Women In Mythology: Male Dominance in Ancient Stories - Essay Sample

Introduction

History indicates that the majority of mythological stories did not portray women in a good light. In one way or another, most myths, including those preserved by oral tradition, emphasized on the masculine abilities and the patriarchal means of life in which men were in total control in all aspects of life. As shown by various categories of myths in David Leeming's anthology of world mythology "The World of Myths," the male dominance was gloried in many aspects, including the cosmic theories, myths of the gods, hero, and object myths. In Greek mythology, for instance, women were not considered equals to their male counterparts in Greek ancient society. Any problems that befell the great Greek men were blamed on women like Pandora, Helen of Troy, and Aphrodite (Leeming 146-167). While patriarchal hegemony and authority were commonalities, Leeming's anthology presents a few cases in which women were gloried in the mythical stories that overturned or challenged the common notion of misogyny.

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Two particular myths for consideration here are Cherokee's, the Goddess of the sun Unelanuhi, and Wanjiru. Cherokee is a native North American community myth that regards the sun or solar energy as feminine as opposed to the patriarchal western cultures, which considered it masculine. This mythology, however, regards the moon as masculine. According to this legend, Unelanuhi lived on the farthest end of the world in the beginning. Because there was perpetual darkness in the land, the animals came together to find the light. While trying to bring the sun, the opossum burned its tail, and the ostrich tried and burned its feathers. An old female spider used its web to traverse across the skies. She then discovered a basket and in it lay Unelanuhi whose shining light lit the world. Because the light was too low, it burned the earth, and people died. All the animals decided to raise Unelanuhi farther away from the earth to the sun's current position (Leeming 123).

The inhabitants of early North America were largely Indian societies, and the Cherokee people belong to such groups. Their religious customs were closely associated with supernatural powers and how they were believed to control the social world. Each of the native North American tribes had their religious ways, and each was devoted to following that path. When the whole community required a communal blessing, they sought the help of divine individuals like priests, shamans, and priestesses who would intervene to ensure they received abundant harvests, hunt, and victory in wars with their adversaries (Leeming 123).

The Cherokee tribe saw the sun as female and the moon as a male concept that shows a reverse of almost all mythological beliefs of many other societies. For Unelanuhi, the Goddess to represent the sun, Cherokee's cosmologic beliefs challenged patriarchal hegemony and the dogmatic authority that was mostly wielded by men. Unelanuhi was not only beautiful but also powerful, and she was the provider for all the Cherokee tribe, something that has largely been associated with male figures or deities.

The Wanjiru legend originates from Kenya's Agikuyu community. Wanjiru was the most beautiful bride the whole nine hills had seen. According to heroine mythology, she was sacrificed by her community to end the drought and bring rain (Leeming 246). The practice involved sinking the maiden in the mud as a form of sacrifice to appease the God of the Agikuyu people. Wanjiru's parents could not save their daughter, for they believed she was helping the whole community. Wanjiru personally agreed to be offered as a sacrifice to save her community from hunger and death brought by the famine. According to traditional beliefs, Agikuyu came from a single female ancestor, and a daughter named Mumbi (Leeming 246). This depiction is one of the few groups of people who associate their origins from a female entity that does not involve male participation. The nine clans lived within the nine hills while interacting with each other freely, and speaking the same language. While some clans had leaders who were well-recognized, others did not. There were councils of elders and religious people who oversaw all the cultural and political activities of the whole clan (Leeming 246). The Agikuyu community people were originally monotheists, and their God was known as Ngai. The Kikuyu community's cultural structures revolved around great or elite women such as Mumbi and Wanjiru, who held incredibly respectable positions in the traditional settings. A common tradition of this tribe is worshiping their god while facing Mount Kenya or Mount Kilimambogo, where they believed their god dwells. All sacrifices to their God were performed under a fig tree (Mugumo) or an olive tree, a sacred tree for Kikuyu women (Leeming 247).

The reason behind the choice of these myths is their roles in portraying women, albeit few, in a positive light that is different from the traditional notions of how women were largely portrayed. The women in these mythologies are in charge of their lives even though few masculine elements orchestrate certain outcomes. The women garnered admiration, and the societies saw value in them and not men. The challenges faced by Cherokee and Wanjiru are a bit different, considering the roles each played. While Cherokee was the light that shone on the world, Wanjiru was the most admired element of beauty. In both accounts, men are either out of the picture or secondary. This challenges the misogynic perception of most mythological stories of the past. These myths push the boundaries of acceptance to the place and value of women in society in various ways. In both stories, men take backseats in terms of societal relevance. Leeming's anthology of myths cites Wanjiru as a great Kikuyu heroine (247). In fact, she is one of the few heroines from Africa because of her role in the sacrifices that were made to end the drought and bring rain when the clan suffered a great famine (Leeming 246). Such were the few instances that men were not in charge of anything for the redemption of their community.

