Michelle Blank

Professor Clara Hardy

Special Issue Journal

February 19, 2002

I Am Woman Hear Me Roar: Modes of Power for Women

Autonomy of the Womb

The struggle for control over birth transcends centuries and continents. Gloria Steinem, a women’s rights advocate of the 1990s describes how “the traditional design of most patriarchal buildings of worship imitates the female body” in order that “men [can] take over the yoni-power of creation by giving birth symbolically” (Steinem XV). The struggle for control over the power of procreation between the sexes existed in Ancient Greece. It is apparent in the Theogony, an account of the creation of Greek deities, composed by Hesiod sometime between the eighth and seventh centuries. The Theogony depicts how males attempted to subvert control of procreation by monitoring the womb, through force, and by undermining mother-child relationships. The Theogony also describes how women combated the subversion through willpower, deceit, and forming mother-child bonds to preserve the female power of birth, the unique power to control what is created and influence the actions of that creation.

In the Theogony, creation starts with two powerful initial goddesses: Chaos and Gaia. These goddesses give birth to a plethora of children, all of them born “without [the goddesses] mating in sweet love” (line 132). Because they give birth through self-procreation the goddesses have absolute control over their wombs. As other deities are born self-procreation is replaced by births of dual parentage. With gods and dual parentage, subversion of the female womb begins. Absolute control of birth is replaced by the struggle between genders for control of birth.

Gods gain access to the womb three ways: limiting or monitoring the offspring that the womb releases, using sexual force against women, and preventing the formation of mother-child bonds. Gaia and her son Ouranos are the first deities to couple. Ouranos exerts control over Gaia’s womb: “with joy in his wicked work [he] hid [offspring] / in Gaia’s womb and did not let [them] return to the light” (157-158). Gaia’s power over procreation is compromised. Ouranos can prevent Gaia’s womb from releasing children. The compromise of control is also found in the relationship between two other deities, Rhea and Kronos. Kronos “gulped down his own children to Rhea’s endless grief” (467). Even though Rhea gives birth to the children, Kronos determines their survival. With males involved in creation, female’s absolute control over birth is compromised.

The Theogony describes instances of sexual force, another tactic that reduces female control over birth. In describing a coupling between Zeus and Hekate, Hesiod says, “The son of Kronos did not use force on her” (423) indicating force is sometimes employed. A specific instance of forced procreation is when “Jason, shepherd of the people, made her submit / to his passion, and she bore Medeios” (1000-1001). On this occasion Hesiod writes, “Zeus’s design was fulfilled” (1002). Not only does Jason force the woman to procreate, Zeus designs it as such giving Zeus, a male god, influence over procreation.

Gods subvert female power of procreation by undermining mother-child relationships. Zeus succeeds in destroying the bond between his first wife, Metis, and her children by swallowing Metis. He swallows his wife because it is fated she will bear children who will overthrow Zeus. Soon after, Zeus “from his head he himself [bears] gray-eyed Athena” (924), the daughter Metis was pregnant with. By swallowing Metis and giving birth to Athena, Zeus destroys the mother-child bond. His children by his first wife cannot overthrow him because they (Athena) cannot interact with their (her) mother, a necessary bond as illustrated by Kronos and Zeus’s success in overcoming their fathers through their mothers assistance. By preventing the mother-child bond women’s influence over men and husbands through their children is compromised.

Despite the gods’ attempts in the Theogony to gain control over birth, goddesses retain autonomy of their wombs. They retain autonomy by sheer desire to retain control, through mother-child relationships, and through deceit. Directly following Zeus’s birth of Athena, the Theogony recounts Hera’s self-procreation: “Hera…because of anger, / untouched by him, she bore glorious Hephaistos”(927-928). Hera, a powerful goddess, can still exercise absolute control over her womb without any male influence if she desires it, or is provoked. Hera’s ability to self-procreate so late in the process of creation, out of anger and desire, illustrate that the power still belongs to females. While males can influence or affect the womb, women have supreme power. Gods need females for birth to occur; goddesses can continue creation without males.

