
Beauty, riches, comforts and craving for more luxuries lead to immorality through
laziness. Comfort degrades the need for effort. This in turn leads to complacency and laziness.
Laziness leads to complete inactivity in mental, spiritual, and physical energies, rendering the
mind worthless. Pandora, who is gifted in every way, entered a society where women play a
mostly unproductive role in society, dependent on men for all needs. Hence anxiousness,
curiosity, and ignorance consume her. This again, is an effect of society on Pandora. Hence, I
think that Zeus played his cards well and chose a woman to cause havoc in ancient Greece,
where the treatment of women in society was itself a precursor to its downfall (Lowy).
Plato’s Phaedo 66 C (trans. H. North Fowler) states that the body fills people with
material pleasures, fantasies and emotions. “The body and its desires are the only cause of wars
and factions and battles; for all wars arise for the sake of gaining money, and we are compelled
to gain money for the sake of the body.” Since desires are the cause of misery, they are immoral.
Hesiod says that riches are better when bestowed upon by God. “…..when profit deceives men’s
minds and shamelessness drives out shame”, such men are easily punished by the Immortals.
The woman (like Pandora) ideally represents desire and comfort which corrupts the
morality of the mind through the body. This also disables the control men yearn for over
themselves and everything else that is related to them. Pandora is also symbolic of the
subconscious. She is the giver of all gifts craved for by mankind. Simultaneously, she is the
cause of all ills. She represents the human subconscious which is the deep seat of all emotion,
fear and feeling (Lowy).
Society in ancient Greece and other patriarchal cultures also required men to rule
their wives. The inability of men to directly control anything or gain the desired results in the
familial realm triggers contempt towards women of the family. This is why men try to rule the
family and make sure that women carry out their commands. Women have higher powers of
empathy which makes them succeed in interpersonal relationships. But the methods of women
may be interpreted as malevolent, and cunning, by men who might interpret female intervention
to be emotional blackmail and manipulation which, could work against the interests of men. An
example of this would be Gaia who turned her children against Ouranos.
Portrayal of women as evil, immoral, and sinful beings in patriarchal literature is
also due to fear of sin through women. Hesiod says that men who commit sexual crimes such as
sleeping with another’s wife, molesting a servant or stranger etc. are disposed to ill fate. The risk
of experiencing sensual feelings which make one lose control over one’s own mind, actions and
surroundings represents a takeover of power by the ‘weaker’ sex which is unacceptable to males.
This resentment is the basis of misogyny as shown in Greek literature and mythology.
Works Cited Deborah Schooler, L. Monique Ward, Ann Merriwether and Allison S. Caruthers. "Cycles of Shame:
Menstrual Shame, Body Shame, and Sexual Decision-Making." The Journal of Sex Research Vol.
42, No. 4 (2005). 23 September 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3813785>.
Grene, David. Hesiod: Works and Days . n.d.
Haeberle, Erwin J. Historical Roots of Sexual Oppression. n.d. 23 September 2012. <http://www2.hu-
berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/oppress.htm#a03>.
Kimball, J. "Sex Chromosomes." n.d. 23 September 2012.
<http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/S/SexChromosomes.html>.
Lowy, Jill. Looking Inside Pandora's Box . n.d. 23 September 2012.
<http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/l/looking_inside_pandora's_box.html>.