ipl-logo

Summary Of CLAS 104: Greek Mythology

604 Words3 Pages

Amelia-Rose Graham
CLAS 104: Greek Mythologies
March 16 2017

Hesiod on the Origins of Women
The poet Hesiod tell the story of Pandora, the first women in Greek Mythology, in both Theogony and Works and Days. In both these pieces his tone implies his dislike of women, calling them “beautiful evil” in Theogony and “a plague to men” in Works and Days. Overall, he comes across as misogynistic, blaming all the misery of men on Pandora, and the resultant female kind.
Women as the source of all evil and unhappiness is also seen in the Genesis book of the bible. The story of Adam and Eve being banished from the Garden of Eden because Eve ate the forbidden fruit, closely resembles the story of Pandora. When Pandora is gifted to men she unleased upon them “ills and hard toil and heavy sickness”, paralleling Eve being the reason they are forced to leave the Garden paradise. …show more content…

The tale of the first women, is told about halfway through in a sort of side-tracked fashion. Theogony details the trick which Prometheus played on Zeus, showing Zeus’s motive to create Pandora as a punishment, in this version Prometheus was also punished by being chained to a rock and having his liver pecked out daily by an eagle. In Work and Days, the story of Pandora is near the beginning, it serves to set the context for the rest of the epic. It recounts the end of man’s golden age and the rest of the work goes on to talk about the subsequent ages and explains why men must work the land. In the Works and Days, the myth of Pandora is more significant than the story of Prometheus, which is mentioned only briefly. Theogony shows Pandora as a result of Prometheus’s activities, whereas Works and Days focuses more on woman’s influence on

Show More
Related
172 Words | 1 Pages

While the literary conception of Pandora changed Athenian depictions of her in ceramics and sculptures show little deviation from her previous existence as an earth-goddess. They adapted the changes by creating dualism within her depictions. Though the Athenians revered Pandora as the earth-goddess she once was with similarity to their own patron goddess Athena. They also acknowledged Hesiod’s philosophy of women being trouble and needing to controlled due to Pandora and her jar. Ironically a couple a of years after the Parthenon was completed, at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 431 B.C.E., Athens was struck by a devastating plague, one of the evils Pandora let loose upon the world.

Read More
1899 Words | 8 Pages

This paper will discuss the well-published work of, Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken, 1975. Print. Sarah B. Pomeroy uses this book to educate others about the role women have played throughout ancient history. Pomeroy uses a timeline to go through each role, starting with mythological women, who were called Goddesses.

Read More
522 Words | 3 Pages

By Zeus’s actions, it is evident that although Odysseus was held prisoner, women lacked this power and leverage in society compared to men and were subject to this treatment due to this gender

Read More
138 Words | 1 Pages

There are a couple of accounts of the story of Pandora and the Jar. There are many similarities between the different accounts and also between the story itself and others. Pandora and the Jar is a story written by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. It tells the story of how Zeus punished the god Prometheus for deceiving him by sending a girl named Pandora who would release suffering into the world to plague the nations. Many centuries later the author Nathaniel Hawthorn wrote the novel A Wonder book for Boys and Girls which include the story The Paradise of Children.

Read More
1278 Words | 6 Pages

The position of women in the societies of Genesis and the Odyssey grant them little power. Despite the pervasive gender hierarchy present in the ancient texts, Rebekah and Nausicaa wield their intelligence and wit to influence those around them. These two women utilize deception and indirect communication in order to alter the lives of prominent men as their means of exerting control within their patriarchal society. Due to their actions, these women become essential to the narratives of Genesis and the Odyssey, for Rebekah is integral to the perpetuation of God’s covenant through familial lineage and Nausicaa is fundamental to Odysseus’ nostos journey.

Read More
1161 Words | 5 Pages

There are many ways mythology can be interpreted beyond the simple storytelling it represents. It is a culture’s way of explaining the world, yes, but it can also be used to gain a deeper understanding of said culture. Myths reflect attitudes, fears, beliefs and can lead to a fuller knowledge of the people who nurtured and created them. At least that’s what P. Walcot argues in his article Greek Attitudes towards Women: The Mythological Evidence. By using mythological characters and stories as proof, Walcot claims that there is a relationship between female sexuality, female empowerment and the ancient Greeks’ intense mistrust of the female gender.

