Misogyny in the ancient world Often considered the framework of the Western world and widely celebrated for its cultural and philosophical attainment, Ancient Greek civilisation is by far one of the most accomplished in history. The ancient Greeks influence government through democracy, they influence the architecture of many of our buildings and wrote the epics that we know and study. However, deeply embedded within the rich culture of Greek literature and society are the underpinnings of misogyny and the mechanisms that have silenced women. Homerβs odyssey is one of the worldβs oldest surviving texts and provides monumental insight into antiquity. Yet within book one of Homerβs epic poem, as Mary Beard once said, is the first recorded example of a man telling a woman to βshut upβ. Penelope, wife of Odysseus, whoβs loyalty remains constant throughout the poem, comes down from her quarters into the communal place of the palace, to find a bard performing songs to her suitors about the Achaeanβs return home from Troy. She requests politely, having been understandably upset by the distressing content of the song, that the bard choose something less sorrowful to perform. Telemachus, her son, then rebukes her behaviour, telling her to return to her quarters and attend to her βownβ work regarding the loom and spindle. He proceeds to interject that making decisions must be menβs concern. Of course, Penelope submissively obeys her son, having listened to his βsensibleβ words. Right where written ancient literature begins, we are shown that womenβs voices are not to be heard, and when they are they should be silenced by a man. Telemachusβ reprimand was only one case, with many to follow within antiquity, where a man has attempted to reject and exclude a womenβs contribution to the public sphere. In 391 BC the playwright Aristophanes wrote an entire comedy Assemblywoman based on the unimaginable and clearly hysterical impossibility where the women of Athens assume control of the government. Much of Aristophanic comedy, including Women at Thesmophoria and Lysistrata, derives from mocking women. However, despite what may look like blatant misogyny there is a scholarly debate regarding Aristophanes attitude towards women. Some academics view him as an abhorrent misogynist who mocked women for fun within his plays, whereas others regarded him as a sort of proto feminist. A few of his plays, specifically the ones I previously mentioned, are sometimes called βfeminist fantasiesβ. Within these plays, Women are put in charge and manage to solve big problems facing contemporary Athens. For instance, in Lysistrata they can bring peace between Athens and Sparta. There is certainly some interesting nuance to be considered β does Aristophanes find the idea of women having power amusing or is he critiquing the attitudes of his fellow Athenians? Perhaps it is dependent on how seriously we take these plays. However, it was not only playwrights who publicly ridiculed women. Aristotle, a fair contender for the smartest man who ever lived once said βwomen are unfinished menβ, the man who created the first system of widely circulated logical reasoning, who pioneered zoology and botany and contributed so much to a spectrum of fields, believed women to be objects of passivity.
Gods and Goddesses were believed to control every aspect of life. The Greek goddesses were symbols of strength, yet despite their conceived immortality and perceived influence, were often bound by their male counterparts and prohibited from having their own power. It largely goes unrecognised that the Greek goddesses
25
