Women in the Ancient Athenian Context: Retrospective Study from an Ecofeminist Perspective

I discern in Greek myths of the goddess Athena traces of the idea of domination of mind over senses,
and that men were seen as superior to women because of their naturally ruling mind. The Athenian,
Platonic, androcentric, hierarchical worldview saw women as physically inferior to men. Behind
courageous, wise Athena, lies Plato’s dualistic philosophy of reason, and the ideology of control. We
must make a distinction between a dualistic philosophy and a holistic approach to reality. Ancient
goddess Hestia’s inextinguishable flame as energy of all life extended to the entire world can be read
as symbolizing the interrelatedness of all life.