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Queering the Hellenic Goddesses
Nov. 17th, 2017 12:38 pmAs many of you have gathered, I am--among other things--a Hellenic pagan. However, I'm certainly not a Reconstructionist, though I do follow some of their blogs because their research is interesting. I tend to believe that the gods are basis sets constructed by the human mind out of the incomprehensibility of the Ocean and Fire, with the implication that the gods are partly culturally constructed.
Since the ancient Greek religion--and all historical pagan religions--was an inseparable component of a deeply problematic culture that, among other things, was horribly misogynistic, I can't accept it in its historical form. However, I do think there is merit to the myths and lore, and I've recently been thinking about alternate--largely queerer--interpretations of stories that present the goddesses in problematic ways. It turns out I can't even manage being a non-heretical pagan.
Athena, Hera, and the Judgement of Paris
Athena's and Hera's support of the Argives in the Trojan War is usually explained as their vengeance for being spurned by Paris, who chose to give the golden apple labeled "for the fairest" to Aphrodite in exchange for the love of (or right to abduct) Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta and most beautiful woman in the world.
However, we should keep in mind that, in selecting Aphrodite's offer, Paris rejected Hera's offer of kingship and Athena's of wisdom and martial prowess for a gift that offended both their basic natures.
Hera is the guardian of marriage and the family, and of royal authority. It is enough that she opposes Paris because he asked for a gift that would break a marriage, insult a king, and that he knew would bring all the Argives together in war against his father's kingdom. (Recall that all the Argive kings had sworn an oath to overthrow anyone who stole Helen away from whichever husband she chose.)
Athena is the guardian of the polis--the city, but also the community--as well as the patron of victory and martial skill. Paris's request for Helen knowingly brought war and destruction to the community that as prince he had a responsibility to protect. Furthermore, he is shown in the Iliad to be a physical coward, and unwilling to fight while his brother Hector coordinates the city's defenses against the enemy he provoked.
Given these crimes, it is self-evident that both goddesses would have to oppose Paris.
Athena and Zeus
Athena is often incorrectly described as having been born of Zeus alone, with no mother. In fact, she was born of Metis, who Zeus impregnated before learning--from Prometheus, who delayed telling him until he had impregnated her--that she was fated to bear a son greater than his father. Zeus devoured Metis whole--like his father Kronos, who had devoured his young to keep them from overthrowing him--but she gave birth to him inside his head, and Hephaestus had to break Zeus's head open to release her.
The fact that her birth involved the (temporary) decapitation of Zeus--Zeus's father and grandfather were deposed by decapitation and castration--as well as the fact that the Homeric hymn depicting her birth presents her as born fully armed, causing earthquakes, and causing all the gods, including Zeus, to shake where they stood, until she took off her armor, leads me to an interesting suspicion.
The common assumption is that Zeus got lucky and Metis's first and only child was a daughter, not the son who would overthrow his father. However, I suspect that Athena is intersex and non-binary and, in a patriarchal and binarist society, able to choose either gender role as it suits her. By taking off her armor, she announced an intent to live as a woman for now, posing no threat to Zeus and, in fact, becoming his favorite child. However, she holds over him the threat that she could choose to live as a man and depose him, as she is fated to do, if he oversteps acceptable behavior.
This, I think, explains Zeus's favoritism toward Athena, and his willingness to trust her with the Aegis. He knows that she alone among the gods can overthrow him, and so he wants to stay on her best side and doesn't need to fear her taking advantage of him: if she chooses to overthrow him it will be open rebellion, not deception and treason.
Athena and Hephaestus
Athena and Hephaestus have a complicated relationship in the Hellenic lore. The Greeks certainly recognized a parallelism between them: they were both seen as patrons of the practical arts, and while Athena was seen as Hephaestus's superior (partly for ableist) reasons, they were honored together at shared shrines and festivals in many cities, including Athens.
There are a couple of stories that are usually presented as Hephaestus attempting to rape Athena, however: they involve him ejaculating on her thigh when she resists him penetrating her, possibly after they have been married and are together in their marriage bed. The fact that the stories sometimes claim they had just been married, and the fact that she never seems to show any distrust or dislike for him in other myths, as might be expected if he was a rapist seems odd. Furthermore, unlike the other male gods, I've never heard of Hephaestus being presented as a rapist in any other context.
This, along with my previous conclusion that Athena is non-binary and probably intersex, leads me to suspect that Athena and Hephaestus's encounter was consensual, but broke off because she had a dysphoric breakdown. Athena is not a virgin because of an obsession with purity, but because her dysphoria is inconsistent with sex.
At the same time, this helps explain Hephaestus's rather odd marriage to Aphrodite--his proposal was "I work nights."--in which she seems to sleep with everyone but her husband, and he only objects once, when Ares makes fun of him in front of the other gods for being a cuckold and he sets a trap of an unbreakable net for the lovers so he can hold them up to be laughed at by the gods. But his objection seems to more be Ares' public scorn than Aphrodite's unfaithfulness.
