The Role of the Women in Greek Mythology Essay Example for Free

The Role of the Women in Greek Mythology Essay In the text Mythology by Edith Hamilton, women are portrayed as being property and objects. During this time women were seen to be not as good as men. They saw perfection in relationships between men and young male adults as the best relationships to have. However, homosexuality was frowned upon. Men were considered knowledgeable and educated, but women were seen as a burden placed on man by the Gods. When it came to women nothing was valuable about them but their beauty. When a woman was beautiful she was wanted by many men: a man would do almost anything to have the possession of a beautiful woman and have her as his property. It was as if a woman’s role was to only be a man’s beautiful possession and to procreate the lineage of a male or if he had a daughter, the means to secure power through marriage. Atalanta a character from the text Mythology, was a beautiful maiden who was the daughter of the king. When her father saw that he had been given a girl instead of a boy he was very bitter and disappointed, she was then left on a mountain side. From this, one can assume that men did not feel girls were worthy of being raised and taken care of in place of having boys. Instead of dying, she was taken care of by a she-bear, and she grew up to be a very fast, daring girl. Atalanta vowed to stay a virgin and would never get married. She was not interested in men except for as companions in hunting. However, many men found her to be beautiful and then became interested in marrying her. Because of this attention Atalanta then came up with a plan. Thus, Atalanta decided she would have all the suitors race her, and whoever won the race would be her husband. If the suitors in the race were lapped by Atalanta or they lost, then they would be killed. Even on such hard conditions many men took the chance of risking their lives just to marry her and have her as their wife. Although she out ran many men, men would still attempt this race for her hand in marriage. In other words men did not see women as being worth anything unless they were she beautiful, therefore making her a man’s prize possession. Furthermore, among the rest of the suitors was a man named Hippomenes who was favored by Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Aphrodite wanted to help Hippomenes and gave him three golden apples. He used these apples to make Atalanta stop running to see what he had dropped. By dropping these apples he had then gained the chance to catch up to her. After dropping all the apples, Hippomenes had won the race, and the two were married. The suitor went through so much to marry Atalanta that he did not even stop to think that he would not have been able to win this race if it was not for the help of a god or goddess. Therefore, after all he had done and risked to win this race, in the end, they both were turned into lions for an apparent affront to Zeus or Aphrodite (p. 251). In addition to the men dying to have possession of Atalanta, many men also fought and died for a woman named Helen. Helen was considered the most beautiful woman in all of Greece. Due to her beauty, Helen was then married to the King of Sparta. She served as the King’s beautiful prize and possession. Helens beauty was so overwhelming that Theseus and Paris kidnapped her from her husband Menelaus, and took her to Troy. Upset that his possession had been taken, the king then sent hundreds of his Greek soldiers into battle with Paris; Helen being the main reason for the war known as the â€Å"Trojan War†. These men put their lives on the line and the lives of many others just to have this one woman because of her beauty. This was not the case for just Helen, this had happened to another woman as well. There had also been a quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, while debating who would have possession of a woman named Chryseis. Chryseis was the daughter of Apollo’s priest; the Greek took her and gave her to Agamemnon. Because of this her father went to him to beg for his daughter back but Agamemnon did not want to let her go, the god Agamemnon remarks, â€Å"but if I lose her who was my prize of honor†¦I will have another in her stead† (p. 61). Many men felt as though they had to have the most beautiful women in Greece as their trophies. As a result, a large battle had been created between the Trojans and the Spartans all because of a woman they wanted. Helen sat in her castle while thousands of men fought and died for her, and no one felt that Helen was the to blame for what was happening. Greek men believed this is what men must fight for, â€Å"men must fight for such as she†¦ for her face was like to that of an immortal spirit†(p. 263),referring to her not as a person but as a prize or object. Because of Helen’s adored beauty there were deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans, Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans, Hector and Paris. They fought for Helen as if she was an object in which they had to have as their property. This also shows what role a woman’s beauty can have in a Greek man’s life. Just as Helen had captured the eyes of many men, resulting in them fighting over her pure beauty, another character named Hera takes advantage of what she could do with her looks. Hera was the wife and one of the three sisters of the god Zeus; she was the goddess of women and marriage. Hera uses her beauty to try and change the result of the war in her favor, â€Å"She went to her chamber and used every art she knew to make herself beautiful beyond compare†(p. 268),knowing that Zeus would not resist her lovely looks. Hera’s plan was to distract Zeus from watching the Trojans defeat the Spartans in the war. By distracting Zeus, the battle would then be under the Greeks control. From this, it is apparent that a woman could always catch a man with her beauty, no matter how intense or focused he would have been. It is evident that during this time the main role and terms that characterized a woman were her beauty, which made her a prize possession to any man, and the fact that she could bear children for her male counterpart. Anything that alluded to a female being smart or having talent and not being beautiful was negative in a Greek man’s mind. Atalanta’s father made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with taking care of a female; it was stated in the text â€Å"she was not worthy of being brought up†(p. 246), in place of him having a son born to him. Hippomenes showed that he would do just about anything to win Atalanta as his wife and trophy. Menelaus started a war because his most valuable possession, his beautiful wife, who had been taken away from him by another man who desired her just as much as he did. Also, Hera used her beauty to her advantage to distract her husband Zeus from helping the Trojans in the war. Through these examples one can argue that a women’s role in Greek mythology was simple and controlled by being beautiful and a man’s prize or possession. Because they found men to be superior over women, women were considered to be only good for their beauty and procreation for the male offspring.

