This paper will be discussing the origin of the Greek titan, Rhea. Rhea was the Titan daughter of the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. She was the Titan mother of the gods, and a goddess of female fertility, motherhood, and generation. The ancient Greeks saw her as the mother of the Olympian gods and goddesses, but not as an Olympian goddess in her own right. Her name means "flow" and "ease."
Menrva, for example, an immensely popular deity, was regarded as a sponsor of marriage and childbirth, in contrast to the virgin Athena, who was much more concerned with the affairs of males. Many of the gods had healing powers, and many of them had the authority to hurl a thunderbolt. There were also deities of a fairly orthodox Greco-Roman character, such as Hercle (Heracles) and Apulu (Apollo), who were evidently introduced directly from Greece yet came to have their designated spaces and
Plutarch, a respected author of the 1st century, wrote “the noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail” (Plutarch 146). On this, ancient Greece had a particular artistic interest in ta aphrodisia, or a sphrere of sexuality derived from the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Ogden 311). There is not a defined conception of the realities of the times, moreso throughout time, artistic conventions evolved to establish the dyamics of Greek life. Though many societies influenced modern-day ideas of ancient culture, the artistic expression valued so greatly in Greece distinguished itself from any other culture of the time. Particularly in the late seventh and sixth centuries B.C., romantic love was presented as something directed primarily at members of ones' own sex.
The head Gods and Goddesses marry each other; they also give birth to each other. Gods are associated with the sky and the Goddess is associated with the earth. Gods are usually a depiction in the role of a social political setting; whereas Goddesses roles relates to reproduction (Leonard & McClure, 2004). For example, a female deity is the earth or a reproductive cycle, and the male deity is a vision of the offices he holds or the various roles he plays (Leonard & McClure, 2004). The powers that Goddesses have are magnificent, disabling the intimacy with human lovers.
Athena/Minerva is the Greek virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature. I had never heard of this Greek goddess before but what interested me about her was not only what she was a goddess of but her name Minerva. Minerva is the name of a professor in the Harry Potter book series (Minerva McGonagall) after reading all of the books it was clear that professor McGonagall is a very wise witch. After learning that Athena/Minerva is the goddess of wisdom I understood the reason behind professor McGonagall’s name, and not only her name but after further research finding out Athena is the goddess who turned a girl into a spider and professor McGonagall is the professor of transfiguration. I would like to learn more of what Athena did in war being the goddess of wisdom.
Penelope and Calypso: Seduction in The Odyssey The portrayal of Penelope as a seductress (though at other times she also plays the role of a mother) is especially interesting since the other seductresses in the Odyssey are goddesses, not mortal women. This suggests that the power of female wiles
Creation of gender roles The founder of Western Civilisation, Greece, revered women even by worshiping female gods and creating Amazon legends, however the Greek world still viewed women as “inferior in political, social and legal realms” (Lindsey, L. L., 2005, p. 99). This continued throughout all the other historical periods, from Ancient Rome to the Middle Ages, from feudalism to the Renaissance, from industrialisation to the depression and following the World Wars, from the rise of women’s movements till to-date, the female gender has been slow in gaining ground in achieving their rights and importance in society. Industrialisation brought about numerous employment opportunities for women from various social strata, yet it was only after the Second World War that socially constructed roles started being challenged and more favourable circumstances were by default offered to women. (Lindsey, 2005) Gender roles in marriage and family It is evident that even in religious teachings women’s roles were always considered inferior to men. Even in the Bible’s first book, the book of Genesis it was Adam who was given the privilege of naming the animals as well as naming his female companion, Eve, created by God who is envisaged “by nature disobedient, guileless, weak-willed, prone to temptation
Quinterrace Blackmon Mrs. Johnnie Hargrove English 203 31 October 2011 Helen of Troy: The Manipulated Beauty Throughout the history of Greece and Rome there were important historical women who played roles in their society. The Greek poet Homer and Roman poet Virgil created alluring epic poems, both involving the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Troy. Helen is the face that launched a thousand ships. At the time of the Trojan War she was the most beautiful woman in the world. There is some question as to whether she is the most beautiful woman of all time.
Although women occupied an entirely different position in society compared to men, they too held a certain sphere of influence and power; they simply exerted it in ways that were distinct from men’s strategies. By examining the character of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, one can see just how women exerted their power and influence in The Odyssey and to what ends. Penelope uses clever cunning and sexual charm to toy with men’s emotions and to meet her own needs while she is waiting for her husband to return from battle. The types of strategies and her relative success in using them will be examined in this essay. Athena is the daughter of Zeus who helped Odysseus throughout his quests.
Beauty is personified in the perceptions of the female body and by comparing chronological insights of Venus through Giorgione’s “Sleeping Venus”, Tiziano’s “Venus of Urbino”, and Edouard Manet’s “Olympia”, a standard of beauty is realized and a change from myth to modernity is observed. In 1510, painted with oil on canvas as a marriage gift for Gerolamo Marcello and Morosina Pisani, Giorgione’s “Sleeping Venus” set the tone for the idealized beauty of women with the seemingly customary image of femininity and a soft innocence. The painting shows a naked woman (presumably Venus) peacefully sleeping on a hill not too far outside of a Venetian village. In this moment, she assumed to be unaware of her audience and therefore, is not self-conscious of exposing her body, only covering her genital area with her hand. The audience, however, is very much aware of the position they are in and the feeling of an intrusion on a private moment can arise; and this particular feeling shouldn’t be considered unusual.