WOMEN IN CLASSICAL WORLD
1
Literature reflects the social perception, belief, values and attitudes of an era. Since
antiquity, the portrayal of women classical in literature consists of certain stereotypical character
traits. They were represented as the symbols of purity, tenderness, affection and sexual charm.
Often, they were perceived as cunning, manipulative and vicious. In any way, women remained
as one of the intense subject focus in classical literary works. Sarah Pomeroy, while introducing
her Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, writes Women pervade nearly every genre of
classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (Pomeroy 2011).
Evidently, the social role of women in literature were more restricted in comparison to men. As
the majority of the authors were men, there was an apparent biased, misogynistic approach in the
portrayal of female characters. By and large, women were considered as object of possession, to
be controlled and cherished by men. And those who were comparatively independent, were
usually the negative characters.
In contrast to the general pattern, there were certain female characters that stood out as
breaking the stereotypes embedded in the classical literature. The Amazonian women, a mythical
group of characters developed within the Greek mythology is a prime example of such bold,
powerful and courageous women. Whether these women had historical is difficult to prove,
although there are numerous references of the Amazons throughout the Greek literature, visual
art and architecture. The earliest representations of Amazon were found in the archaic epic of
Greece and Attic vase paintings of the sixth century BCE. The tomb of Amazon queen Myrrinha
in Troy is a historical landmark of the greatness and bravery of Amazon women. In Homer’s
Illiad also, there are references of these warrior women, as found in King Priam’s description of
his experience of battling them. In the Trojan War, the great Greek warrior Achilles defeated the
Amazon queen Pentheselia, and subsequently fell in love with his victim. Many other Greek

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Literature - Women in Classical World

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