The Role of Women in Greco-Roman Society:
As Reflected in Classical Mythology
The Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the classic mythology we will see that the roles women portrayed are very different than women's roles in today's society. Although there are a few similarities to women's roles in today's society, their roles are more like those women in the past. We can see this by looking at the attributes of Greco-Roman female gods and looking at the roles women play in the myths. By comparing the roles of women in the myths with women's roles today we will see that the roles have many differences and few similarities.
The first things we will look at to show women's roles reflected in Classical mythology are the attributes of the female gods. Of the fourteen main Olympian Deities, only six of them are women. This includes Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Artemis, Athena, and Aphrodite. Of these six I believe Hera, Demeter, and Aphrodite best portray the role of women in Greco Roman society, as reflected in Classical mythology
The Olympian Deity who best shows the role of women is portrayed by Greek Mythology is Hera. Hera is the goddess of marriage, childbirth, and consort of Zeus. She stays at home and presides over the family all day while her husband goes around making love with every other beautiful girl in Greece. This indicates that in Greco-Roman society the women would stay at home to watch over their children, clean the house, weave, and make the meals. This could be looked at as being very similar to the roles of women in the early to mid 20th century, but is different than the roles of women in today's society. Woman in today's society are no longer expected to stay at home and watch over the house and home. Most women today have jobs and share the housework and cooking with their husbands. In addition, if a woman finds out today that her husband...