Making a Living & Building a Life: Ranchwomen in Early Arizona History :: Essays Papers

Making a Living & Building a Life: Ranchwomen in Early Arizona History In the early days of Arizona, ranchwomen played vital roles as business partners, wives, mothers, nurses, teachers, etc. Many of their stories reveal how women often were married into the cattle industry. The lives of many of these early women begin to be told by connecting them with their husbands. However, it is obvious that these women were not just â€Å"the wives of so and so.† Instead, the women actively participated in the development and worked to put all of their effort into helping their husbands’ business succeed. This led to a flourishing of a group of highly skilled, adaptable, and socially aware women. The commonly held belief that it was solely men who drove cattle across the desert, dealt with the details of a family business, and worked the ranch alone while their wives watched after the children, is continuously refuted by the stories of ranchwomen in early Arizona. In actuality a ranchwoman made the cattle industry, not just her husbandâ⠂¬â„¢s business, but rather â€Å"their† business. Besides business, women were concerned with community and home-building. The organization and influence of â€Å"The Cowbelles,† has not only provided a historical record of life on Arizona ranches, it has also provided an example and inspiration to women today. The additional efforts these women put towards encouraging neighborly attitudes, becoming nurses and teachers, and simply doing what was necessary to survive all were part of laying the foundations for some of the first modern day towns of Arizona. A timeline of events reveals the gradual birth of the cattle industry in Arizona and reveals the positive and negative results for different groups of people. In 1822, Mexico gained independence from Spain which resulted in a new government. Protection by the military was largely withdrawn from what is now known as Arizona; as a result, new settlers on the land had major problems dealing with a 50 year period of Apache depredations (Accomazzo v). However, in the 1870’s many of the tribes which were troubling to the settlers were sent to reservations by the federal government (Accomazzo v). In 1872, what is known as the â€Å"second phase of cattle ranching in Arizona, that of the Americans† began (Accomazzo vi).

Domestic Violence Essay Essay

Domestic violence is defined as acts of physical and/or psychological violence committed by one partner or on to another. Though committed by both sexes, men commit the majority of domestic violence acts. While efforts have been made to prevent men from engaging in domestic violence, these efforts have yet to make a major effect on the rates of violence against women. This is because these efforts often involve reversing long-held cultural and societal beliefs. Given this situation, violence against women will likely continue despite best efforts to decrease women’s vulnerability to such acts unless male risk factors and protective factors are addressed. While general risk factors exist, such as age and familiarity with the person, the majority of perpetrators have adopted behaviors, either learned behaviors or societal beliefs that increase their likelihood of committing domestic violence. Previous acts of violence against women is often the biggest predictor of whether or not a man will commit an act of violence. For example, men who commit rape are likely to have done so multiple times. That’s why individuals with a history of physical violence are more likely to commit future acts. Men who hold traditional gender role beliefs, (men as breadwinners; women should stay at home) and adapt to masculine norms (men need to be self-reliant; have power over women) are more likely to commit violence against women. Men who commit acts of domestic violence are likely to have experienced acts of violence against themselves, so they redirect their abuse to another. A large portion of these men also experienced abuse as a child, so they grow up thinking this behavior is acceptable. On the other hand, there are protective factors that can reduce the chance of men committing domestic violence. There are not many ways of decreasing the chance of domestic violence, but there are some. Some of the most common would be: changing social norms that turn away from or support violence against women (either through community intervention or public education), and/or by creating more stability in low-income communities, since there is a connection between violence and social problems (poverty, substance abuse, etc. )

