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Firstly, Hera not only reigns as Queen in Olympus but also in the Greek pantheon as a whole. On the surface, Hera is merely chosen to thoroughly dislike the Trojans simply because she is deemed less fanciable in the infamous account of Paris’ Judgment. She may be the Queen of the divine, yet mythologically she is rather complex and paradoxical since she is the goddess of lawful marriage and legitimate childbirth. Thus, she constitutes her subordination. The paradox of the Great Goddess’ plays well into patriarchy and Hera’s subordination to Zeus, her ‘husband,’ is revealed in the persecution of Lo by Hera herself, whom Zeus has disguised as a cow and describes as ‘ox-eyed.’ Further, she is the only one who dares to stand up to Zeus, the epidemy of patriarchal dominance. Hera wishes to wipe out Troy, reducing this great fortress to nothing but ashes. Her destructive nature can be traced all the way back to her origins in dissident feminine mythology. When Zeus stands in her way, she uses certain techniques such as seduction and deceit to get what she wishes, the best example of this is when she borrows Aphrodite’s girdle to stop Zeus from interfering in the battle.
There underneath the divine earth broke into young, fresh grass, / and into dewy clover, crocus, and hyacinth / so thick and soft it held the hard ground deep away from them. / There they lay down together and drew about them a golden wonderful cloud, / and from it, the glimmering dew descended
Here, one sees a direct account of the earth goddess Hera once, whose union with the sky god Zeus causes vegetation to spring from the earth. Although this may be true, in the Iliad her main concern is that of the sanctity of marriage for humans rather than the divine. Thus, within the framework of the narrative, she is much more than just an incarnation of mother earth, she is a much stronger and more vigorous individual. She may concern herself with the union of two individuals, yet marriage is far from presented as a positive image of women. So when it comes to their role, it is far from favorable. When Zeus realizes that his lovemaking with his wife is part of a grander scheme, he gets furious and threatens Hera with a horrific beating. This violent punishment reminds her of the numerous others she has been a victim of previously. For all Hera’s willingness to change her situation, she merely strengthens the power of the patriarch. Furthermore, in myth, she is most often depicted as a wife and a queen. As a mother figure, she is nothing to write home about. Doing her loveless marriage to Zeus, they get two daughters and two sons and the last was lame. In Homer’s account, Hera was so ashamed of her handicap that she preceded to throw him off Mount Olympus.
Then there is a goddess we honor and respect in our house. / She saved me when I suffered much at the time of my great fall / through the will of my own brazen-faced mother, who wanted to hide me for being lame. / Then my soul would have taken much suffering had not Eurynome and Thetis caught me and held me (…) / No other among gods and mortal men knew about us / except Eurynome and Thetis. / They knew since they saved me
As a wife, Hera may be held in high regard, but as a mother, she indeed is not. When it comes to Hephaestus, she has no motherly instinct. On the contrary, the sea nymphs not only gave him a safe base, love, and later a job. She does not seem to be a bragger either since it was only, she who knew the sea nymphs since they saved him. She may not be much of a mother, but the notion of discarding one’s disabled children is not a new phenomenon. Nowadays, one still hears of families neglecting their disabled children but not going as far as to murder them. Then again, some studies suggest that one should go for an abortion rather than carry out the pregnancy if the child is disabled. Hera may have thrown her youngest out of Olympus, but he does get his revenge in the end. A physical manifestation of Hephaestus’s revenge comes in the form of a gilded throne he gifts his ‘mother.’ When Hera places herself on this throne, it immediately confines her with invisible chains. When Hephaestus hears of his mother falling for his trap and his fellow gods wishing him to free her, he merely answers ‘I have no mother.’ He only agrees to release Hera if he gets offered Aphrodite’s hand in marriage.
This whole ordeal takes place while Hephaestus is significantly intoxicated. In reality, this is not the only time she cruelly mistreats her flesh and blood. Many a myth tells of her torturing and subsequent slaughtering of her many children with the skirt-chaser that is Zeus. In one horrific instance, she wishes Dionysus to become a plaything for the Titans. The most famous instance is by no doubt the twelve labors of Heracles. These cruelties often lead her to be depicted as a wicked stepmother rather than the caring maternal figure women should strive to be. Thus, one can conclude that she is most often depicted as malicious, irrational, and power-hungry. In contrast, to her depiction in later myths, she has a compelling origin as a powerful pre-Olympic deity.
