Women of Legend (greece) Flashcards
Describe the start of the legend of Pandora
- when world began, world was populated by men only
- titan named Prometheus wnated to give mankind a gift (make lives easier)
- gives them gift of fire (forbidden by the gods)
- zeus discovers prometheus’ actions = angry
- wanted to punish prometheus + mankind
- presents them with gift that they would welcome but would destroy them
Who made Pandora?
Hephaestus, god of the forge and craftsmen who shapes her out of earth and water
What qualities did pandora recive from the gods?
no quotes needed
- athena - dressed her in beautiful silvery gown + skill of needlework + weaving
- aphrodite - elegance + beauty
- hermes - ability to lie and decieve
What does the name “Pandora” mean?
all gifts
what did zeus do with pandora after she was made?
- sent her down to earth
- bride to epimetheus (god of afterthought + prometheus’ brother)
What did Prometheus say to Epimetheus?
- told him not to accept any gift from Zeus
- forgets about it when he sees how beautiful Pandora is
What did Pandora bring with her?
both older + newer versions of the myth
- a pithos (jar)
- later version: a pyxis (box)
What did Pandora do with the jar/ box?
- opened it out of curiosity
- explicitly told by zeus not to open it in later versions
- set all miseries that plague mankind free
- hope left behind in box
What did Pandora opening the jar imply?
- women could not restrain themselves
- needs men to control them
- women are inferior to men
- pandora’s willful disobedience = women always scheming, needs to be tamed, controlled
What is Hesiod’s Works and Days supposed to be?
- didactic text
- teach or instruct those who read it/ heard it
- Greek values of women are apparent
- Pandora serves as bad example of an uncontrolled woman
What role does the legend of Pandora fill?
- serves as a creation story
origin story for humankind
Hesiod, Works and Days 54-105
- pandora mentioned as “curse”
- “one about which every single man will delight in his heart, embracing his own destruction.”
What implications does Pandora being mentioned as a “curse” have?
- first mention of women = “curse”
- women are a burden to men (punishment)
- tempts men + something to suppress, to control
- women were not to be celebrated
negative connotations
hesiod, works and days
analysis of “one about which every single man will delight in his heart, embracing his own destruction.”
- women = irresistable = men welcoming their own destruction (“delight”+”embrace”)
- women are cunning, telling men not to be fooled by their appearances
Hesiod, works and days
Traits that Pandora recieved quotes
Hesiod, Works and Days
“weaving of the richly wrought loom”
“sprinkle charm about her face, as well as desire that would cause trouble, and sufferings”
“bitch’s mind and a thievish nature”
analysis of “weaving of the richly wrought loom”
- women made to do domestic tasks + stay at home to serve men
- weaving = virtuous
- domestic tasks like weaving occupy women = cannot lie and decieve men
analysis of “sprinkle charm about her face, as well as desire that would cause trouble, and sufferings that would gnaw at one’s limbs”
- beautiful looks would cause jealousy
- it’s in women’s nature that they want to cause trouble
analysis of “bitch’s mind and a thievish nature”
- will decieve you, sly
- underneath beautiful appearance is the ability/ desire to trick men
- wilful = acts on impulse/ emotion, willfully disobedient
- justifies men controlling women
quote for hope in works and days
“hope alone stayed in its unbreakable home”
analysis of “hope alone stayed in its unbreakable home”
Hesiod, works and days
- hope = redeeming, positive. gives mankind something to help them bear suffering
OR - false hope (cruel trick) that men’s suffering will end, adds to despair (illusion)
analysis for “received the gift” & “accepted a curse”
- “receive” + “accept” = objectifies women, something to be owned
- property of men
quote for Pandora’s appearance
Hesiod, Theogony
“likeness of a shy maiden”
analysis of “likeness of a shy maiden”
Hesiod, Theogony
- “likeness” = only looks the part
- hides their decietful intentions under the “likeness of a shy maiden”
Quotes that describe women in the Theogony
- “not to be withstood by men”
- “reap the toil of others into their own bellies”
- “without anyone to tend to his years”
- “his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them”
analysis for “not to be withstood by men”
Hesiod, Theogony
- justifies men losing all control around women
- women are meant to be irresistable, to appeal to men as much as possible
analysis for “reap the toil of others into their own bellies”
Hesiod, Theogony
- critisizes women for staying at home while men go out and work/ trade (lazy)
- hypocritical, virtuous women needs to be doing domestic tasks
- women are inferior to men
analysis of “without anyone to tend to his years” & “his kinsfolk divide his possessions amongst them”
Hesiod, Theogony
- stay away from women = nobody to look after you in old age, no children/ wife
- no children/ heirs to inherit your possessions, will be split to family instead
- importance of producing heirs for the family to inherit business and possessions
What did Homer’s version of Helen’s story in the Illiad entail?