Modern Medicine And Biotechnology Have Increased The...

Introduction In the past couple of years, advancements in modern medicine and biotechnology have increased. Biotechnology, quoted from the Business Dictionary, is the â€Å"application of biology to produce industrial enzymes, improved plants and animals, medicines, pesticides, etc., from living organisms or their parts. Genetic engineering is a special application of biotechnology in which genetic (hereditary) material of a plant or animal is modified (at the molecular level) to produce more desirable qualities.† These advancements have helped increase the lifespan of humans across the world. One example of a form of biotechnology are muscle stimulators, which help keep muscles strong while broken bones heal, because a human can’t really use a muscle with a broken bone. Another example is a nerve regenerator, which help produce cells that encourages nerve development. Cloning is a form of biotechnology. The process of producing an organism that is genetically identical is called cloning. Cloning is an asexual reproduction process. Cloning in biotechnology is manually cloning an organism or molecular cloning of DNA fragments. There are three types of cloning in biotechnology; reproductive cloning which are used to produce an exact copy of an existing organism, DNA cloning which are used to produce copies of DNA fragments, and Therapeutic cloning, which is used to for medical purposes. What Is Therapeutic Cloning Therapeutic cloning transfer nuclear material isolated fromShow MoreRelatedTechnology And Its Effects On Humans1326 Words   |  6 Pagesdrugs, new treatments, and new technologies are pushing humans to live the longest we’ve ever lived in the history of time. If a revolutionary new drug, rapamycin, has the same effect on humans as it has been proven to have on mice, a baby born today could live until the year 2157. That’s right, you heard me - to the age of one hundred and forty-two. A staggering figure, given that in 1915, just one hundred years ago, a baby would have only a 0.8% chance of even getting to one hundred. TheirRead MoreThe Ethical Debate Concerning Cloning Essay6336 Words   |  26 Pagesbirth, there has been much discussion of the ethical implications of cloning humans. Although the simple use of the word clone may have negative connotations, many people have resigned themselves to the idea of cloning cows that produce more milk or using a cloned mouse for use in controlled experimentation. However, the idea of cloning humans is a highly charged topic. Several authors have attempted to outline some of the ethical objections to cloning while at the sameRead MoreSources of Ethics20199 Words   |  81 PagesLegal System: 9 6- Codes of Conduct: 9 2.0- EXPLANATION OF THE SOURCES OF ETHICS: 10 2.1- RELIGION: 10 Teaching business ethics 12 2.11- Impact Of Religiosity: 13 2.12- Ethics Of Islam: 14 Nature of Islamic Ethics 17 The Human-Environment Relationship: 20 The Sustainable Care of Nature: 22 The Practice of Islamic Environmental Ethics: 22 2.14- Ethics And Other Religion: 25 2.2- GENETIC INHERITANCE: 31 2.21- LINKAGE OF GENETICS AND ETHICS: 32 Introduction:Read MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesrequest to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps or all caps. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational behavior / Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge. — 15th ed. p. cm. Includes indexes. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-283487-2 ISBN-10:Read MoreStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 PagesIndex Preface In writing the first edition of this book in the early 1990s, we were motivated by a concern to help improve the effectiveness of marketing practice. Twelve years and two editions later, our purpose is unchanged. In doing this, we have sought to address a number of key questions that logically follow each other in the context of strategic marketing management: 1 Where are we now? 2 Where do we want to be? 3 How might we get there? 4 Which way is best? 5 How can we ensure arrival