Download Beuschel Grant Beuschel Abigail Heinger World Masterpieces I 29

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Grant Beuschel
Abigail Heinger
World Masterpieces I
29 April 2015
What are Women? Thoughts from the Ancient Mediterranean Epic
When ancient Greece is mentioned, one tends to think of two things: either the great
strength of the ancient warriors, or the mythology passed down in their epics. Both of these lack
a female figure as the hero who saves everyone from the wrath of the gods or titans or warring
countries. Further back in time and not so far from the Eastern Mediterranean was Sumer. From
the Sumerian culture sprung the Epic of Gilgamesh which also lacked a woman taking power
and saving the people. Why is this? Masterpieces of the ancient Mediterranean display a clear
sexism with the vacancy of women heroes, yet women are not powerless despite the focus on the
strength of men.
Before discussing the epic, the purpose of an epic must be analyzed. Back in the ancient
world, stories were not recorded using writing. Rather, they were passed on by ear since this was
a much more efficient method for their story to spread. Since a human would have to memorize
important cultural information, the epics were used to pass on what it means to be a person of
that culture. Descriptions of what the hero wore, how he acted, and what he valued were used as
the model of the ideal person. Also, the values shown in the epics carried over to all artwork that
arose during their time.
In the epic of Gilgamesh, there are two main characters: Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Enkidu
acts more as Gilgamesh’s sidekick and balance, but he is still a heroic figure as he is the only one
who can stand up Gilgamesh. In the story, women are used for two functions. The first is sex.
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Sex is what naturalizes Enkidu and makes him human. It is what the king does to women to
show his dominance. However, women do not get to dominate in the role of sex. This can clearly
be seen from Gilgamesh raping all of the women in the village when they get married. Another
example is Gilgamesh’s return to Uruk after slaying Humbuba in tablet VI. The goddess Ishtar
has lust for Gilgamesh and even wants to marry him. Yet, he does not comply with her wishes
and does not feel the need to even though she is a divine being. This refusal stems from the
Sumerian belief that women are subject to men in every role.
The second function of women is giving advice. When Gilgamesh does not know what to
do, he consults his mother, Ninsun. Ninsun is the one who blesses his friendship with Enkidu and
advises him before he sets out to kill Humbuba. Utnapishtim’s wife convinces him to give
Gilgamesh some type of gift before sending him away from their land after failing the test for
immortality in tablet 12. If women are the givers of advice, they must be wise beings. However,
the strength and power of a man seems to be more important to the Sumerians than the wisdom
possessed by the woman.
The Greek epic, the Odyssey, contains very similar values to that of the Sumerians. The
beginning of the epic starts with the queen, who is the hero’s wife, unable to remove the suitors
from her presence, suggesting she lacks power. However, she is shown to have wisdom when she
says she will take a suitor after knitting a burial shroud for her father in law. In the middle of the
night, she would undo all the work she did in the day, so she would never actually finish the
shroud and take a suitor. This wit of the woman is shown twice more with her test of her husband
and the marriage bed and yet again with an archery competition to choose a suitor where the task
was something only Odysseus could do. Eventually, her wit brings about the death of the suitors,
but only through her heroic husband shooting them all down. Thus, wisdom is not power, rather
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it is more of a tool for survival, and it seems women have more of it to the Greeks. This does not
mean they believe wisdom is exclusively the power of a woman, however. Odysseus survives
both the sirens and the cyclops by outwitting them.
In the other Homeric epic, the Iliad, the human women have no active roles, yet the entire
war going on throughout the epic is over the beautiful woman, Helen. The men are the only ones
fighting on the battlefield, and most of the story focuses on what is going on in that battlefield as
well as what the gods are doing. The two main heroes in the epic are Hector and Achilles. Both
have great strength and honor, which are very manly traits in the Greek world. Women are spoils
of war, merely objects. Achilles’ argument with Agamemnon was over Agamemnon stealing the
concubine he won. Honor is more important than staying with the loving wife. Hector does not
listen to his wife when she begs him not to go back into battle. He argues that he would be
shamed if he did not fight.
Unlike the Sumerian goddesses, Greek goddesses do not fall under this same inferiority
as human women. The fight between Zeus and Hera on Mount Olympus shows that gods and
goddesses are equal. Hera continues to defy her husband Zeus, and other gods and goddesses
such as Athena and Poseidon support her. She uses her sexuality to overpower Zeus twice and
put him to sleep. Eventually, the Greeks whom she supports win the war.
The Roman love story between Cupid and Psyche is closer to having a woman hero than
any other at the time. After being banished from Cupid’s home back to the earth, Psyche wants
nothing else but to get back to Cupid. Immediately, she starts on a quest to find Cupid. The
goddess Venus gives her several tasks to complete which are nearly impossible. For each one,
some other man has to help her, otherwise she would do nothing but sit and cry. Cupid persuades
the ants to help her sort the grain. The river god tells her how to get the golden fleece from the
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sheep. During the third task she wants to commit suicide, and if a voice would not have called to
her while she was on the tower, she would have done it. Even after all the help she is given, she
still finds a way to mess up her quest by opening the box she was told not open. This puts her
into a coma which finally ends her ability to carry out her quest. In the end, Cupid swoops in and
finishes her quest for her.
