What is the difference between athena and aphrodite

When necessary, the women in The Iliad are able to use their natural charm or cunning in order to further their agenda.

Hera, being a prime example of this, consistently shows her ability to feign a docile nature in order to distract from her crafty plans. However, there is a drastic distinction between the mortal and immortal women of The Iliad.

Although most women in The Iliad play a vital role in the plot, the immortal women play a direct role while mortal women affect the plot indirectly. Jennifer Lopez is one of the rare women who fits the current mold of beautiful. Stories were handy in explaining everything ranging from the weather to religious rites and helped people to draw meaning from the world around them.

Like in most other ancient cultures, women were the subservient gender in ancient Greece. On the one hand, women were widely regarded as troublesome and symbols of negative normative values.

On the other hand, men were generally synonymous with strength and leadership qualities. Unarguably, Greek mythology features blatant sexism. Women in epics are traditionally thought to be less powerful or less of a hero than the male protagonist. However, in The Odyssey, Penelope proves quite the contrary. Though on the surface Odysseus does fit the description of a traditional hero more clearly than Penelope, Penelope does, in fact, have a journey of her own. It is through this journey that she proves to be a hero.

The journey of Penelope is much more implied than that of Odysseus but, Penelope nonetheless shows her claim to the title of a hero through her compassion, mental strength, and loyalty. He believed that things were not absolute, but relative.

Homer may have portrayed females as the inferior characters just so the plot could play out. But without women would there be an epic of the Iliad to tell?

With Agamemnon capturing Chrysies the following events unravel into what becomes the Trojan War and the story of the Iliad. If you focus on mortals in the epic, females may seem like they have little to offer, but the Iliad contains strong female characters if you include the gods.

All the gods are all portrayed, as powerful beings. The wife of Menelaus and the promised prize to Paris for being the judge of a beauty contest for the goddesses, Helen is the nexus of the war. Being the source of the entire war gives her a very powerful role in the Iliad. Even though the story is not about the war it based around the war and at times the two are very intertwined.

Not all women in the Iliad have power though, many are treated like objects and property. The balance between male and female roles in this poem is a fascinating point of interest. Athena is a very intricate and complex character who has a vital role in the epic poem. She is the Goddess of war and battle, a very interesting role for a female to possess. Because she is the Goddess of war, she has The great epic, Homer's Odyssey, is a tale of an adventure; a journey through the mind body and soul.

Odysseus was strong throughout his voyage and was able to conquer his obstacles thanks to the help from the Goddess Athena. Open Document. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. Aphrodite and Athena were both great powerful women who were revered as goddesses in greek mythology.

They both were greatly worshipped, however due to their distinct personality traits they were worshipped and spoken about and very different ways. Both goddesses are immortal and female, and both seem to distinguish the incongruous gender roles between men and women throughout ancient Greece. What makes these two goddesses interesting, however, is their differences, which will determine how they will be reflected in myth. On one hand you have Athena , the androgynous goddess of war and wisdom.

On the other you have Aphrodite , the goddess of love and sexuality. While Aphrodite who embraced her femininity and sexuality, was seen as one of the most inferior immortals by other immortals and thus by myth writers.

What makes the depiction between Athena and Aphrodite interesting is the different ways they are portrayed even sharing the similarity of being born strictly from male only. Athena from the all-powerful king of the gods Zeus and Aphrodite from Ouronos. Constitution sought to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex.

When viewed through a mythological lens, it was a classic battle between Athena and Aphrodite. An archetype is a character type that exemplifies universal patterns in human nature.

First published in , Bolen identified Phyllis Schlafly as the embodiment of the Athena archetype. At first glance, you might assume that a woman who wanted to kill the ERA must be a Hera, the goddess of marriage. Although Schlafly was married, it became clear within the first few episodes that her goal was power.

Even before ERA, Schlafly was a recognized expert on defense policy and arms treaties. Schlafly ran for Congress in the 24th District of Illinois, in , , and , but was soundly defeated by the Democratic contender. When gerrymandering of her district made it look like the Republican Schlafly could win the seat in , her husband told her not to throw her hat in the ring. SALT sought to curb the nuclear arms race between the two nations by controlling the number of strategic ballistic missiles.

Through listening to the concerns of the politicians, and those of her housewife friends, Schlafly realized that organizing a coalition to defeat ERA would give her the power she sought. This was a pure Athena move.

It showed the pragmatism and strategic thinking that marks a woman with an Athena archetype. A warrior goddess, Athena represented the thinking side of war as the Goddess of Battle Strategy. Ares, known as the God of War, actually represented the senseless violence of battle and blood-lust. During peacetime, Athena was the Goddess of Domestic Arts, particularly weaving. Phyllis Schlafly had a masters degree from Radcliff and had written several articles and books about defense policy and the Republican party.

An author, traveling speaker, and political activist, Schlafly was an intellectual and a working woman. Yet, she was also a goddess of domesticity, who raised six children and had dinner on the table every night. Statues and paintings of Athena often depicted her with a spear in one hand and a spindle in the other. When she was shown with another figure, it typically was a man, either her father Zeus or a hero like Achilles or Odysseus.

Throughout Greek mythology, Athena supported the patriarchy and defended conservative social mores. Schlafly supported the status quo of male power and opposed efforts to give women more rights. Her recurring argument was that the ERA would force women to be drafted, an interesting Athena move. She also said ERA would take away social security for dependent women and eliminate separate restrooms. A woman who embodies the Athena archetype is ruled by logic and is known for her winning strategies and practical solutions.

Once Schlafly organized the opposition, which included housewives and religious conservatives, only five more states ratified and five of the original supporting states voted to rescind their ratification. Despite initial passage with overwhelming support by the House and Senate, and having the support of most Americans, the ERA amendment was not ratified. Athena women are ruled by their heads and not their hearts, according to Jean Shinoda Bolen.

They are not swayed by sympathy or victim stories. Athena women are strategic with their appearance and know how to appear beautiful in conventional ways, yet emit an asexual vibe that keeps men at a respectful distance. Cate Blanchett portrayed cold beauty perfectly in her role as Schlafly.

Even apparent losses were offset through her planning and execution of strategic actions. Early in the battle, she and her housewives sent jam and bread to the politicians that were considering the ERA. The homemade goodies had tags that said,. She used her strategic mind to play the game of politics. Abzug was pragmatic and willing to upset members of the feminist coalition if she thought it would gain her long-term goal of ERA ratification.

Examples of this included her abandonment of black presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm at the Democratic Convention, in favor of the winner of the nomination, George McGovern.