My theory is that Athena and Hephaestus are a celibate romantic couple: they don't have sex because of body image and dysphoria issues, which makes their attempted marriage invalid in the eyes of the other gods. Hephaestus marries Aphrodite as a marriage of convenience: it allows him to appear married (and thus respectable) to the other gods, who tend to not take him seriously as a man because of his disability. And it provides Aphrodite cover as a "married woman" to have constant affairs without her husband minding. This only breaks down when Ares ridicules Hephaestus and forces him to do something to regain the other gods' respect.
Artemis
Artemis is also traditionally portrayed as a virgin goddess, but I think it's important to recognize that the Greeks probably wouldn't have understood sex that didn't involve putting a penis in someone. Given her association with woman followers who she insists remain virgins, I sort of suspect her of being a radical feminist lesbian. Her role as the goddess responsible for death in childbirth may relate to her disapproval of heterosexuality, while her role as a moon goddess suggests some potential connection to female sexuality.
That said, it is clear that Artemis doesn't hate men: she is a loving sister to Apollo, and I believe she is occasionally a patron to male heroes.
Hestia
Hestia is often not counted as an Olympian, and in some stories is said to have given up her seat at their meeting table for a place by the hearth. She is also--like the Vedic god Agni--portrayed as the personification of the ritual and sacrificial fire, and she traditionally received the first sacrifice when offerings were made. Though it is frequently forgotten, she is the second-oldest of the Olympians, as the oldest of Kronos's six children. (Aphrodite was born of the sea and Oranos's severed genitals when Kronos overthrew him.)
Hestia seems rather separate from the other gods, and from mortals as well: she cares deeply about her domain, the hearth and home. My reading of her is as an aromantic asexual who may also be autistic: she would rather sit on a soft cotton mat by the fire alone than participate in the gods' feuding and arguments. Meanwhile, she plays an essential role if anyone is paying attention: she keeps the essential, everyday functioning of the home and of Olympus running while the others are off having adventures and often being irresponsible.
Hera and Zeus
Hera's marriage to Zeus is definitely strange. They are virtually never portrayed as lovers, or even as particularly liking each other: instead, the most common stories about them involve Hera plotting to overthrow Zeus, or else Zeus taking lovers and Hera smiting them. This is particularly interesting given that Hera is the patron of marriage and order in the family: things which Zeus seems to constantly desecrate.
Why does Hera stay with Zeus? A traditional answer would be that she has no choice: a woman couldn't traditionally demand a divorce--especially as her father is dead, slain by Zeus--and besides, the patron of marriage wouldn't do that. My slightly modified reading is that she stays married to Zeus because he is such a horrible husband. Leaving him would, in a way, be letting him win. Instead, she takes an active role in enforcing his marriage vows, providing a check on the chief of the gods, and reminding others that there will be consequences for breaking them. (Though, unfortunately, her enforcement seems to mostly fall on the heads of his not-always-voluntary mortal partners.)
Since the ancient Greek religion--and all historical pagan religions--was an inseparable component of a deeply problematic culture that, among other things, was horribly misogynistic, I can't accept it in its historical form. However, I do think there is merit to the myths and lore, and I've recently been thinking about alternate--largely queerer--interpretations of stories that present the goddesses in problematic ways. It turns out I can't even manage being a non-heretical pagan.
Athena, Hera, and the Judgement of Paris
Athena's and Hera's support of the Argives in the Trojan War is usually explained as their vengeance for being spurned by Paris, who chose to give the golden apple labeled "for the fairest" to Aphrodite in exchange for the love of (or right to abduct) Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta and most beautiful woman in the world.
However, we should keep in mind that, in selecting Aphrodite's offer, Paris rejected Hera's offer of kingship and Athena's of wisdom and martial prowess for a gift that offended both their basic natures.
Hera is the guardian of marriage and the family, and of royal authority. It is enough that she opposes Paris because he asked for a gift that would break a marriage, insult a king, and that he knew would bring all the Argives together in war against his father's kingdom. (Recall that all the Argive kings had sworn an oath to overthrow anyone who stole Helen away from whichever husband she chose.)
Athena is the guardian of the polis--the city, but also the community--as well as the patron of victory and martial skill. Paris's request for Helen knowingly brought war and destruction to the community that as prince he had a responsibility to protect. Furthermore, he is shown in the Iliad to be a physical coward, and unwilling to fight while his brother Hector coordinates the city's defenses against the enemy he provoked.
Given these crimes, it is self-evident that both goddesses would have to oppose Paris.
Athena and Zeus
Athena is often incorrectly described as having been born of Zeus alone, with no mother. In fact, she was born of Metis, who Zeus impregnated before learning--from Prometheus, who delayed telling him until he had impregnated her--that she was fated to bear a son greater than his father. Zeus devoured Metis whole--like his father Kronos, who had devoured his young to keep them from overthrowing him--but she gave birth to him inside his head, and Hephaestus had to break Zeus's head open to release her.
The fact that her birth involved the (temporary) decapitation of Zeus--Zeus's father and grandfather were deposed by decapitation and castration--as well as the fact that the Homeric hymn depicting her birth presents her as born fully armed, causing earthquakes, and causing all the gods, including Zeus, to shake where they stood, until she took off her armor, leads me to an interesting suspicion.
