Women in Myth & Religion

Athena & the Maenads

Lecture outline

• Beginning of the Athens – foundation myth of masculine citizenship

• The First Woman, Pandora• Athena – representations of, myths, religious

practice – what type of a woman and goddess was Athena? Look at a selection of images Maenads – who were these woman? What are there most famous actions? How are these females represented?

The Beginning of the Athenians

The Birth of Erichthonios, red-figure stamnos

Athenian myth of autochtony

Erichthonios

The Race of Women

The race of women and all femininity come from her (the first woman)From her comes that cursed race, the tribes of women.

Theogony, 590-591

Pandora

The Birth of Pandora, Red-figure krater

Born out of revenge

Not a natural being, created by Hephaestus

Athena gives her beauty and makes her dangerous

Who is Athena?Daughter of Zeus

Parton Goddess of Athens

The goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill

Virgin goddess

The Parthenon

Victory Monument – on the Acropolis at Athens, highest point

Began in 447 BC, completed in 438, decorations finally finished in 432 BC

Project tainted by corruption

Erected to honour Athena

How does this monument reflect Athena?

Athena v. Poseidon: West pediment

Reconstruction of the West PedimentDepicting the conflict between Athena and Poseidon

The olive tree against seawater

Greeks and Amazons

West Metopes

Athena is similar but significantly different to the Amazons!

The Consequences…

• Three fold penalty imposed upon women to appease Poseidon:– Women were deprived of the vote,– of their ability to pass on their names to their

children– and of their right to be addressed as Athenian

women

Birth of Athena: East pediment

Reconstruction of East pediment

East Frieze

Girl and maiden

Festival preparations and Athena sitting with Hephaestus

Colossal Athena of Pheidias

Representing Athena

• Decide upon one image to discuss• What is the most important characteristic of

Athena displayed here?• How does the type of representation effect

this?

ThesmorphoriaIn honour of Demeter Thesmophoros

Held throughout the Greek world, most well documented in Athens

Main features: secrecy, pig sacrifice, and promoting agricultural fertility

Who killed the pigs?

Maenads: Worshippers of DionysusAbandon, without controlPossessed by Dionysus

The Bacchae

• Performed in 405 BC• The consequences of banning the worship of

Dionysus to the King of Thebes• Play involves transvestism and aggression

Maenads of the mountains

• “ To the mountain, to the mountain”– Ritual cry in the Bacchae

Dancing on the mountain, beating their drums – dancing with abandon, but not necessarily alcoholic and sexual excess!

Drawing wine in Athens: ‘Lenaea vases’

Drawing wine during the Lenaea festival?

Comparing Athena and a maenad