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