A long time ago, Zeus had a headache. While Hephaestus attempted to craft the latest state-of-the-art remedy, Hermes made a quick trip to the 24-hour Walmart for some Advil. Nothing seemed to work. Zeus’s headache began to worry the heavens; all of the gods and goddesses were constantly checking their twitter updates and some even had no school. As the gods stood around Zeus to figure out what was wrong, suddenly, Ares ran towards Zeus with a Minoan axe and cleaved Zeus’s head. Before Hera can tell Ares to go to his room, a fully grown goddess leaped out of Zeus’s head; fully armored. This goddess was none but Athena, goddess of wisdom, strength and warfare. Athena went on to be the most powerful, outspoken and formidable of the goddesses; and all of this came from a headache.
Let’s not lie to ourselves; the Greeks were misogynists. They called women a “necessary evil”; they viewed women as keeping them from work, but necessary for procreation. And I don't think I would be upsetting the story if I were to take the myth even further and say that the story of Athena’s birth, whether intended or not takes on an aspect of the female image quite ingrained into the societal subconscious; the idea that opinionated, headstrong women are "annoying" in formerly male-dominated settings.
Does it take only a headstrong woman to achieve the idea of feminism that pulls away from the submissive image? Different women have individual experiences which separates the idea of the image that needs to be adjusted. Feminism, therefore is a collective effort for individuals to change the image of women in the public realm, although the actual idea of this image differs depending on the individual in their private realm; so here is the tug-of-war between the woman and the individual we see in feminism.
The only headstrong characteristic that is necessary, therefore in a female feminist is the willingness to give up the habits that make her part of the former, negative image (whether it be submissiveness or one-dimensional objectification). It is not the actions of the woman that are remembered, but the silence when she could have done something.
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Good post. I especially like the last para, and completely agree with it. I don't know if I am properly feminist or not... as much as I want women upliftment and equal rights, I do appreciate things like chivalry, and that isn't very feminist, is it? I dunno, but yes, the last paragraph is spot on.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting dimension of perspective...i felt like it expresses todays life of women very accurately and yet on a deep level with precise instructions of change that is possible. Left me wanting more..
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel the myth of Athena's birth can be a representation of the woman coming forth into our society and culture with authority and power not only equal with that of man, but also unique from the man. Coming out of the man's head shows us that we all originate from the same substance (equality) yet she comes forth ready for battle, already having prepared sufficiently to take on the world - thanks to the works of men and women before her. Anyway, I take a different POV on the myth than you. Thank you for sharing yours. I had never looked at it that way before.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I like that image! Where did you get it?
ReplyDeleteHey Jason,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment!
I like your theory on Athena's birth!!! That's really why the existence of Greek mythology is still evident in culture today; it can translate to so many universal meanings philosophically.
Looking at how the Greeks viewed women I wouldn't be surprised if that story had misogynistic undertones. I once did I project where I compared the story of Pandora's birth to the story of Adam and Eve and the parallels are a lot similar to Athena's birth (coming from a man).
I appreciate your insight, however and it's nice to see someone who likes to take mythology and relate it to current philosophy as well!!
The image is compliments of Vogue!