Why Masculine? Why Virgins?

In the Greek pantheon, male gods were not subjected to the same limitations as female goddesses. Their sexuality was separate from their position, whereas female goddesses based their position on the gender hierarchy in direct accordance to their sexuality. Female goddesses were also judged differently for having affairs and falling pregnant with the offspring of human males, but the opposite was not true for the male gods. Participating in sexual behavior was considered feminizing (as the woman would always be the submissive), so maintaining masculinity was important on the scale of power hierarchy (Sherwood, 1996).

Artemis

Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, archery, childbirth, transition from adolescence to adulthood, and the wild. Her status of living in the forest where she can hunt and be untamed would have been impossible had she been under the jurisdiction of a man. Marriage was considered the best way to contain women and their sexuality. It was not believed that women had the ability of self-control and if she was not controlled, she would become lustful and break the strict codes of behavior in public. Woman were also only able to have sex with their husbands, so their sexuality became highly regulated. As a goddess of the hunt, and due to strict regulation of the sexes, it was imperative that Artemis’s hunting band inverted from the societal norms and became exclusively female. The wild domain was seen as a place of refuge from society and domestication as well as the sexual institutions of marriage and family. In Callimachus’ Hymn to Artemis, he recounts how as a young girl, Artemis sat on her father’s (Zeus) knee and asked him for all she desired for her immortal life. She requested her maidenhood, father, forever, and to be given many names so that Apollo, her twin brother, could not compete with her. This was her first request, even before her iconic bow and arrows (Allan, 2023).

It is because of this that when Actaeon came across Artemis and her nymphs, naked in a pool, Artemis swiftly punished him by turning him into a stag. His hounds, then catching the scent of prey, bore down upon him and ripped him apart. Seeing her maidens, those sworn never to be beholden by any man, was a crime, even if it was done so unintentionally and Artemis could not allow him to leave their glen in human form, able to share what he saw (Allan, 2023).

Atalanta

The story of Atalanta has become more popular with the recent publication of Atalanta by Jennifer Saint, but it is still a relatively unknown story and one that pertains to Greek ideas of masculinity and femininity. She grew up hunting the wilds with Artemis, and was also well known for her athletic skills. She was also described as man-like. She is simultaneously a threat to men – challenging them at male dominated tasks in a male society, while also being the object of male desire. There are three main stories that feature Atalanta that involve Rites of Passage for Greek youths where the typically distinct social roles blend if only temporarily. Boys and girls even dress up as one another or girls will perform male activities (Barranger, 1996).

The specific stories for Atalanta are the Caledonia boar hunt, the foot race, and wrestling. While the specific details differ, what is important is that Atalanta beat the men at their own activities. With the boar hunt, Atalanta struck the first blow, something typically done by the best hunter in the group. With the footrace, Atalanta had sworn off men (in deference to Artemis) and says that she will marry the suitor that can defeat her or catch her in a footrace. In one version, she is the pursuer, which is typically a male role and unbecoming of a woman. In another version, her suitor was aided by Aphrodite who gave him three golden apples that he is to drop for Atalanta to pick up and weigh her down so he can catch her. The third story is of a wrestling match against Peleus at the funerary games for Pelias. In the art painted on vases of the tale, Atalanta is dressed the same as Peleus, wearing male clothing. She is playing the part of an ephebe, a pre-adult male. Wrestling for athletic training was common for ephebes, but typically this type of scene would be reminiscent of abductions or men trying to overcome women. She is a liminal character, existing in both the realms of male and female and is a prime study on ambiguity and the blurring of gender roles. She represents an outsider like the Amazons – an external threat. Yet at the same time, she is an exotic object of desire, meant to be conquered (Barranger, 1996).

Athena

Since her birth, Athena maintained a preference to the masculine. She was perceived both by herself and others as “the son of Zeus in female form” which left her in a space outside of gender and sexuality lines. In modern times, it is likely that Athena would have been identified as “gender-queer.” She was born as and identified as a female, but strictly associates herself in every regard with the masculine. She even goes so far as to mock Aphrodite for acting feminine when she is wounded in battle. From the Iliad, Zeus calls Aphrodite by saying, “My child, it has not been given you to be a warrior. Attend, henceforth, to your own delightful matrimonial duties, and leave all this fighting to Ares and Athena.” Athena, though technically female, chose to forgo her femininity, which granted her the ability to be on the same platform as the male gods. Her virginity lent her the ability to remain free of any man and thus not submissive to them (Allan, 2023).