Athena And Aphrodite
3.5 Athena and Aphrodite as role models for female empowerment
Can Athena and Aphrodite be considered as empowering role models for women? Athena frequently chooses to assist males over women or disguise herself as a man (Deacy 2008:37), “Athena, daughter of Zeus came near them, making herself resemble Mentor in appearance and voice” (Hom.Od.22.205-10). There are many examples of women in myth suffering at Athena’s hands. Arachne was turned into a spider for challenging the goddess, Murmix was transformed into an ant after taking credit for Athena’s plough invention (Serv. Aeneid 4.402). Beautiful Medusa became grotesque after having sex with Poseidon in Athena’s temple (Ovid.Meta.4.794-803; 6.119-20). Aithra deceived by Athena in her dream …show more content…
Many modern societies believe that women should be equal to men with some feminists proposing positive discrimination. Athena’s power over men may equate to this modern female empowerment. Athena’s blend of gendered traits put her at the forefront of the ‘goddess movement’. The goddess movement involves the belief that within prehistory there was a matriarchy consisting of women dominant in society and religion revolving around the worship of a ‘Great Goddess’ who was peaceful, nurturing and placed nature and fertility as a priority. This movement echoed the beliefs of feminist spirituality in the 1970s (Deacy 2008:35). A further modern-day view compares characteristics between Athena and Margaret Thatcher. Her masculine traits may portray Athena as a ‘traitor to her sex’, however, like Thatcher one can speculate how they both advanced their power as strong females by employing male associations to enhance their status (Deacy 2008:37). Both Athena and modern women aspire to independence achieved through employing biological generality, sexuality and status though both explore independent choices they are still limited through physical and emotional preconceptions (Collins et
Can Athena and Aphrodite be considered as empowering role models for women? Athena frequently chooses to assist males over women or disguise herself as a man (Deacy 2008:37), “Athena, daughter of Zeus came near them, making herself resemble Mentor in appearance and voice” (Hom.Od.22.205-10). There are many examples of women in myth suffering at Athena’s hands. Arachne was turned into a spider for challenging the goddess, Murmix was transformed into an ant after taking credit for Athena’s plough invention (Serv. Aeneid 4.402). Beautiful Medusa became grotesque after having sex with Poseidon in Athena’s temple (Ovid.Meta.4.794-803; 6.119-20). Aithra deceived by Athena in her dream …show more content…
Many modern societies believe that women should be equal to men with some feminists proposing positive discrimination. Athena’s power over men may equate to this modern female empowerment. Athena’s blend of gendered traits put her at the forefront of the ‘goddess movement’. The goddess movement involves the belief that within prehistory there was a matriarchy consisting of women dominant in society and religion revolving around the worship of a ‘Great Goddess’ who was peaceful, nurturing and placed nature and fertility as a priority. This movement echoed the beliefs of feminist spirituality in the 1970s (Deacy 2008:35). A further modern-day view compares characteristics between Athena and Margaret Thatcher. Her masculine traits may portray Athena as a ‘traitor to her sex’, however, like Thatcher one can speculate how they both advanced their power as strong females by employing male associations to enhance their status (Deacy 2008:37). Both Athena and modern women aspire to independence achieved through employing biological generality, sexuality and status though both explore independent choices they are still limited through physical and emotional preconceptions (Collins et