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
How can Psyche’s story be related to that of other gods?
- Demeter attempting to immortalize little boy
- Actaeon seeing Artemis
= MORTALS CAN’T SEE THE DIVINE
How does Psyche demonstrate a heroic model?
- suffers
- performs labours
- goes to Underworld
- becomes immortal
Symbolic significance of story of Psyche and Eros?
= romantic allegory of spiritual growht
- once you know Eros, you will have to suffer for it at some point
= love is spiritual salvation but only through suffering
Who are models of “The Glorious Mother”
- Danae (Perseus)
- Io (Epaphus)
- Europa (Minos)
- Alkmene (Heracles)
- Aethra (Theseus) - Poseidon
- Semele (Dionysus)
Who are examples of Hero-Maidens
NAUSICAA
- helps Odysseus by bringing clothes, good advice (follow separately behind her), and directions home
ARIADNE
- helps Theseus navigate labyrinth
- abandoned on way home
MEDEA
- Helps Jason get Golden Fleece
- abandoned but gets revenge
ELECTRA
- helps brother Orestes to avenge murder of Agamemnon
- in Aeschylus/Sophocles, she has secondary helper role
- in Euripides’ she plays the role of the hero and kills mom
What is a Helper-Maiden?
= girl that helps the hero along the way
- usually taken with the hero and agree to help in return for marraige
- tension with obligations to her: usually never marry her in the end
What is a Bride of Death?
= at a marriageable age, but die before married off
Who are examples of Brides of Death?
PERSEPHONE
IPHIGENIA
- sacrificed by Agamemnon so that ships can sail for Troy (father that chooses public sphere over private)
ANTIGONE
- dies because she performs funeral ritual for her brother in defiance of ruler uncle Creon
PSYCHE
ANDROMEDA
- sacrificed because her mom Cassiopeia brags she’s more beautiful than Poseidon’s sea nymphs
- rescued by Perseus
CASSANDRA
- Apollo’s oracle
- killed by Cassandra when brought to Greece as Agamemnon’s slave
- therefore refused to be bride of Apollo = instead bride of Death
5 Categories of Transgressors? People in the categories?
AMAZONS
WITCHES
- Circe
- Medea
BAD WIVES
- Helen
- Clytemnestra
- Medea
BAD MOTHERS Agave Clytemnestra Procne Medea
BAD DAUGHTERS
Ariadne
Medea
Who are examples of Witches? Why?
Circe
- daughter of Helios, lives on remote island
- changes men into animals (i.e. Odysseus’ men)
Medea
- granddaughter of Helios, in Colchis
- drugs dragon for Jason, kills Pelias, murders princess of Corinth + her father
- intelligent + Dangerous
–> Foreign, women, knows magic, descended from disordered branch of the divine (the Titans)
Who are the Amazons?
Who were they subdued by?
= warrior women who shun male company and motherhood
- subdued by heroic males: Heracles, Theseus, Achilles
Who are examples of Bad Wives?
Helen
- leaves wedded husband Melenaus with Trojan Paris
- starts Trojan War
Clytemnestra
- while husband is away, takes his enemy as her lover and kills her husband when he returns and rules
Medea
- destroys husband’s household
Who are examples of bad mothers?
Agave
- mother of Pentheus, king of Thebes
- kills her own son
Clytemnestra
- prepared to kill son Orestes
- mistreats daughter Electra
Procne
- kills son Itys to get revenge at her husband for raping/mutilating her sister
- gives Its stew
Medea
- kills children to get revenge on Jason
Who are examples of bad daughters?
Ariadne
Medea
- -> chooses her own husband (aka her father’s enemy)
- -> kills her brother
What is a Hero-Impersonator?
Examples of them?
= tries to outdo hero at their own game
- doomed because male-dominated world
- must either yield eventually or self-destruct
- Atalanta
(super fit, challenges men to a game for marriage, slows down to pick up apples and loses) - Agave
- Clytemnestra
Who are examples of Victorious Heroines?
- Nausicaa
- Penelope
- Psyche
