英语国家文化-希腊神话女性形象总结

Female images in Creek mythology

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1. Females usually serve as a contrast to emphasize the hero images of males. Women in Greek myths are usually troublers since they are often described as a little stupid, undisciplined,self-willed and even disloyal. To some extent , they are omens of death, destruction, and misfortune since they are often connected with disasters or evils. For instance, Pandora, who was told not to open the box given by Zeus, still couldn’t resist the temptation and opened that box and

ultimately brought humans hunger, prejudice and Helen’s disloyalty also gave rise to the Trojan War. Apparently we will respond confusion to those stories why the goddesses are so reasonless or why it feels like they behave as fools all the time. For that, I think it only refers that the times the myths were created were also the times that belittling women had already developed into a general fashion in order to reflect the good spirits of men.

2. Females have lower social status than males. Firstly, the first two supreme gods Cronus and Zeus were both males. The first woman Gaia who gave birth to Cronus and saved life of Zeus unexpectedly got no position in goddesses. Her presence and experience suggest that in the coming lengthy age of myths women have no say. Secondly, the ideas and willings of women are usually not respected by others. For instance, Daphne couldn’t directly refuse Apollo’s love and Aphrodite’s marriage was completely arranged by Zeus. The goddesses are all beauties, symbols of love and abundance. Men are happy to eulogize them, appreciate them but also manipulate them like objects. Their power is given by the men, roles are set by men, pursuits of love end in being buried by love, their beautiful innocence has become one of the best sacrifices to the gods. Females are inevitably suppressed by males. Being praised or spitted on, all determined by the master theocratic men.

3. Females are lack of sovereignty consciousness and conservative in fighting and reforming. Most of them are used to obeying all the outmoded rules and customs and never rebel the

unreasonable actions males do to them. To the goddesses, escaping and fleeting are more usual than facing the challenges and revolting. It’s confirmed when Daphne only chose to turned into a laurel to refuse the love of Apollo.

4. Females are usually malicious and without sympathy. They are week before gods but act as bullies to others in the way of transforming their anger and grievance caused by the gods into revenges to human and other goddesses.

5. Females are usually jealous. They are wild for revenge to their rivals in love cruelly. As one of the wives of Zeus, Hera frequently tried to get revenge on Zeus’ lovers and their children like forbidding Le to to give birth to her children on the ground and changing a girl’s hair into snakes.