Female Heroism in Ancient Greek Literature - Essay Example

In this regard, myths contain many significant male and female characters which are described in different ways, and this paper will consider the danger the females represent to the males. This fact also leads to a suggestion that women might become equal with men which were untypical of the Greek society and represented a menace to the established social organization. “Most female heroic figures also expressed qualities of wisdom, cunning and dignity. ”, which evidences not only some mentioned superior qualities but also ordinary ones which could lead to the same destructive, from the point of view of that moment, consequences. (GraecoMuse, 2012). The danger that women represent to men is also their beauty: the Trojan War was a consequence of men’s struggle for the heart of the most beautiful woman, and the consequences of the ten-year protracted war were devastating and shadowy. (GraecoMuse, 2012).

The reason why women are described as that dangerous for men is that the Greeks had specific views on the role of women in society: on one hand, they were intended to be submissive to men, on the other hand, the men who created the myths might consider women’s being dissatisfied with such state of affairs and attempts to change the situation. (GraecoMuse, 2012).