Hesiod details a progression from female-dominated generations, characterized by natural, earthy emotional qualities, to the superior and rational monarchy of Olympian Zeus. Whether this corresponds to a historical change in Greek religion from an emphasis on the worship of female divinities to that of male divinities is unclear (…
In the quotation above one sees that at some point in history, the Greeks changed their worship of female deities to their male counterparts where Zeus is the most prominent. This change weakens the position of the ox-eyed Hera, making her a victim of patriarchy. O’Brien suggests that ‘Homer’s Hera rises out of the ashes of an early embodiment of matriarchal chaos.’ From this one can conclude that Hera has close connections to the creation of new life and the general creativeness of the feminine mythos. Despite this connection, her marriage to Zeus puts her in such a position that she cannot obtain any power in the universe. As stated by Mary Daly: ‘As patriarchy became the dominant societal structure, a common means of legitimization of this transition from gynocentric society was a forcible marriage of the Triple Goddess.’ Through marriage, males can obtain power, and thus we have the dynamic of ‘the ruler and the ruled.’ Building upon this a marriage should also provide a common understanding and comfort which is not the case in this marriage. Further, Hera’s ‘sudden’ loss of power combined with her move down in rank leads not only to rebellion but also to her fury. Yet, this righteous fury mixed with her helplessness against the tyrant Zeus is more laughable than heroic:
Crucially, this Hera has no power to smite. However, artfully she and Sleep tame Zeus, her machinations never passage cosmic ruin. They amuse, not frighten. Zeus may be outmaneuvered, but he has the power to smite as once before he subdued Typhon and her. This nurse of monsters has lost her bite.
Hera may have a hunger power, but her inability to obtain this combined with her forced compliance with patriarchy makes her out to be merely a shell of what she once may have been. These goddesses also have an internal discussion with their former selves and how to present the primal ‘Great Mother.’ According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, a feminist psychologist:
The Great Mother Goddess became fragmented into many minor goddesses, each receiving attributes that had once belonged to her.
This quote merely suggests that what once was has only been cut down to something lesser. One can see Aphrodite and Athena as significant examples of this ‘Great Mother.’ They seem to be a somewhat satisfactory model for the woman who wishes to stand up to the patriarch. Hera is not the only goddess with great cosmic powers one encounter in this grand narrative.
Secondly, Aphrodite who is the embodiment of sexual attraction and deep affection originally was the dominant force of creation. In the patriarchal framework of Greek myth, reduces her to nothing more than a flirt or a mistress. Despite her youthful appearance, Aphrodite is a mighty ancient deity associated with the waters of life due to her birth from sea foam. Yet, more interesting is her union with Ares shows the intriguing dynamics of love and war. Whenever Aphrodite wishes to get something, she much like Helen uses her beauty and sense of sexuality to roll men around her finger. Yet, this sense of allure and pure sexuality also makes her an easy target for objectification. In the framework of the Iliad Aphrodite works through her marionettes of Helen and even Hera herself. This marionette show is in full swing when she uses Helen to get information out of the Trojans, yet the village elders are utterly unaware that this beautiful maiden may be nothing more than a marionette. Rather than blaming the conflict on god’s intervention they merely claim it to be a question of beauty:
Surely there is no blame on Trojans and strong-grieved Achaeans / if for a long time, they suffer hardship for a woman like this one.
