by Jinny Webber | Jun 4, 2024 | Gods and Literature, Myth and Literature, Pre-literate Deities, Transformations
What does the prevalence of rape in Greek mythology signify? These myths give us much to work with. The most striking story of Zeus, chief god of the pantheon, is found in Orphic sources where he rapes his mother, the Titan Rhea. He is also reputed to have raped Hera...
by Jinny Webber | Mar 1, 2024 | Gods and Literature, Myth and Literature
The Egyptian Sphinx predates the Greek. The giant Sphinx at the pyramid of Giza is a majestic figure, its haunches feline and face regal and masculine. The Greek Sphinx, however, is a frightening female monster of disparate parts: the body and tale of a lion (or...
by Jinny Webber | Feb 29, 2024 | Gods and Literature, Myth and Literature, Pre-literate Deities, The Mother Goddess
Greek mythology is full of female monsters: the Sphinx, Medusa, Lamia, Chimera, and more. This wasn’t always the case, however. The Venus of Willendorf, dating back 30,000 to 20,000 years, appears to be a fertility totem with her exaggerated breasts and belly. Other...
by Jinny Webber | Apr 26, 2023 | Myth and Literature, Pre-literate Deities, The Mother Goddess, Uncategorized
This little figure and the one on the introduction to this blog were found by Arthur Evans in Knossos, Crete, in 1903. As with other archeological finds from pre-literate times, these two figures raise questions. Often referred to as Snake Goddesses, we can’t know...
by Jinny Webber | Feb 22, 2023 | Myth and Literature
Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Revisited. This title echoes the last post in my blog, ‘Sex and Gender in Shakespeare’s England.’ This one will relate to Greek mythology from preliterate times through classical Greece to Rome, when Ovid wrote his compendium of stories in Latin...
