legend

• women were created to punish mankind for receiving the stolen gift of fire (that Prometheus stole)

Pandora

• first woman - Zeus’ plan to punish mankind

  • something men would welcome but would lead to their destruction

• Hephaestus mixed earth & water to create Pandora like a goddess

• Athena taught her crafts

• Aphrodite made her beautiful

• Pandora spread evil by opening a pithos (jar) that had all evils contained

  • she let them all out and left only hope in the jar

Helen

• daughter of Zeus and Leda

• Wife to Menelaus (prince of Mycenae)

  • had daughter (Hermione)

• Paris gave golden apple to Aphrodite as she had the most desirable bribe (have the most beautiful woman in the world

• Some versions say Helen was blinded by Paris’ love & voluntarily went with him to Troy

  • some say she was carried off by force which presents her as a victim

  • Euripides’ version differs as he writes that Hera creates a phantom version of Helen for Paris while Helen is safe in Egypt (Helen is a pawn in the gods’ game)

• Menelaus assembles greatest army of soldiers ever to retrieve Helen

• In Iliad, Helen is portrayed as regretting & missing her family

• Priam (king of Troy) says gods are to blame

Roman kingdom

• Romulus grew Rome by inviting male refugees

  • shortage of women

  • Tried to convince neighbouring kingdoms to encourage marriage between different citizens (failed)

  • As result, Romulus sent invitations to join festival which Sabines accepted

    • Roman men were signalled to steal the Sabine women

  • Sabine women were outraged, but were granted privileges of Roman citizenship

  • Sabine women’s new husbands spoke loving words (thought compliments was the way of winning a woman’s heart)

• End of the Sabine-Roman war was the Sabine women disrupting the war & pleading with husbands & fathers to stop

  • war ended & sabines joined the Roman Kingdom

• Influence of women on their male relatives

Tarpeia

• Daughter of Spuirius Tarpeius

• Sabine King Tatius bribed Tarpeia into letting the men enter Rome

• Sabine men crushed her to death once her service was no longer needed

• Livy’s version says that she asked for what’s in their hands (shields) as a way to be clever

• Tarpeia was seen as a traitor

  • A cliff where Roman traitors were thrown to their death was known as ‘Tarpeian Rock’

Lucretia

• patrician woman

• Wife of Collatinus

• Collatinus & king’s sons argue about who’s wife is most virtuous, so paid surprise visit to each wife

  • king’s son’s wives were at banquets with peers, while Lucretia was weaving (Most virtuous)

  • Sextus Tarquinius Superbus raped Lucretia

• After this, Lucretia sent explanations to Collatinus, then killed herself with a knife

  • she valued her reputation & modesty to Collatinus over her life

• Collatinus formed an army against the King, the King took his family into exile

  • Kingdom was fallen & new Roman Republic established