From Mythos to Logos


 


1. The "Logic" of  Greek Myth:

A Case Study: "Reflections of Womanhood"
Hera, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite



The principal female Olympians -- Hera, Athena, Artemis, and Aphrodite (together with Demeter) -- operate almost as though a meditation on the nature of womanhood. Each goddess speaks to a specific power of femaleness, and all sharply differentiate themselves from one another. Together, they seem both to describe and to analyze the many aspects of the feminine.

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Hera (=Roman Juno). Special associations include matrons, marriage: wedded women, in particular, prayed to this goddess.

Attributes: no unique iconography, identified by context (the wife of Zeus) or inscription


Hera, in literature and in cult: the woman-who-is-the-wife



Athena (Athene). (= Roman Minerva; sometimes called Tritogeneia; often called "Pallas Athena" or simply "Pallas")

Attributes: helmet, spear, aegis (a fringed half-cloak, often decorated with the Gorgon's head, and fringed with snakes); sometimes associated with snakes and owls.


Athena, the virgin and warrior goddess of the citadel (the maiden-who-is-not-desired, woman-as-stabilizing-force)

The elemental associations of Athena

How do we put these disparate elements together?



Artemis (= Roman Diana). A virgin goddess, associated with the hunt, chastity, and childbirth (!)

Attributes: bow, fawn (or doe or stag); often appears with her brother, Apollo; usually a short dress (chiton) and a girl's hairstyle



 

Artemis, the maiden-who-is-desired-but-cannot-be-touched


 


Aphrodite. (= Roman Venus; sometimes called Cytherea or Cypris).

Attributes: in early art, usually clothed and often impossible to distinguish from Hera or other goddesses, unless there is an inscription; from the 4th century onward, usually nude (after Praxiteles)

sometimes pictured with a sceptre or a mirror; often accompanied by Eros (=Roman Cupid) or several Erotes (Cupids); sometimes accompanied by a goose or swan.


Aphrodite, the woman-who-is-desired-and-CAN-be-touched (cf. Artemis), the woman-who-is-not-the-wife (cf. Hera), woman-as-destabilizing-force (cf. Athena)