Myths Reflecting Issues of Individual Importance

For each society, the stories concerning the origins of the supreme beings were central to all religious practices and their significances in the lives of the members of that society. The religious aspects of certain mythologies held particular perspectives whose relevance grew into the contemporary world, which is also driven by science. Two particular mythologies from Leeming's book are considered in this category: Yahweh and the Big Bang Theory. Yahweh, according to Israel's mythology of the Supreme Being, was a national god for Judah and Israel (Leeming 120). As a deity, Yahweh was core to the ancestry of Israel and Judah, as far as the origins of the two nations are concerned. The religious belief around Israel was that Yahweh was God's Son, and He represented God and spoke the message of redemption and forgiveness to the sinners. Yahweh, according to the mythological stories, was a higher divine being on whom people depended on power and spiritual nourishment (Leeming 121). Because Israelites were believers in Yahweh, their God, they worshipped and offered Him sacrifices to appease Him. The story of creation highlights how the world was created by Yahweh from nothing and how He spent seven days creating other things, including but not man, the skies, birds, animals, and light (Leeming 121). The religious and cultural practices of the nations of Israel and Judah were inclined to the worship and glory of Yahweh. It is evident from this mythology that the two nations were Yahweh's favorite territories because He helped them in many ways, including conquering their enemies. Modern Christianity is founded on stories like that of Yahweh. Christianity is an integral part of the modern world as it competes with science in numerous issues concerning the origin of the world, how it was formed with everything in it, including human beings.

Israel is central to the roots of culture as far as biblical history is concerned. The Jewish history, culture, and the Zionist movement are all reflected in the culture of Israel and its ethnic tribes, including the Armenians, Druze, and the Circassians, among many others. The Jewish cultural characteristics, including mythology, poetry, art folklore, mysticism, philosophy, Christianity, and Islam, are all part of the Jewish culture. According to Leeming's insights, the Israelites were a nation favored by Yahweh (Leeming 120). The nation lived according to the promises that God gave them through only chosen people and fathers of the nation like Abraham. The ideas outlined by Leeming in his anthology about Israel resonate well with the biblical and historical accounts of how Yahweh promised Abraham and his descendants or offspring and land on which they would occupy. Canaan was one of the places Yahweh promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation. The ancient stories of Israel involve certain social aspects that reflected culture and religion as one thing. Some notable characteristics included covenants, offering sacrifices, the fulfillment of sacrifices, and total obedience to the cultural god, Yahweh. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant of fidelity between Yahweh and Abraham, outlining that there would be no other deity worshiped except Yahweh. Yahweh fulfilled his promises by giving Abraham a son at an old age. Offerings and sacrifices were made to God, and of great importance to remember is that Abraham was trying to sacrifice his own son to Yahweh to show his loyalty and faith in his God (Leeming 121). In the present time, the mythological justification of Yahweh as the creator of the universe exists in the bible and how He created the universe from nothing in six days and rested on the seventh. Christianity is founded in the cultural and religious practices that can be traced back to Israel. The idea of creation, as far as Christianity is concerned, is linked to Yahweh.

The big bang is a pseudo-scientific cosmic myth that explores cosmic allurement, or love that binds together all aspects of nature (Leeming 38). Myths are perceived as truths by societies in which they originate. The big bang theory is also presented in Leeming's book as a myth that explains the origin of the earth, the cosmic processes that also involve scientific explanations. The Big Bang Theory originated from the west and was first by a German priest called Georges Lemaitre. According to the observations of this theory, the galaxies drifted away from each other to suggest that the universe was expanding. This occurrence can be traced back to the original incident of explosion when of a single atom from which the universe was formed (Leeming 38). While this theory is based on quantitative reasoning and empirical measurement, it is apparently a creation story as it shares particular elements with creation stories that have come before it. The story of Big Bang resonates very well with modern age ethos because this represents the era of massive explosions like those that have been witnessed in Nagasaki and White Sands. Scientific explanations or structures require empirical studies using quantitative measurement and data, but it also involves the formation and proof of hypotheses, just like the big bang theory that associates the origin of the universe with galaxies.

The Big Bang Theory being a myth of creation from the scientific point of view is the only one accepted in terms of scientific culture as it reflects scientists' cultural priorities. It exists as a record of how scientific culture understands its o...