Term 2 - Lec 11 (Women in Greek Myth) Flashcards
What was the purpose of women in Greek myths?
= models for praise or blame
- everything written in patriarchal culture
What are characteristics of the hero?
- quest
- sport
- leadership
- speech
- activity sexuality (job to populate the world with hero’s descendants)
- public sphere
- kleos
–> AGENTS OF EXCHANGE (trades with other males to earn profit, establish bonds)
What are characteristics of the heroine?
- seclusion, silence
- industry (via textiles)
- maternity
- silence
- sexual chastity
- private sphere
- beauty
- aidos (modesty)
- -> OBJECTS OF EXCHANGE (marriage, POW)
- -> Not heard or seen
Describe the ideal male
Greek, aristocratic, free
What are the roles available to girls?
- daughter
- wife
- mother
- certain religious (i.e. priestess = still domestic role, but higher status)
How does Homeric Hymn to Demeter exemplify female roles?
- Demeter = mother figure (comes into conflict with patriarchal society and her husband which has other uses for her daughter)
- Persephone = typical daughter
How do Myths show the gender roles of a society?
- myths reflect shared cultural values
- shows anxieties about threats to establish socio-political order
- myths show extremes of the idealized and demonized gender roles, but rarely realistic
How is disorder represented in these Greek tragic plays?
- disorder = transgression of prescribed gender roles
- lots of strong female characters in tragic play = sign of disorder
- **but transgression is somewhat allowed with gods, i.e. Athena, but not humans
How are heroines portrayed in myths?
- always in terms of their relationship to males in their lives who are the ‘true heroes’
- not model for young girls
- if they conform to societal roles = models, if not = whores, monsters
- rarely catasterized
(therefore lure of ascension doesn’t motivate them) - they achieve eternal life via survival of their kids
(myths where their kids die are thus really tragic)
What is the expectation of a mother/daughter of a hero?
- submissive, obedient, loyal no matter what
- mother of a hero = aristocratic, chaste, chosen by a god
- glory in giving birth to a hero but suffering and transformation too
- suffer through not surviving encounter, suffering afterwards, or via sacrifice
What is the result of being a wife of a hero?
- marriage to a hero = deadly
- if hero killed in battle or usurped = wife is enslaved and dies
Who are models of the perfect wife?
PENELOPE (Odysseus)
ALCESTIS (Admetus)
PSYCHE (Eros)
What is the story of Alcestis
- daughter of Pelias
- marries Admetus
- Admits treated Apollo well when he was enslaved to him
- when it was Admetus’ time to die, Apollo grants favour that he could live longer if someone substitutes for him
- Admetus’ parents refuse
- Alcestis chooses to die in her husband’s place –> self-sacrifice demonstrating her love for him
- -> becomes bride of Death
- Heracles brings Alcestis back
How is Penelope a model wife?
- maintains chastity and household in her husband’s absence
- raises son to manhood
- uses weaving to defend herself and their home against suitors
- facilitates Odysseus’ successful return via contest
- shows she’s an equal in virtue/intelligence by testing Odysseus too
What is the story of Psyche?
- Aphrodite tells Eros to punish Psyche for her beauty
- Oracle tells Psyche’s parents to give her as a sacrifice to a monster (bride of Death)
- Psyche’s carried of by invisible creatures to a beautiful palace
- mysterious lover visits her every night, forbidden to look at his face
- jealous sisters visit and plants doubts about her husband’s identity
- tell her to cut off his head
- she finds out he’s beautiful, falls in love with him
- drop of oil wakes him, he flies off, she hangs on until she can’t anymore, drops back to earth
- Pregnant Psyche wanders the earth, doing labours given by Aphrodite (helped by gods or nature)
- last task is to go to Underworld and get a casket with a beauty potion from Persephone
- out of curiosity, opens jar, goes into coma
- she’s revived by Eros, reconciled, becomes immortal