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Timeless quotes on women: Difference between revisions
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→c. 800-700 BC: The Iliad
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{{quote|There is a good principle which created order, light, and man, and an evil principle which created chaos, darkness, and woman.}} | {{quote|There is a good principle which created order, light, and man, and an evil principle which created chaos, darkness, and woman.}} | ||
==c. 800-700 BC: The Iliad== | ==c. 800-700 BC: The Iliad== | ||
{{Quote|"To this Hector of the gleaming helm made no answer, but Helen spoke to him in gentle tones: ‘Brother, I am indeed that wicked she-dog [slut] whom all abhor. I wish that on the day of my birth, some vile blast of wind had blown me to the mountains, or into the waves of the echoing sea, where the waters would have drowned me, and none of this would have come about. But since the gods ordained this fate, I wish that I had a better man for husband, who felt the reproaches and contempt of his fellow men. But this man of mine is fickle, and ever will be so, and will reap the harvest of it hereafter. But enter, now and be seated, my brother, since you are the most troubled in mind of all, through my shamelessness and Paris’ folly. Zeus has brought an evil fate upon us, and in days to come we shall be a song for those yet unborn."|<ref> | {{Quote|"So no scrambling for home till each has slept with a Trojan woman [conquered a Trojan wife], as reward for the pain and toil Helen brings [brought] him."|<ref>Homer 2009,''The Iliad'', trans. AS Kline, Poetry in Translation, bk. II, retrieved 31 August 2022, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Iliad15.php</ref>}} | ||
{{Quote|"There Hector met him, and showered reproach on him: ‘Sinful Paris beautiful to look on, seducer and deceiver of women, I wish you had never been born, or had died before you wed. Such is my wish indeed, far better than disgrace us all, an object of men’s contempt. The long-haired Greeks must laugh out loud, and cry that our champion was chosen only for beauty, devoid of strength and courage. [...] And dare you not face Menelaus, beloved of Ares, now? You would find what kind of man it is whose fair wife you stole. Your lyre will not help you, nor will those gifts of Aphrodite."|<ref>''ibid''</ref>}} | |||
{{Quote|"Over her Diomedes of the loud war-cry raised a great shout of triumph: ‘Daughter of Zeus [Aphrodite], leave battle and strife to others. Isn’t it enough that you snare feeble women? Rejoin the fight and you’ll learn to shudder at the name of war!’|<ref>''ibid, bk. V''</ref>}} | |||
{{Quote|[Thetis to Achilles]: "Why not find comfort with some woman, since you have but a brief time left to live, and the shadows of Death and remorseless Fate are already close upon you."|''ibid''}} | {{Quote|"To this Hector of the gleaming helm made no answer, but Helen spoke to him in gentle tones: ‘Brother, I am indeed that wicked she-dog [slut] whom all abhor. I wish that on the day of my birth, some vile blast of wind had blown me to the mountains, or into the waves of the echoing sea, where the waters would have drowned me, and none of this would have come about. But since the gods ordained this fate, I wish that I had a better man for husband, who felt the reproaches and contempt of his fellow men. But this man of mine is fickle, and ever will be so, and will reap the harvest of it hereafter. But enter, now and be seated, my brother, since you are the most troubled in mind of all, through my shamelessness and Paris’ folly. Zeus has brought an evil fate upon us, and in days to come we shall be a song for those yet unborn."|<ref>''ibid, bk. VI''</ref>}} | ||
{{Quote|[Thetis to Achilles]: "Why not find comfort with some woman, since you have but a brief time left to live, and the shadows of Death and remorseless Fate are already close upon you."|<ref>''ibid, bk. XXIII''</ref>}} | |||
==c. 800-700 BC: The Odyssey== | ==c. 800-700 BC: The Odyssey== | ||