The Role of Mothers in Mythology
Throughout history, women and particularly mothers have been seen primarily in the role of nurturer and protector for their children. This role is prevalent throughout mythology as well, with a few exceptions. Mothers in mythology live for their children, protect them from harm and help them achieve their destiny. They embody the traditional ideal of women and motherhood as creators of life and support to their children and husbands.
In Greek mythology, Gaia can be seen as the first mother, the great mother of all creation and the heavenly gods were all born through her. In the creation of earth, Hesiod evokes images of the female form saying, “ Then arose Gaia, broad-bosomed earth, which serves as the ever-immovable base all the immortals who dwell on the peaks of snowy Olympus (Frazer, 1983). Gaia’s children, with several different fathers made up the gods who populated Olympus. Gais bore Ouranos, then with him produced children that Hesiod describes as the most fearsome …show more content…
The women who neither nurtures nor protects her children. Medea 's husband, Jason, had left her and their two children in order to improve his place in life. Madea wanted to hurt Jason. She knew that killing herself would not wound him as much as killing his children. Medea may have been a woman that was not cut out for motherhood, as she felt being a woman meant suffering and proclaimed that she would rather fight in four wars than to give birth once (Grene and Lattimore, 2013). Killing one’s children in order to hurt their spouse is not unique to mythological women. There are many stories of women in modern times who have killed their children in order to escape motherhood or hurt their spouse. This past June, in Texas, a mother killed her two daughters in front of her husband (NBC News,
Throughout history, women and particularly mothers have been seen primarily in the role of nurturer and protector for their children. This role is prevalent throughout mythology as well, with a few exceptions. Mothers in mythology live for their children, protect them from harm and help them achieve their destiny. They embody the traditional ideal of women and motherhood as creators of life and support to their children and husbands.
In Greek mythology, Gaia can be seen as the first mother, the great mother of all creation and the heavenly gods were all born through her. In the creation of earth, Hesiod evokes images of the female form saying, “ Then arose Gaia, broad-bosomed earth, which serves as the ever-immovable base all the immortals who dwell on the peaks of snowy Olympus (Frazer, 1983). Gaia’s children, with several different fathers made up the gods who populated Olympus. Gais bore Ouranos, then with him produced children that Hesiod describes as the most fearsome …show more content…
The women who neither nurtures nor protects her children. Medea 's husband, Jason, had left her and their two children in order to improve his place in life. Madea wanted to hurt Jason. She knew that killing herself would not wound him as much as killing his children. Medea may have been a woman that was not cut out for motherhood, as she felt being a woman meant suffering and proclaimed that she would rather fight in four wars than to give birth once (Grene and Lattimore, 2013). Killing one’s children in order to hurt their spouse is not unique to mythological women. There are many stories of women in modern times who have killed their children in order to escape motherhood or hurt their spouse. This past June, in Texas, a mother killed her two daughters in front of her husband (NBC News,