From this, we can gather that these elders are merely fascinated by her immense grace, elegance, and danger. Indeed, they cannot blame Paris for taking this bribe from Aphrodite. In the same fashion, Aphrodite helps Hera seduce her husband by lending her girdle to her. As a divine being, experts tend to compare Aphrodite with her Semitic counter, part Ishtar, whom citizens of Ancient Mesopotamia worshipped. This comparison has its basis in ample bother mutual association with the intriguing dynamic of love and war. How come, this dynamic is related to women in these ancient religions may it is because even then women were seen as dangerous. Alternatively, may it be because, like Sappho, they argue that desire is always a component of war? Then there is the question of whether or women really are the weaker sex or is it merely due to their religious focus being more in a matriarchal vain than the much later move to a stronger emphasis on the patriarch. This remains to be seen. When it comes to titles, Aphrodite has to title of Heavenly (Urania) while Ishtar has the honor of being the Queen of Heaven. In continuation of this, worshippers often used incense sticks to honor them and the sacrifice of doves they share as well. Moreover, many ancient texts argue that Ishtar especially was associated with sacred prostitution which archaeologists along with experts in the field have found to be inaccurate. Regarding Aphrodite and her centers of worship, there have also been accounts of priests reading erotica and some claiming that prostitution took place at her temple. A much-published example is that of the Corinthian athlete Xenophon who had won two disciplines at the Olympics in 464 BC with the help of Aphrodite. In this deal, he had promised to dedicate a handful of escorts to her as thanks. This renowned exchange was immortalized in Pindar’s Fragment 122:
A young woman visited by many, / attendants of Persuasion in wealthy Corinth, / who burn the fresh, amber drops of frankincense often fluttering in thought to the mother of loves, / Ouranian Aphrodite. / To you without blame she granted (…
Based on this, one may argue that there was a fragment of the professional who sold themselves in order to keep their promise to Aphrodite if they achieved what they wished. If one looks past Helen’s circumstances, one may even argue she became a lady of the night in order to appease Aphrodite. Thus, if one should look at Helen in this matter, one should also look past her family ties to the goddess of love share and thus her advantages regarding seduction and manipulation. This may also attempt to explain her twisted relationship with her captured brother.
Thirdly, there is Athena who is the incarnation of the wisdom of the Great Goddess since she was born from Zeus’ head this makes the great combination of the male archetype with the softness of the female. She also finds her place within the world of men. At first, her approach seems to be quite respectable. She is one of the greatest war goddesses in the Iliad, second only to Zeus himself; thus she has placed herself far above her brother Ares, who represents her male counterpart. Additionally, she establishes herself as a defender of cities, most notably Athens, which makes her an urban deity who concerns herself with the technology and culture of middle earth. Above all, she should be a magnificent manager, this side of Athena is especially prevalent in times of war. This depiction of her is particularly interesting and is not associated with chaos but rather strategy and discipline. Her intense focus on strategy, discipline, and above all democracy when motivates the Greeks to keep fighting.
Son of Laërtes and seed of Zeus, resourceful Odysseus: / will it be this way? / Will you all hurl yourself into your Benched ships / and take flight homewards to the beloved land of your fathers, / and would you thus leave to Priam and to the Trojans Helen of Argos, / to glory over, for whose sake many Achaians lost their lives in Troy / far from their own native country? / Go now along the host of the Athenians, give way no longer, / speak to each man in words of gentleness and draw them backward, / nor let them drag down to the salt sea their or swept vessels
Here, one sees a back-and-forth between Athena and Odysseus where Athene herself admits that it is Odysseus’ ability to manipulate, which she finds interesting. Plus, she uses his hunger for glory to point out why the Achaemenians should keep fighting. Another reason why Pallas Athena thinks they should keep fighting is to honor those men whom they lost instead of running home with their tails between their legs. Moreover, it is often through her aggressive masculine stances she exercises her power if not through words as seen in her empowerment speech to Odysseus. In both literature and art, she is depicted as a fearsome warrior this is also the case in the Iliad where Pallas is one of many intervening in the war. On the battlefield, she flies through the Greek ranks bellowing war cries to motivate them to go on. She has a finger in everything happening on the battlefield, from grabbing chariots and guiding spears into the chests of the enemy to fending off Trojan weapons with her bare hands. Many tales state that the mere sight of her golden helmet, huge spear, and flapping ages strikes terror into her opponents. When she intervenes the Trojans die like flies, not even the noble Hector can hide from her. The most excellent example of this is arguably the time when Athena convinces him to fight Achilles. In this scene, Athena plays the role of his brother to perfection by offering ‘his’ assistance. When Hector then agrees to fight, she only intervenes to hand back Achilleus his spear after a mid-throw after this she leaves Hector to face the music. Respect for fair play is not the warrior maiden’s strong suit though. Finally, while the grey-eyed Athena may have a great past as a matriarchal warrior goddess, despite this strong history, it is entirely erased by her connection with the patriarch and thus her strength is purely derived from the patriarch himself rather than playing on her feminine nature. She has thus become more masculine in her appearance and manner and is thus described as a lady driven by reasoning and intellect. Therefore, one may argue that Athena has lost her sense of the feminine by trading it for masculine brutality. Upon this one may suggest that she has neglected her roots in the feminine and more extremely her origin as a maternal figure.
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