Hesiod’s Theogony: The Origin Of Patriarchal Society And Stereotypes Of Females

Have you ever wondered why the world is the way it is? Why men have all the power and women are nothing but accessories? Hesiod’s Theogony has some insight to these questions. From lines 585-613, Zeus introduced “the perfect woman” into the world of men as a cursed plague. When the women arrive, the men are no longer at peace and they must work. If the men avoid the evil, by not marrying, they are cursed with a second evil, no son to care for them when they are old. Through the imagery, similes, ambiguity, and complex sentences in Hesiod’s Prometheus, the Origin of Sacrifice, Fire and the First Woman in the Theogony, Hesiod magnifies the main idea of a patriarchal society and stereotypes of females in both the world of mythology and of humans.

This shows the reader an important part of human history where not only women were created, but the moment where men received a higher status than women, and why. In the beginning of the passage, the woman, who was created by the gods, is introduced and released into the world of men. The first two lines, 585-586, “But when he made the lovely evil to pay for the good, / he led her where the other gods and men were,” (Hesiod, 46) create a complex sentence to show that the first idea is more important than the second. Hesiod calls the woman “a lovely evil,” which is an oxymoron. The term lovely is a common word used to describe a woman, meaning something delicate and beautiful. It seems to be one of the only words to describe the women. The lines 887-888 state, “she delighted in the finery from the great father’s / bright-eyed daughter,” (Hesiod, 46), giving the woman a personality trait of enjoying the expensive clothing and decoration given to her by Athena. Loving these materialistic things is another stereotype of a woman in society.

The next complex sentence on lines, 588-589, state, “awe filled immortal gods and mortal / men when they saw the sheer trick, irresistible to men,” (Hesiod, 46), hinting that the only positive quality of the woman is that she is something for the men to look at. She was irresistible and if the men could not resist her, they would have to pay the price. The line “irresistible to men” is also an ambiguity. Being irresistable could have different interpretations in the context, it could mean she was so beautiful, they wanted her as a wife or that the men did not want the woman, but they had no choice because of the evil that would follow. Also, Awe is a feeling of respect mixed with fear or wonder, meaning the men had no idea what was coming to them and the small part of them that did know that the woman was a “sheer trick”, caused them to fear what she would do. She was simply a beautiful lie that was an evil to come to the men, because they had angered Zeus. Furthermore, The next four lines of the passage explain the true reason women were placed on earth by Zeus, not just to be looked at because they are beautiful, but because they are an evil gift to mankind, to torment them for eternity.

The lines 590-591 state, “For from her is the race of female women, / [from her is the deadly race and tribes of women]” (Hesiod, 46). Whether or not Hesiod wrote the second line, it is implied this is what he meant in the first. He implies that women are deadly to men, which adds to the patriarchal idea where men are more important and the stereotype that women should not be trusted. The lines 592-593 state, “a great plague to mortals, dwelling with men, / not suited for cursed poverty, but for wealth,” (Hesiod, 46), proving that Hesiod did mean that women are deadly, as they are a plague to humanity. Women, not meant for poverty, will force men to work for them to make them wealthy. This adds to the stereotype that women just want materialistic things and they are not strong enough to work themselves for these things. Moreover, the next six lines explain a simile of how bees work to make the honey while the drone bees are meant for procreation, and how this relates to women. The first two lines, 594-595, say, “As when bees in covered hives feed / the drones, companions of evil works,” (Hesiod, 46-47). This is the introduction of the simile, saying the working bees have to feed the drone bees, whose only purpose is to mate with the queen, a female, and therefore an evil.

The lines 596-599 explain that bees work all day while the drones stay inside, harvesting the work of others into their stomachs (Hesiod, 47). These lines further state how the bees have to work all day to collect pollen and the drone bees do nothing but consume the work. Lines 600-601 state “similarly for the mortal men, high-thundering Zeus / made an evil: women, the partners of distressing works,” (Hesiod, 47), relating the bees to men and women. The drones are the women, just consuming the benefits of the work while the men are the bees, working all day to provide. Hesiod calling the women “partners of distressing works” hints women want to cause men to suffer, they choose this evil. In addition, on the next eleven lines, Zeus releases a second evil to mankind in case they find a way to escape the first. The first four lines, 602-605, explain this second evil that is made in case they escape marriage, they will receive no son to care for them in old age (Hesiod, 47). This complex sentence puts the main focus on the first line because Hesiod makes it clear that women are evil. Their existence and actions will always lead to pain and suffering, stating this multiple times in the poem. While giving men a son is something good that women can do for men, it is the only good thing Hesiod says about them. This leads the reader to believe that having children for men is all women can do, another idea that leads to a patriarchal society. The lines 605-607 say, “not lacking livelihood / while he lives, when he dies distant kin divide / his estate,” (Hesiod, 47). This is similar to the first few before, saying that the son will not only take care of the man when he is old, but also inherit his estate. It means that even though he will have a good life of necessities and nourishment, without the worry of a wife, he will, again, not have the benefits of a son. The next few lines explain that the men will have a balance of good and evil if he marries, which is also an ambiguity. The interpretation of which part of the myth is good and which is evil is based on the opinion of the reader.

One interpretation is that the man has to deal with a woman for the rest of his life, working and providing for her but he receives a son. The lines 610-612 state, “but whoever acquires the wicked kind / lives with unending trouble in his mind and / spirit and heart, and the evil is incurable,” (Hesiod, 47). This complex sentence is the final mention of mankind and the result of the arrival of women into their society. It is a warning that no matter what the men do, they will be forced to live under eternal torment because of angering Zeus. These lines state that if they escape marriage, they will always end up living a life of misery, and that “evil is incurable. ” Line 613 ends off with, “So it is impossible to steal away or surpass the mind of Zeus,” (Hesiod, 47). This passage ends with a warning to not anger Zeus, because the human race now how to suffer for eternity. This is the message from this myth, and it relates to Hesiod’s poem Theogony as a whole as Zeus has always been an entity that could not be tricked or betrayed or else he would get revenge.

In conclusion, the passage of Prometheus, the Origin of Sacrifice, Fire and the First Woman is just one of many examples throughout Hesiod’s Theogony of his misogynistic views on life and a case of the patriarchal society that all of mankind now lives in, because man betrayed Zeus. Caldwell states, “The final outcome of this conflict, the creation of Pandora, turns a conflict between deities into a central fact of human life, the battle of the sexes. The ambivalence of the gods themselves, is reflected in the “lovey evil” (585) of women,” (17) and “The digression ends with a misogynistic tirade against women and the admonition that no one, not even Prometheus for all his cleverness, can surpass the mind of Zeus (590-616),” (14) in his introduction, showing his opinion on this topic. He believes that Hesiod did believe in the patriarchal society and he has shown this in his work. Men have been seen as more important than women all throughout history. This passage has some insight as to why, because women are an evil who were given to mankind as a curse, so they should never have any real power. Therefore, this origin of the misogynistic views in society is important to human history, as it explains why the world is the patriarchy it is.