Why does hesiod hate women

But after Prometheus disobeyed Zeus once too often, giving the gift of fire to mankind, the supreme god punished both him and the mortals complicit in his act of defiance. Unwavering in her curiosity, Pandora could not resist opening the lid of a jar entrusted to her, releasing all the sorrows of the human condition. Intriguingly, only hope remained trapped inside. In Genesis , Eve was the first woman. Like Hesiod, who told the tale of the first woman twice, with variations and contradictions, there were two Eves and two Adams in Genesis.

In Genesis , however, Adam was created first and later on, Eve was formed from his side, typically his rib. There are several explanations for the different versions.

One argument is that there is no real problem — the first version is simply a preface to the second, more detailed account. An alternative reading is that the two accounts reflect different documents, from different eras, merged by the one compiler. Like Pandora, Eve could not resist the temptation to disobey. Consequently, a jar was opened in one narrative, and forbidden fruit tasted in another.

The end of paradise was the result in both. Didactic in purpose, both stories expressed societal and religious imperatives: men must work hard because they were complicit in disobeying divine powers; women must be ruled by men because they were disobedient and curious.

In most of Greek mythology, there is a general distrust towards women, and they are viewed as being far below men in many of the stories. In Theogony , Hesiod give the impression that he believes that women are inferior and subordinate to men. In the text itself, we see why women were created, the roles that they were supposed to serve, and the one quality of theirs Hesiod deemed powerful.

In the story, Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to men, is punished by Zeus. As part of his punishment, Zeus decides to create the first woman. For from her is the descent of female women. In the first sentence he calls them unmanageable for men, which means they will be a problem. Then he goes on to call all women destructive. Yet, the last line is the most interesting one. Hesiod is basically saying that women are gold-diggers.

They will be companions not when times are rough, but when times are good and there is plenty of everything. Not only has he called them gold diggers, he is now accusing them of being freeloaders.

For example, in his monologue, Hippolytus chastises women who are clever, 6 and Milo Yiannopolous, a beloved figure in these social circles, published on Breitbart, claiming there should be a cap on women in higher education.

Posters in these forums echo the Classical belief that women should submit to masculine control for their own benefit. Reminiscent of the tragedies we have read, we see posts linking women acting as subjects, rather than passive objects, to catastrophe , similar to how Medea, Deianeira, and Phaedra cause chaos when they act independently. It is very tempting to look at characters like Hippolytus and pretend that his story is only useful towards furthering our understanding of ancient Athens.

Hesiod and Genesis share a basic pattern: mankind exists in close proximity to divine beings in a paradise where there is no need to procreate or labor; a woman is introduced into this paradise; the actions of the woman result in the loss of paradise. This pattern is used by both traditions to explain the presence of problems such as disease and hunger in human existence, and both Hesiod and Genesis credit the first woman with these problems.

She then passes down these traits to all other women. In Genesis, the fall of mankind is similarly connected to a woman. Here, Eve is persuaded by a serpent to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which she shares it with Adam.

Women will now suffer pain when they give birth, men must farm the earth to provide sustenance, and their lives will be finite.