In
mythology the
male and
female principles exist as a reflection of the
relationship between the sexes in a society. In
Mesopotamian myths, Inanna represents both love and war, and acts as the “
Queen of Heaven”, while simultaneously representing the matriarchal way of Mesopotamian
culture; conversely,
Zeus is a strong Greek model for patriarchal
rule and the strength of the male principle over a more diminished
female sense of power.
In Mesopotamian myths, Inanna is both
compassionate and vengeful as she represents both
war and
love simultaneously. Inanna is the Queen of the Living, although attempts to take over the underworld by either controlling the dead, or freeing them. This
act shows Inanna’s adventurous side, as well as her daring
heroinism. Inanna is both bold and strong. Also, Inanna is married to Dumuzi, who is the
Shepherd God. Since the wife in a family is queen of all
mortals, and her
husband is a simple shepherd, the female principle is asserted in Mesopotamian
myths. While traveling to the underworld, Inanna sneaks in by tricking the gatekeeper with a clever
ruse, which portrays females as
deceitful and crafty as
well as cunning and
intelligent. Furthermore, when Inanna must be rescued from the underworld, Enki,
God of the Earth, creates two creatures (kurgarra and kalaturra) from the dirt beneath his fingernails, they are specifically noted as
sexless. This lack of identity in characters that ultimately
free the Queen of the Heavens shows that
sex is not an all important matter in Mesopotamian culture.
On the other hand, in
Greek myths,
Zeus represents a strong male principle. Throughout Greek myths, Zeus is having babies with
gods and
mortals alike, and asserting his
male principle. In
Theognis and
Hesiod it says, “Hail Daughters of Zeus, give me sweet
song”. Note that the
daughters of Zeus are not specifically noted, therefore are less important, thus the
male principle is acutely noted within Greek mythology. In every other
line of a Greek myth you can find a praise for Zeus, for every time that Zeus is
mentioned, (in a
biblical fashion) he is praised by such words as he who “
thunders in the
heavens”, and his “craft is
everlasting”. In Greek myths, Zeus represents the strong male principle, and therefore the
dominant sex in the
culture.
The role of
males and
females in a society can be discerned by studying the roles of male and female deities in
myths of the culture.