Jealousy, a simple and common emotion, has the power to create havoc. From causing avoidable arguments, to ending relationships, jealousy contributes to the actions. This has been demonstrated in stories throughout the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. Often, the stories told do not have a happy ending, since the jealous person ruins the life of whoever they consider competition. This was shown with Hera and Aphrodite. Both women punished the innocent females unjustly. In Mythology by Edith Hamilton, the goddesses demonstrate that their jealousy leads them to punish victims unfairly.
Initially, humans are capable of handling their emotions, but when provoked with an immense feeling of negativity, they tend to unleash the bottled-up feelings. An example in which a goddess displays an act of jealousy occurred when an unknowing victim became a cow, thanks to the goddess Hera. Hera turned Io into a cow when she found Zeus was having an affair with white heifer. In the book, it says, “ He turned in Io reluctantly over to his wife and Hera knew very well how to keep her away from him” (Hamilton 98). The quote portrays an image that Hera, full of jealousy, began to plot the poor victim’s fate. Although Zeus attempted to keep Io a secret from
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Another myth that focused on jealousy would be the one of Aphrodite and Psyche. Aphrodite was jealous of the attention Psyche received from men on Earth. The Goddess of Love and Beauty sent her son Cupid to make sure she didn't receive that attention anymore. She told Cupid, "'Use your power,' she said, 'and make the hussy fall madly in love with the vilest and most despicable creature there is in the whole world'" (Hamilton 122). The original plan did not follow through and he instead fell in love with her. Had the plan worked, Aphrodite would have ruined Psyche's life, jealousy being the