- helen of sparta was stolen from her husband menelaus
- taken to troy by paris
- greeks gathered army lead by Argamemnon (brother of m) to fight for her return
Quotes about Helen in the Illiad by Homer
- “weaving a great double width purple cloth, showing the many battles on her behalf”
- “the winner will claim you as his wife”
- “veiled herself in white linen”
- “weeping large tears”
- “so like an immortal goddess”
- “let her sail home, not stay to be a bane to us and our children”
- “surely the gods must be to blame”
- “I wish I had chosen death”
- “shameless creature”
analysis of helen “weaving” and “showing the many battles on her behalf”
- weaving = virtuous activity for women
- sign of faithful wives, keeps them occupied, no time to be sinful
- shows commitment to family life
- shame on helen’s part for starting war with her beauty
analysis of “the winner will claim you as his wife”
- “claim”- prize to be fought for, dehumanizing
- fate is not in her own hands, always dictated by men
analysis of “veiled herself in white linen”
- veil- sign of respectable, modest woman
- white symbolising innocence?
- virtuous
analysis of “weeping large tears”
- didactic text
- disobedience brings sorrow
- justifies men controlling women
- blaming self for war - self sacrificing, inferior to men
analysis of “like an immortal goddess”
- places blame on helen for being too beautiful
- “like” may suggest her not being actually as pure as goddess, only has the image of one but still sins/ is disobedient
“let her sail, not to stay to be a bane to us and our children”
- similar to “curse” from pandora
- all women are a burden/ temptation to men
- won’t let her drive their citizens crazy
analysis of “surely the gods must be to blame”
- Helen is a pawn to the gods
- no agency
- an object to be manipulated with and used as gods/men wish
- unconventional approach
analysis of “I wish I had chosen death”
- regretful for her wilful attitude
- gives women example
- do not leave husband or you would be like her
- emotional, hysterical, no control over emotions/ actions
analysis of “shameless creature”
- helen refers to herself as this, places blame on herself
- remorse
What are the main ideas of Homer’s Illiad version of Helen?
- women have no agency over themselves
- aphrodite giving her away, pawn of the gods
- a woman’s beauty is idealised and dangerous
- expected to veil her own beauty + be modest + hide away her beauty expect for husband
- women were expected to do domestic tasks
- breaking rules will lead to sorrow and remorse
- stay faithful to husband
quotes from Euripides’ version of Helen
- “spear-prize for the greeks”
- “suffered”
- “apppear to have betrayed my husband and joined great war to the greeks”
- “my body at least may not bring shame upon itself here”
What happens in Euripides’ version of Helen?
- father is either Zeus or Tyndareus
- zeus visited her mother in the form of a swan
- aphrodite, hera, athena arguing about beauty contest
- Paris chosen to judge
- Paris chose aphrodite who offered him the most beautiful woman’s hand in marraige
- hera sends phantom helen to troy with paris
- Hermes whisped real Helen to Egypt where she “married” the king Proteus
- Proteus dies and and his son lustfully pursing Helen for himself
- takes refuge at the tomb of her dead husband to stay faithful to Menelaus
analysis of “spear-prize for the Greeks”
- treated as an object, prize to be competed for
analysis of “appear to have betrayed my husband and joined great war to the Greeks”
- reputation was everything to women
- people thought that she wasn’t chaste
- knows deep down that she didn’t do anything wrong
analysis of “suffered”
- shifts blame, places blame on the gods instead
- doesn’t blame herself
- contrasts to Homer’s Helen where she blames herself
analysis of “my body at least may not bring shame upon itself here”
- still is upholding her fidelity to her husband
- although reputation is damaged already she must not worsen it for her and her husband
- if she is raped she is to blame, so she must hide
