The debate over gender roles and norms has become increasingly prevalent in the public eye. Discussions regarding the wage gap, North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law, prevalence of rape on college campuses, legalization of same-sex marriage, and similar events have encouraged a political and social redefinition of male and female and of masculinity and femininity. Opponents of such changes claim they violate tradition or “family values,” which to some extent is true. Many social constructs of masculinity date back to antiquity, while others were created or more firmly established later in history. The modern Western idea of masculinity includes traits consistent with ancient Greek masculinity, such as aggression, dominance, and virility, and thought
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While Odysseus, Hercules, and Apollo were the models of traditional masculinity, men were not particularly shunned or bullied if they were not as taken with “manly” things like war, slaying monsters, or well-defined muscles. Of course, not all ultra-masculine men were necessarily as effeminate as the gender-bending god of wine, fertility, and drama, who “would show himself like a young girl in saffron robes and take on the feigned shape of a woman” (Nonnus 14.143). Considering Dionysus 's popularity among the Greeks, it seems logical to assume they were reasonably comfortable with gender fluidity and variations of gender presentation. However, his influence was not limited to a small pool of men. Nietzsche describes “the very element which forms the essence of Dionysian music (and hence of music in general) . . . as un-Apollonian: namely, the emotional power of the tone, the uniform flow of the melos, and the utterly incomparable world of harmony” (Nietzsche 7). Whereas Apollo represents the orderly, rational, and intellectual, Dionysus is the spontaneous, chaotic, and enthusiastic. Ancient Greek men could choose elements from both gods and the two major heroes to incorporate into their own personality and develop a masculine character of their
While Odysseus, Hercules, and Apollo were the models of traditional masculinity, men were not particularly shunned or bullied if they were not as taken with “manly” things like war, slaying monsters, or well-defined muscles. Of course, not all ultra-masculine men were necessarily as effeminate as the gender-bending god of wine, fertility, and drama, who “would show himself like a young girl in saffron robes and take on the feigned shape of a woman” (Nonnus 14.143). Considering Dionysus 's popularity among the Greeks, it seems logical to assume they were reasonably comfortable with gender fluidity and variations of gender presentation. However, his influence was not limited to a small pool of men. Nietzsche describes “the very element which forms the essence of Dionysian music (and hence of music in general) . . . as un-Apollonian: namely, the emotional power of the tone, the uniform flow of the melos, and the utterly incomparable world of harmony” (Nietzsche 7). Whereas Apollo represents the orderly, rational, and intellectual, Dionysus is the spontaneous, chaotic, and enthusiastic. Ancient Greek men could choose elements from both gods and the two major heroes to incorporate into their own personality and develop a masculine character of their