The common assumption is that Zeus got lucky and Metis's first and only child was a daughter, not the son who would overthrow his father. However, I suspect that Athena is intersex and non-binary and, in a patriarchal and binarist society, able to choose either gender role as it suits her. By taking off her armor, she announced an intent to live as a woman for now, posing no threat to Zeus and, in fact, becoming his favorite child. However, she holds over him the threat that she could choose to live as a man and depose him, as she is fated to do, if he oversteps acceptable behavior.
This, I think, explains Zeus's favoritism toward Athena, and his willingness to trust her with the Aegis. He knows that she alone among the gods can overthrow him, and so he wants to stay on her best side and doesn't need to fear her taking advantage of him: if she chooses to overthrow him it will be open rebellion, not deception and treason.
Athena and Hephaestus
Athena and Hephaestus have a complicated relationship in the Hellenic lore. The Greeks certainly recognized a parallelism between them: they were both seen as patrons of the practical arts, and while Athena was seen as Hephaestus's superior (partly for ableist) reasons, they were honored together at shared shrines and festivals in many cities, including Athens.
There are a couple of stories that are usually presented as Hephaestus attempting to rape Athena, however: they involve him ejaculating on her thigh when she resists him penetrating her, possibly after they have been married and are together in their marriage bed. The fact that the stories sometimes claim they had just been married, and the fact that she never seems to show any distrust or dislike for him in other myths, as might be expected if he was a rapist seems odd. Furthermore, unlike the other male gods, I've never heard of Hephaestus being presented as a rapist in any other context.
This, along with my previous conclusion that Athena is non-binary and probably intersex, leads me to suspect that Athena and Hephaestus's encounter was consensual, but broke off because she had a dysphoric breakdown. Athena is not a virgin because of an obsession with purity, but because her dysphoria is inconsistent with sex.
At the same time, this helps explain Hephaestus's rather odd marriage to Aphrodite--his proposal was "I work nights."--in which she seems to sleep with everyone but her husband, and he only objects once, when Ares makes fun of him in front of the other gods for being a cuckold and he sets a trap of an unbreakable net for the lovers so he can hold them up to be laughed at by the gods. But his objection seems to more be Ares' public scorn than Aphrodite's unfaithfulness.
My theory is that Athena and Hephaestus are a celibate romantic couple: they don't have sex because of body image and dysphoria issues, which makes their attempted marriage invalid in the eyes of the other gods. Hephaestus marries Aphrodite as a marriage of convenience: it allows him to appear married (and thus respectable) to the other gods, who tend to not take him seriously as a man because of his disability. And it provides Aphrodite cover as a "married woman" to have constant affairs without her husband minding. This only breaks down when Ares ridicules Hephaestus and forces him to do something to regain the other gods' respect.
Artemis
Artemis is also traditionally portrayed as a virgin goddess, but I think it's important to recognize that the Greeks probably wouldn't have understood sex that didn't involve putting a penis in someone. Given her association with woman followers who she insists remain virgins, I sort of suspect her of being a radical feminist lesbian. Her role as the goddess responsible for death in childbirth may relate to her disapproval of heterosexuality, while her role as a moon goddess suggests some potential connection to female sexuality.
That said, it is clear that Artemis doesn't hate men: she is a loving sister to Apollo, and I believe she is occasionally a patron to male heroes.
Hestia
Hestia is often not counted as an Olympian, and in some stories is said to have given up her seat at their meeting table for a place by the hearth. She is also--like the Vedic god Agni--portrayed as the personification of the ritual and sacrificial fire, and she traditionally received the first sacrifice when offerings were made. Though it is frequently forgotten, she is the second-oldest of the Olympians, as the oldest of Kronos's six children. (Aphrodite was born of the sea and Oranos's severed genitals when Kronos overthrew him.)
Hestia seems rather separate from the other gods, and from mortals as well: she cares deeply about her domain, the hearth and home. My reading of her is as an aromantic asexual who may also be autistic: she would rather sit on a soft cotton mat by the fire alone than participate in the gods' feuding and arguments. Meanwhile, she plays an essential role if anyone is paying attention: she keeps the essential, everyday functioning of the home and of Olympus running while the others are off having adventures and often being irresponsible.
Hera and Zeus
Hera's marriage to Zeus is definitely strange. They are virtually never portrayed as lovers, or even as particularly liking each other: instead, the most common stories about them involve Hera plotting to overthrow Zeus, or else Zeus taking lovers and Hera smiting them. This is particularly interesting given that Hera is the patron of marriage and order in the family: things which Zeus seems to constantly desecrate.
Why does Hera stay with Zeus? A traditional answer would be that she has no choice: a woman couldn't traditionally demand a divorce--especially as her father is dead, slain by Zeus--and besides, the patron of marriage wouldn't do that. My slightly modified reading is that she stays married to Zeus because he is such a horrible husband. Leaving him would, in a way, be letting him win. Instead, she takes an active role in enforcing his marriage vows, providing a check on the chief of the gods, and reminding others that there will be consequences for breaking them. (Though, unfortunately, her enforcement seems to mostly fall on the heads of his not-always-voluntary mortal partners.)