The many times that she gets help suggest the Romans did not think women were capable
of solving their own problems. When they cannot figure something out, they just cry. Crying
would have been a weakness to them. Although it was not explicitly written, it can be assumed
that the voice that kept her from killing herself was a man because this action saved her. She did
manage to begin her quest by herself which means that women can come up with ideas for things
they want to do, but then they cannot actually carry them out without a man. One redeeming
quality this story does show is women can have monogamous love. Rather than abandoning hope
of ever seeing Cupid, the immortal who banished her, again Psyche commits herself fully to
finding him. She is the most beautiful human in the world, so she could have had any man she
wanted at any time. However, she only wanted to have cupid back.
Mediterranean art also displays this same sexism. Art was used to tell stories more often
than writing since making one sculpture was easier than writing a book, and more people could
understand a story in art than could read at the time. Most artwork displayed heroes in a certain
way. They were always men, and these heroic men were always naked. Their nakedness was a
form of naturalism. This symbolized the idea that the hero is born naturally. In other words, you
were either born a hero or not a hero. They tend to look either confident or expressionless. This
showed their sense of resolve and clarity. No matter what situation, the hero would be able to get
through since heroes are always looked at as brave. Heroes were not passive; they took action in
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saving the people or becoming great in some way, shape, or form. This was no different in the
artwork. The hero is most often the one doing the action.
Perseus and Andromeda
The Perseus and Andromeda painting depicts Perseus rescuing Andromeda from being
sacrificed to a sea monster. His past heroism is displayed on his belt with the head of Medusa.
The winged feet portray him as swift while the sword claims he is powerful in battle. The
nakedness is the sign of him as a natural hero. He is holding up Andromeda’s arm as
representation that men are the ones who hold women up. She is already standing on the rock
while he is climbing up which suggests that the male hero is the one who has to work for the
woman. Andromeda is clothed showing that the woman is not the hero.
The lines in this painting explain what is happening. Both Perseus and Andromeda are
standing straight up and down, suggesting both are important to the story. Perseus’ leg is raised
but not at a diagonal. His leg is also standing on a rock which looks like a pose of strength. His
arm is at a diagonal, showing it is in action. This action is holding up Andromeda. His sword is
horizontal in this picture, making it passive. This means that whatever Perseus is doing is
without the intent of harm. Andromeda is standing on a rock that is slanted. This could be
suggesting that she would eventually slide off the rock and need someone to catch her. There is a
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wave or sea monster or something in the background next to Andromeda’s feet. It is a diagonal
which gives uncertainty of its intent.
The Getty Kouros
A kouros statue was a grave marker for a male used by the Greeks, though sometimes
these were also used in temples. Many kouros were probably men who died in war. This would
explain why these statues seem to be just ordinary men. Yet, they are still sculpted in the Greek
heroic style.
This Ghetty Kouros is taking a step forward showing he is ready to have action. He is
smiling showing his confidence. His nakedness represents heroism. His arms are relaxed at his
side since he has no worry. There is nothing he needs to handle at this point, but in contrast his
muscular body and straight figure display his strength. He has no diagonal lines from the front,
but from the side, one of his legs has a diagonal line, which suggests he is boldly moving
forward. This statue is exceptionally tall, which emphasizes his importance and power.
Phrasikleia
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A kore statue is a female version of the kouros statue. Phrasikleia is one of these kore
statues which was a grave mark for a woman dating back to 550 BC. There are many noticeable
differences between this statue and a kouros. She is fully clothed which is emphasized by her
right arm gripping the side of her dress. This dress goes down past her feet. She would not be
able to run and do battle in type of dress like that. Her left arm is horizontal, which is a passive
position. Both of these observations suggest that she is not doing anything. She is holding
something in her left arm, but it is not clear what the object is. Whatever object she is holding, it
does not appear to be powerful. Despite not being able to do anything, she is smiling, meaning
she is happy. She is content with not doing anything. The fact that the statue is tall says the
subject was still an important person; she just was not a hero.
C. B. Davis wrote his paper on how voice inflections change the interpretation of theater.
Mr. Davis suggested that women do have power which is mainly expressed through seduction.
They could bend a man's will by pretending to come on to him. Since men desire sex, they
comply. One of the things women use in their seduction is their voice. He cites Odysseus and the
Sirens as a reference for this claim. The sirens were very beautiful female creatures that would
lure sailors to their rocky coast they lived on and inevitably their deaths. To do this, they used
music and more particularly their singing voices. Odysseus had his men all plug their ears so
they would not be lured in by the music of the sirens. We can still see the power of their music in
this same story, however. Odysseus did not have his ears plugged; rather he had his men tie him
to a pole and not listen to him no matter what he said. When they passed by the sirens, Odysseus
screamed at his men to turn the boat to the sirens, but they did not listen to him. Because
Odysseus and his men survived the sirens, this shows the wit of men trumps the wit of women.
