The Perception of Women and Their Relationship to the Loom
Student paper for credit in HIST 2210, LC
Written by: T. Grattan
Women have always been perceived a certain way. But have those perceptions really changed over time? Looking at different sources and ancient texts, we shall see how women had expectations put on them as well as how they were viewed by men of the time. Looking at their relationship to the loom, its meaning, and what it meant for them as women.
Looking back to the creation of man, in the ancient Greek world, there was not much interest in the understanding of how men were created or how they came to be on the land that they were. Yet there was a story about where women came from that contributed to the views of them. Told in Hesiod’s “Theogony” a story about the Greek gods he wrote about the first woman, Pandora. In the story the titan Prometheus steals fire from Zeus and gives it to mortal men. To neutralize this blessing Zeus creates Pandora and the Olympians give her many gifts, one of which was being a gifted weaver; they also granted her with a jar, beautiful on the outside but inside were evils and plagues. After being given to humans, out of curiosity, Pandora peaked inside the jar and released the horrors into the world. It is through this and other stories that women were seen as deviant creatures that needed to be controlled or else the world would fall into darkness and destruction.
To continue this idea of women being deceitful, the use of cosmetics for a woman was seen as a deceptive tactic; to change their natural appearance and draw men to them. Looking at modern-day, we continue to see this narrative. Over the past year on the internet, trolls have commented on women’s post about their makeup looks saying that they are “catfishing” and don’t actually look like that in real life. However the double standard to that is the extremely high expectations that are put on women to look perfect in a impossible way. Many women however have taken this and used it to say yes I don’t naturally look like this and that’s the point.
(C) Marble statue of a women, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The female body was also a great contribution to the views of women and their place in society. Men saw women’s bodies as deformed men, considering them second to men. Although they could bear children, which takes great physical labour, they were still seen as lesser to men. A representation of the view of women's bodies can be found in marble statues such as this “Marble Statue of a Woman '' from around the second half of the fourth century BC in Greece. This marble stone statue is believed to represent a goddess but it is unclear which one. Her head and neck were carved separately and connected by a metal tenon to the body, which is now lost to us. The clothing she wears represents that of her time. Her main dress is a Chiton which was most popular during the classical period. A full length garment made of linen and tied around the waist. The pleats in the skirt are seen in many Greek artifacts depicting dress, but there is no evidence as to how pleats in the fabric were made. Overtop, she wears a Himation, a mantle that was worn over the Chiton or (for men) could be worn alone. It was made of wool, which was heavier and used during cool weather. You can see the outlines of one of her legs and breast under her dress, however, this was not meant to be erotic. As mentioned before, women’s bodies were seen as deformed men. To us, this may seem very intimate and sensual but to the ancient Greeks, this would have been viewed as normal and not considered scandalous to see the lining of a woman’s body through her clothing. This statute is a clear physical representation of how the female figure was comprehended.
Women were also seen differently at different stages of their lives. As young girls, they were discerned as untamed and carefree, which can be identified in their clothing. They are portrayed wearing ungirded clothes to represent this free nature but as they grew older into adulthood their clothing changed. After puberty, a woman would need to wear more girded clothing and use veils to slowly cover her hair in time. This was due to the fact that a woman’s hair was seen as more erotic than her body.
From what we know based on text and poetry art, it was women who were making the textiles for their clothing and clothing for their households. Weaving and working at the loom was one of the most important things a woman could do, other than bearing children and taking care of the household. Weaving was attributed most to the goddess Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, and the patron goddess of Athens for which is named after her. One of the most known stories about Athena and her loom is that of Arachne. There are a few different versions of this story, but roughly it is about a young girl, Arachne, who is a very skilled weaver and finds herself in a weaving contest against Athena. The reasons for the conclusion are different depending on which version you read, but in the end either out of anger or compassion, Athena turned Arachne into a spider.