Goddesses also maintain and gain influence and control by the bonds that are formed between mothers and offspring. Mother-child bonds allow women to exercise power over their male counterparts. There are several instances in the Theogony in which mothers consort with sons to overthrow fathers or undermine the control the father has over his female partner and children. When Ouranos returns Gaia’s children to her womb she “in her distress…devised a crafty and evil scheme” (160). Gaia tells her children, “‘Yours is a reckless father; obey me if you will, / that we may all punish you father’s outrageous deed” (164-165). Her son Kronos agrees to do as Gaia instructs. This theme occurs again between Rhea and Kronos. Rhea “succumbed to Kronos’s love” and bore many children who Kronos eats (453). Rhea also devises a plan with the assistance of her mother, Gaia, to save her children and permit her son to challenge and replace his father. Males may try to destroy the mother-child bond, as Zeus does by swallowing Metis, but if goddesses preserve the relationship they gain influence. When procreation is challenged or prevented goddesses’ turn to their offspring, their sons for assistance.

Women also preserve the autonomy of the womb through deceit. Theogony describes mortal women as descending from a “tempting snare / from which men cannot escape… / yes, wicked womenfolk ”(589-591). Women are wicked because of their deception. In Works and Days, also composed by Hesiod, woman’s “thievish nature” (69) is again described. Deceit is what the goddesses, the first females, rely on to maintain control over procreation. Gaia, one of the two primary deities, devises a “crafty and evil scheme” (160) to stop Ouranos from preventing her womb from releasing her children. Through deceit Gaia is able to preserve her ability to give birth. Rhea plots and manages to “deceive” Kronos (494). By deceiving Kronos Rhea saves her children: she maintains control over what she gives birth too. Female’s “deceitful nature” ensures their control over the birth process.

The power dynamics in regards to procreation between the gods in Theogony is a reflection of mortal power dynamics. Men and women struggled for power over the womb similar to the deities. Men by controlling women, such as limiting women’s sphere of knowledge to the house, grasp at controlling the womb (Oeconomicus). Men, like the deities, could use sexual force against women (The Mother-in-Law). Women combat these attempts through deceit and the influence of children. In the creation myth of mortal women in Works and Days, Zeus is said to have placed in woman’s “breast / lies, coaxing words, and a thievish nature”(79-80). These traits maintain female autonomy. They provide defense and protection. Through bonds with their offspring women can further protect themselves from men’s subversion. Sons defend their mother’s honor and autonomy (Alcestis). Indeed, the creation myth of mortal women in Works and Days can be interpreted as a metaphor of the struggle over control of birth. The myth tells how Zeus creates Pandora-the first mortal women. Pandora has a jar. She “removes the great lid of the jar / and scattered its contents, bringing grief and cares to men” (95-96). This jar can be interpreted as the womb. The “scourge for toiling men” (83) that exits the jar is a male-structured society’s image about female power of procreation. The attempts by mortal men to control mortal women described in Theogony, “man… / spends his life ever trying to balance… / [his wife]” (607-610), is man’s attempt to gain power over the jar and that contained in the jar, i.e. the womb. The failure of man to control women, “he lives plagued by unabating trouble in his heart and in his mind, and there is no cure for his plight” (611-612), indicates men are unable to conquer the female womb. Through desire, deceit, and offspring mortal women and goddesses preserve autonomy over birth.

Birth is an amazing ability. It is a uniquely female power. The Theogony provides a portrait of the struggle between the sexes for control of the womb. Men attempt to gain access to birth by monitoring and grasping control over what leaves the womb, through sexual force, and by destroying the powerful mother-child bonds. Nonetheless, women retain autonomy. Sheer force of will, as Hera’s birth illustrates, deceit, and strong mother-child bonds preserve female power of procreation. Through birth women influence and control the course of human (or deities) destiny. Through their wombs women gain powerful agency.

Summary:

The Theogony, by Hesiod, depicts how males attempted to subvert control of procreation by monitoring the womb, through force, and by undermining mother-child relationships. The Theogony also describes how women combated the subversion through willpower, deceit, and forming mother-child bonds to preserve the female power of birth, the unique power to control what is created and influence the actions of that creation.