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C. B. Davis also touches on how multiple voices, or ventriloquism, are used in the
Homeric epics. He distinguishes that there are different purposes for when a man or woman uses
multiple voices. Men will mask their voice purely for manipulation. Women who use the same
technique are either "deceitful sorceresses" or possessed by a divine being or a demon. From this
observation, it would seem that only human males naturally have the ability to mimic a voice
while a woman must receive this power from an outside source. Furthermore, since this gift is
used for manipulation, men must have more evil in them than women. When the wooden horse is
being brought into Troy, Helen imitates the wives of the soldiers in the horse. This only does not
work because Odysseus keeps his men quiet. Davis explained that Helen was made to do this
through a god. She could not have come up with this plan on her own. However, her ability to
mimic the wives’ voices was her own.
Lauren Peterson analyzed how Greek men have control over women, and this control is
what makes the men dominate the women. Because they dominate the women, the men become
the most important figures and thus they are the centers of the epics.
Men would produce vases with artwork on it showing females toiling at work. They
would then give these vases to the women to use. From the pictures on the vases, the women
would learn the tasks they had to do in the household. Basically, women were manipulated into
being the slaves of men by teaching the women how to be slaves at a young age. Since women
were not allowed to choose whom they would marry, they would be forced into an unfamiliar
place with an unfamiliar man to do his bidding. Peterson uses the example of Persephone being a
slave to Hades reluctantly but forcefully. She supported the idea that women did nothing to try to
become stronger and more important because they desired to be desired by a man. Men had more
desire for working women. Therefore, they kept right at being slaves for men.
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Dianna Kardulias examined the 5th book in the Odyssey. In this book, she comments that
the gods and goddess, mainly the goddess Calypso, are switching Odysseus’ mindset from war to
normal life. Calypso uses her female body to civilize Odysseus. This is much like how the
prostitute was used in the Epic of Gilgamesh to civilize Enkidu. The gods make Calypso give up
her affair after a time so Odysseus can return to his homeland. She complains that gods get to
have their affairs whenever they want, but she, a goddess, does not get to keep her one affair.
From this, it seems that the gods have some power over the goddesses.
Kardulias’ main argument in her article is how Odysseus must put on femininity to save
himself after Poseidon attempted to drown him. The goddess Ino makes Odysseus put on her
headdress. This allows him to safely make it to shore. This headdress was a type of clothing that
only females would wear. She makes the point that men would never have touched a feminine
article of clothing because they have no use for it. This means that the hero had to put on
femininity to continue his quest home. The episode described suggests that the Greeks believed
sometimes a man must act like a woman to achieve his goal, which contradicts anything said up
until now. This quandary is resolved by Odysseus returning the veil after he is saved, signifying
his transformation back into a man.
The quest in Cupid and Psyche is similar enough to this part of Odysseus’ quest that it
does not contradict the Greek idea that woman cannot complete quests. Odysseus’ quest was not
complete after he was rescued from Poseidon’s storm. Because of this, it was not the female part
of Odysseus that actually completed the quest; the femininity only took part rather. Similarly,
Psyche could not complete her quest. She only took part in it. Both quests still reach their end
when the man finishes the objective and returns home with the wife.
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Ancient Mediterranean works show a huge bias against women. The only powers women
have are seduction, deception, and wit. None of these powers are ever good enough to give them
heroine status. Not even Psyche, who was at least allowed to start a quest, was good enough to
complete it. Artwork displays women as weak and passive compared to men, who are depicted
as strong, active, and brave. Women are little more than slaves who must do the bidding of men.
Sexism had a huge influence on ancient cultures, and this clearly showed through their recorded
history.
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Works cited
Apuleius, Lucius. “Cupid and Psyche.” January 11, 2001. Web.
Davis, C. B. "Distant Ventriloquism: Vocal Mimesis, Agency and Identity in Ancient Greek
Performance." Theater Journal 55.1 (2003): 45-65. Project MUSE [John Hopkins UP].
Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
The Epic of Gilgamesh. AINA. Assyrian International News Agency Books Online. Web. Jan.
2015.
The Getty Kouros. Digital image. The J. Paul Getty Museum. The J. Paul Getty Trust, n.d. Web.
4 Mar. 2015.
"The Iliad." The Iliad. The Internet Classics Archive, n.d. Web. Feb. 2015.
Kardulias, Dianna Rhyan. "Odysseus in Ino's Veil: Feminine Headdress and the Hero in Odyssey
5." Transactions of the American Philological Association 131.1 (2001): 23-51. Project
MUSE [Johns Hopkins UP]. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Perseus and Andromeda. Digital image. Theoi. Theoi Project, 2011. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.
Petersen, Lauren Hackworth. "Divided Consciousness and Female Companionship:
Reconstructing Female Subjectivity on Greek Vases." Arethusa 30.1 (1997): 35-74.
Project MUSE [Johns Hopkins UP]. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
"The Odyssey." The Odyssey. The Internet Classics Archive, n.d. Web. Feb. 2015.
Schermann, John, and Sonya Schermann. Kore. Digital image. National Archaeological Museum
of Athens. Scherminator, 2006. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.