Read More
515 Words | 3 Pages

Within Greek mythology, Pandora was the first mortal woman to ever be created. Pandora was given to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, as a punishment to Prometheus and mankind. Although he had been warned not to accept any gifts from the gods, Epimetheus took Pandora as his wife. Upon their wedding day, Zeus presented Pandora with a beautiful box that was not to be opened. Unfortunately, Pandora’s curiosity led her to open the box, unleashing all evil into the world.

Read More
954 Words | 4 Pages

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many female characters who play the role of a villain. Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, and the sirens are among the women with the largest, negative impacts on Odysseus’ journey home. Though some women, such as Athena, Eurycleia, and Penelope, are loyal to Odysseus throughout the poem. With such a wide range of female characters, they all contribute different things throughout the book, whether the impact of their actions is negative or positive. Regardless of the outcomes, Homer has quite a modern view of female representation in his poem.

Read More
475 Words | 2 Pages

Although there are many Greek mythical characters , the character that interest me the most is Pandora. It could have been because she was the first woman human ever created, or maybe what her curiosity caused. according to mythology, this character is the cause for all the evil on earth. The myth behind this character is pretty interesting and it also includes a little bit of romance. As I mentioned above, in the Greek mythology, Pandora was the first created woman.

Read More
1513 Words | 7 Pages

Comparing and contrasting the similarities between the Greek mythology of Pandora and the Biblical writings for Eve, is an enlightening topic. In Greek, the name Pandora means, “all gifts.” Hesiod had written, many literary works that included Pandora and her creation by Zeus. “Theogony” was one title work of Hesiod’s and the other was, “Works and Days.” Hesiod brings to light, in his writings that Pandora was created for the purpose to deceive man.

Read More
241 Words | 1 Pages

You see, Prometheus had deliberately snatched fire from Zeus and it had made Zeus irritated. Zeus created Pandora to get back at Prometheus, but before Pandora went down to Earth, the gods hosted a banquet for her. At the banquet they gave her a box, but under no circumstances should she open the box. When Epimetheus spotted Pandora he immediately fell in

Read More
1474 Words | 6 Pages

Women in Ancient Literature Ancient literature often seems like a “man’s world” in which women characters remain two dimensional and rather irrelevant. Examples come extraordinarily easily for this statement throughout the history of literature. Yet, the oldest written piece of literature “Gilgamesh” tells a different tale. In “Gilgamesh”, women characters service themselves to progress the plot, offer insight, and ultimately help the hero find his path. The women in “Gilgamesh” play a critically important role in the plot of the story, contrary to many ancient texts.

Read More
471 Words | 2 Pages

Greek mythology followed this idea, and the blame was on a girl named Pandora. Yet most don’t consider that Pandora was set up for failure since she was born. First of all, Zeus was the one who had the true intention of releasing evil. In a way, he didn’t want the blame on him for his anger towards Prometheus. So he sculpted this idea to create a woman for his brother and release evils upon humans to get revenge on Prometheus.

Read More
1380 Words | 6 Pages

World Literature Paper – Role of Athena and Penelope in The Odyssey Homer’s, The Odyssey is an epic which was written many years ago. At that time, in Ancient Greek society, the dominant role was played by men and the women were considered and given an inferior position. But The Odyssey was often considered a women’s epic because women played an important role. Women in The Odyssey are portrayed as powerful, wise and controlling because they ensure that the illusion of male success will go on - they speak as men through women.

Read More
832 Words | 4 Pages

Prometheus Bound and The Book of Job are two stories that are both similar in many ways, but at the same time very different from one another. Prometheus Bound is a story about a man who kindly assists humans and gives them fire for their own use. However, Zeus does not like the fact that Prometheus helped the humans, or is friends with them, so he decided to punish Prometheus for what he done. Zeus has his his servant Hephaestus chain Prometheus to a rock and leave him there. Prometheus spend days on the rock and talks to the Chorus of Oceanis, lo, and Hermes while he is on the rock and explains to them all why he is chained to the rock.

Read More

More about Summary Of CLAS 104: Greek Mythology

Related Topics

Open Document