Despite their being a goddess who was a master weaver, production of textiles was quite labor intensive. Weavers could only make so much fabric at a time, making clothing expensive and people would not buy new garment on a regular basis. Women from all areas of life could be weavers as it was one of the only labor jobs that they could be trained to do. Women would work in households to make themselves, and their family, fabric for clothes, and those who did not have husbands to provide for them could sell their fabrics in the marketplace and provide for themselves, which is quite liberating during a time when most women just stayed indoors.
Homer’s Odyssey was an oral poem and then written, becoming one of the oldest extended works of literature. Originally it would have been spoken to audiences and continued for interpretation as it was spoken to more and more people. When finally written down, that became the official version. It’s Homer’s works, and other literary stories, that give us an idea of what life was like at the time in ancient Greece and gives us clues to how people lived out their daily lives.
“For as the Phaeacian men skilled beyond all other in driving a swift ship upon the deep, even so, are the women the most cunning at the loom, for Athene hath given them notable wisdom in all fair handiwork and cunning wit.” Homer’s Odyssey Book 7 Lines 107-111
These lines in Homer’s Odyssey are important because it clearly shows to us how important it was for women to be skilled on the loom. The Greeks who were seafaring people would often use fleets of ships when battling their foes. It shows that women working at their looms were just as important and praiseworthy as men taking down enemies. The “Athene” he references is the goddess Athena. This also shows us the separation of the two genders in society. Men were meant to be outside protecting their families and people, while women were meant to stay indoors and take care of their households. It may be forgotten sometimes but if men were in control of the society and city, the women were the ones responsible for having everyone dressed.
It was also discovered that female prostitutes were known to have looms in their brothels and weave fabric. This way they could make, sell, and earn money on the fabrics if they were not receiving as many customers as they needed. Though there is evidence, there are not many depictions that portrayed prostitutes as weavers. Only “respectable” women would be portrayed on pottery weaving; mothers and wives in the household. They believed weaving was a respectable practice, especially being associated with Athena who was known, among her many attributes, as having restraint on her sexuality. Although prostitutes could be just as great weavers, their identity as prostitutes overshadowed that fact and they were associated with the goddess Aphrodite the goddess of love and fertility. This is an example of how women were put into two groupings; either as a prude or a whore. We have continued to see that in cinema today, although the roles given to women have opened up more, there is the idea that women on screen or even in books from a misogynistic viewpoint are represented as either the Madonna or the whore. The Madonna being a reference to the virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. Another more modern example could be the label of being either a Jackie Kennedy or Marilyn Monroe.
From looking at all this information, we can see that many perceptions of women have still been able to stand the test of time with little to no change. Despite even the loom representing femininity and being a tool used predominantly by women, it was only specific women who were “respectable” and represented as weavers. This brings out the misogynistic ideas that have separated and pinned women against each other despite all being told the same thing of what they should and shouldn’t be.
References
Caldwell, Richard S. 1987. “Hesiod Theogony” Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company
Fischer, Marina. 2013. “Ancient Greek Prostitutes and the Textile Industry in Attic Vase-Painting ca. 550–450 B.C.E.” The Classical World. Vol. 106, No. 2 , pp. 219-259. The Johns Hopkins University Press Homer. 1885. “Odyssey” Book 7 Lines 107-111: New York. Macmillan and Co.
Mireille M. Lee. 2015. “Body, Dress, and Identity in Ancient Greece” pages 19-23, 96-107 : Cambridge , Cambridge University Press.
Pomeroy, Sarah B., et al. 2019. “A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture.” Pages 51-52 4th edition. Oxford. Riley, Henry T.. 1899. “The Metamorphoses of Ovid” Vol. 1 Books 1-7. Philadelphia. David McKay, Publisher.
Scott, Grace. “You're All Welcome #Catfish #Viral #Fyp #Houseoftiktok.” @gracescottxo. 😂😭 TikTok, April 24, 2020.
