Classics 10: Chapter 9 The Olympians: The Female DeitiesThe Female OlympiansFertility and Female Deities[I. Demeter, Mistress of Wheat]II. Hestia, Goddess of the HearthHestia and the CityIII. Aphrodite, Goddess of Sexual LoveThe Aphrodite of PraxitelesHermaphroditusPriapusPygmalion and GalateaAphrodite and AnchisesAnchises and AeneasIV. Artemis, Mistress of AnimalsTemple of Artemis at EphesusArtemis the Virgin HuntressArtemis the ArcherArtemis and NiobêArtemis and ActaeonV. Athena, Mistress of the CityAthena the WarriorAthena and CivilizationAthena and ArachnêParthenonClassics 10: Chapter 9The Olympians: The Female DeitiesI. [Demeter, Goddess of Wheat]II. Hestia, Goddess of the HearthIII. Aphrodite, Goddess of Sexual LoveIV. Artemis, Goddess of AnimalsV. Athena, Goddess of the CityAt left, The Birth of Venus [Aphrodite], Sandro Botticelli, 1482The Female Olympians•Greek myth told by and for Greek males–Male gods govern male spheres of activity–Females gods govern what men want female spheres of activity to be •We don’t really know what Greek women thought about their gods•Mostly reducible to some aspect of fertility, in agriculture and/or in humans–Athena is the big exception•Less active than the male deitiesFertility and Female Deities•Demeter, grows the wheat•Hestia, perfect homemaker•Aphrodite, lusty sex•Artemis, mistress of the bountiful woods•Athena, weaver (weaving was main female job after tending the house and raising the children)[I. Demeter, Mistress of Wheat]•Name = “Wheat” mother? (not likely)–Force that makes grain sprout from the seed•Mother of Persephone, who is abducted by Hades (but not forever)–At left, the abduction as sculpted by Bernini in 1621•Their story = next chapter (Chapter 10)II. Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth•Goddess of the house•Name = “hearth”•Few stories about her•Defined the internal space of the female world •Never leaves Olympus, where she tends the hearth fire of the gods•Virgin, given honor instead of marriageHestia and the City•A city (e.g., Athens, Rome) would designate the city hearth = symbolic of the city as a family•Priestesses would tend the city’s flame•In Rome, Hestia = Vesta–6 Vestal Virgins tend her shrine and fire at the heart of the city–Viewed as great honor; loss of virginity punished by being buried aliveIII. Aphrodite, Goddess of Sexual Love•Overwhelming urges and passions of desire–Regarded as dangerous, irresponsible•Shares traditions with Near Eastern deities–Istarte, Ishtar, Inanna •Born from the foam (aphros) of Uranus’ genitals (or from Zeus and Dione?)–Cyprus and Cythera both claimed she came out of the sea there: hence she is known as Cypris or Cytherea•Has son with Ares: Eros (Cupid)–Winged fat boy with bow and arrows or flaming torch–Chaos also said to have produced ErosThe Aphrodite of Praxiteles•Original = 4th C BCE–This is a Roman copy from ca. 100 CE•Made for her Temple at Cnidus (now SW Turkey)•Goddess coming from her bath, clean and fresh•Feigned (?) modesty•Upon seeing the statue, Aphrodite is said to have asked: “When did Praxiteles see me nude?”Hermaphroditus•Son of Hermes and Aphrodite•Was fused with the nymph Salmacis• She would not let go of him• He ends up with woman’s breasts and man’s genitals2nd C CE, LouvrePriapus•Child of Aphrodite and Hermes (or Dionysus?)•Enormous penis wards off evil (“the evil eye”)•“Priapism” = a permanent penile erection•The Romans associated him with prosperity (at left at Pompeii)•Big penis = big money?Pygmalion and Galatea•Pygmalion, King of Cyprus, becomes disgusted with the profligate behavior of the women of Cyprus•Fashions a perfect woman out of marble; falls in love with her•Aphrodite gives his statue (Galatea) life during her feast day at Cyprus •Their son is Paphos, eponymous founder of the Cyprian city sacred to AphroditeAphrodite and Anchises•In retaliation for his many loves, Zeus punishes Aphrodite with an inescapable desire for a mortal man•Anchises, Prince of Troy, is the lucky victim: good looking, respectful, but knows what to do in bed•Aphrodite has to talk him into it (sort of)–She pretends that Hermes brought her to Troy so that she would be Anchises’ brideAnchises and Aeneas•Anchises’ reward: a son Aeneas, who will rule over generations and generations•Anchises told not to disclose the mother, lest he shame her•When he does, he is struck in the thigh and made lame (unmanned?)•Aeneas will escape Troy and found the Roman race (Aeneid of Virgil)IV. Artemis, Mistress of Animals•Daughter of Leto, twin sister of Apollo•Her name not Greek linguistically; very old Near Eastern tradition•Homer calls her Potnia Thêrôn, “Queen of the Beasts” (or “Mistress of the Animals”)–A mother goddess, associated with the nourishment of the young–Often represented between two matching animalsTemple of Artemis at Ephesus• Her greatest cult site, peaked in 2nd C CE• Her cult statue covered with animals and laden with bull’s testicles (probably not breasts)• For animal fertility (not human)Artemis the Virgin Huntress•Paradoxical that a mother goddess (in Near East) should become the virgin goddess of the hunt (in Greek myth)•Special patron of girls before marriage, wild spaces, and women in childbirthArtemis the Archer•Her iconography all to do with hunting–Bow and arrows–Hunting attire: boots, skirt, belt •Artemis the Killer–Very skilled in archery and hunting–If woman suddenly died in childbirth, she was said to have been “struck by the arrows of Artemis”–Moment of birth thus her domain, but not the act of getting pregnant–Kills in vengeance, esp. in defense of her ownArtemis and Niobê•Niobê, Queen of Thebes, challenged the honor of Leto, mother of Artemis and Apollo•“Leto has only two kids, while I have twelve”•Apollo and Artemis then kill all of Niobê’s childrenAttic vase, 450 BCEArtemis and Actaeon•Actaeon, a Theban prince, when out hunting one day, accidentally came upon Artemis naked and bathing•She turns him into a stag to be hunted•His own dogs then chase him and tear him to pieces–A veiled human sacrifice? One to be sacrificed for the good of the hunt?V. Athena, Mistress of the City•Daughter of Zeus (her mother Metis eaten by Zeus while pregnant), she pops fully formed from Zeus’ head•Muscular virgin; usually depicted