Hesiod Vs Plato

The differences between Greece in the time of Hesiod and Greece in the time of Plato are both immense and minute. On the one hand, Archaic Greece (Hesiod) was very much about the gods and religion whereas the Hellenistic Period (Plato) was more about philosophy and politics. On the other hand, Hesiod and Plato’s worlds are not that different. They both believe in the same gods, the same origin of the universe, and they operate in the same hemisphere in terms of belief and way of life. One important difference to note is the difference of their views toward gender and women. Though formed in the same basic beliefs about the world, Hesiod and Plato had varying stances on the origin of the female gender and the superiority of the male gender

Hesiod first talks about the creation of women in his story about Pandora in the Theogony. “For from her is descended the female sex, a great affliction to mortals they dwell with their husbands” (Hesiod, Theogony, 20). Here Hesiod is talking of how, in revenge for Prometheus giving men fire, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create Pandora “[A] calamity for men who live by bread.” (Hesiod, Works and Days, 39). At this point, we are to believe that the female sex had not yet been created. How this makes sense in relation to the many female goddesses is

In Plato’s Greece however, it is very evident. Going back to the story of Aristophanes’ speech on love, you can see very clear evidence of its presence. In his story, the early humans were very ambitious. So much so that, in fear of being overcome Zeus decided to cut them in half. This left them with one face, two arms, two legs, one set of genitals, etc. It is told then, that each half longed to return to the other, for they shared a soul. This is where Plato’s stance on sexuality can be demonstrated. “Any men who are offcuts from the combined gender— the androgynous one, to use its former name— are attracted to women…the equivalent women are attracted to men.” (Plato, Symposium, 28). The same goes for offcuts of the male gender desiring men and offcuts of the female gender desiring woman. This idea is particularly progressive as it is the only documented reference in classical Greek literature to female