Bowers, Susan R. “Medusa and the Female Gaze.” NWSA Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, 1990, pp. 217–35. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4316018.
“Medusa and the Female Gaze” is part of a journal by Susan R Bowers about the perception of Medusa and her symbolism. The article explains her origins and mythology, and how perception of her changed over time between the male gaze and the female gaze. Bowers examines how patriarchy and gender influence Medusa’s image/story. This source would be useful in explaining how oppression is used and how the male gaze affects stories in Greek mythology.
Buxton, Richard. Forms of Astonishment: Greek Myths of Metamorphosis. Oxford University Press, 2009.
I would only use Part 2 of this book. It explains why the gods changed forms to approach mortals– as a means of escape, to punish someone, to approach someone. Another chapter dissects the language used in specific myths when describing how gods shapeshifted. It also analyzes shapeshifting in the context of anthropology and religion. This source made me think I could organize my paper into how male gods oppress mortal females versus goddesses.
da Correggio, Antonio. Leda and the Swan. 1530s, Gemäldegalerie, Germany.
Homer. The Odyssey: Homer. Translated by Samuel Butler, Borders Classics, The Project Gutenberg, 1999. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1727/pg1727-images.html
I would use Book X of “The Odyssey” by Homer that details Odysseus’s story about Circe. Odysseus explains how they crashed on Circe’s island and his men went to her house, then she invited them in and fed them food and poisoned drinks. Circe turned Odysseus’s men into swine and put them in a pigpen until Odysseus came to rescue them and convinced Circe to change them back into men. This source is a good source for original material about a woman/goddess using her power to transform men. It is also worthwhile to debate if Circe was justified or cruel in turning them into swine.
Lefkowitz, Mary R. Women in Greek Myth. 2nd ed., Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
“Women in Greek Myth” by Mary R. Lefkowitz is about the female characters in Greek mythology, including goddesses and mortals. It’s about their roles in both the myth and society, their relation to men, their actions, and how authors portray them in their version. I could use this source to explain gender roles and women’s treatment in Greek society.
Mawford, Katharine E. Changing Shapes and Fluid Forms: Shapeshifters in Greek Poetry, The University of Manchester (United Kingdom), England, 2020. ProQuest, https://login.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fchanging-shapes-fluid-forms-shapeshifters-greek%2Fdocview%2F2570139465%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12964.
I will be focusing on the first chapter. It defines shapeshifters/shapeshifting, metamorphosis, and transformation. It analyzes transforming versus being transformed, Circe’s motive for transforming Odysseus’s men, and how being shapeshifted changes mortal character but not the gods character. Mawford analyzes how gender affects the shapeshifting of the gods and the significance of what people are being shapeshifted into (animals/plants/elements). This book focuses on Dionysus, Thetis, Proteus, and Mestra, which I probably will not address in my paper. This could be a good analytical text, maybe even a lens text. This source made me wonder if I should divide my paper into the gods that shapeshift versus the ones shapeshifted by them.
Naso, Publius Ovidius. “The Metamorphoses of Ovid.” Translated by Henry Thomas Riley, The Project Gutenberg eBook of Metamorphoses, by Ovid, June 2007, www.gutenberg.org/files/21765/21765-h/21765-h.htm#bookIV_fableIX.
Metamorphoses by Ovid is a single continuous poem that details the history of the world across 15 books. I will be using specific segments for the myths I want to talk about. Ovid wrote it around 8 CE in Latin, but it has been translated into English. Book I Fable XII is about Daphne and Apollo. Apollo/Phoebus is shot by Eros’s (Cupid) arrow of love and Daphne is shot by his arrow that repels love and desire. Apollo pursues Daphne, a nymph who is celibate because of her worship of Artemis, even though she does not want him and flees. Daphne is the daughter of a river god, and whenever Apollo gets close to catching her she begs him to help her and her father transforms her into a laurel tree. Book II Fable XIV is about Zeus and Europa. Zeus shapeshifts into a beautiful white bull, separates Europa from her handmaidens, and abducts her to the island Crete. Book IV contains Medusa’s story. Medusa was a beautiful gorgon who was raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple, and Athena unished Medusa by turning her hair to snakes. (https://www.loebclassics.com/view/ovid-metamorphoses/1916/pb_LCL042.235.xml) Book VI Fable I is about Athena and Arachne. Arachne is a talented weaver who brags she is better than Athena, who approaches in the form of an old lady and gives her a chance to take it back. Arachne refuses, Athena accepts her challenge to a weaving contest, Arachne wins, and Athena beats her in a rage. Arachne hangs herself and Athena turns her into a spider to let her live but still punish her Book X Fable VII is about Pygmalian and his statue. Pygmalian is a sculptor who detests women but makes a statue of one. He falls in love with the statue and prays on Aphrodite’s festival day that the statue would be his wife, and Aphrodite transforms the statue into a real woman. Book XIV Fable V is about Circe turning Odysseus’s men into swine. Odyssues’s men entered the house of Circe, and she welcomed them and served them drinks that she poisoned. She turned the men into swine, and Odysseus threatened her into turning them back but then slept with her. Ovid’s writing focuses on the story over emotions. Below each section the translator has added some analysis of the myth, which is helpful.
Waterhouse, John. Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus. 1891, Gallery Oldham, England.
This is a painting of Circe that shows her holding a cup and wand as Odysseus creeps closer in the mirror reflection. There are also two pigs- one at Circe’s feet and one behind the throne- that are Odysseus’ men she transformed into swine. I like this painting because she looks powerful and threatening, and Odysseus looks more uncertain and sneaky. This shows a power dynamic between Circe and the mortal men, and her threat that she can turn them into swine.
Yeats, William Butler. “Leda and the Swan.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 1989, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43292/leda-and-the-swan.
Leda and The Swan by William Butler Yeats is a short poem about the rape of Leda by Zeus in swan form. This is a look at how modern society today views the old myth, and adds emotion to the story. This poem contrasts sharply to the version of Leda and the swan where she accepts the swan’s love, as seen in paintings and Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Comments by Lauren Brogdon